A little taste of home.

The combination of nshima and relish seems to be the only thing that most Zambians call a real meal.

So to satisfy your palettes, today I want to share a recipe for a meal that I have eaten all my life.  It is a traditional meal, which I am sure all of the Zambians will be familiar with.  Every household does things slightly differently but this is a recipe past down from my mother, one of the best cooks I know.  Yes!! Believe it or not we Zambians in the diaspora do eat nshima.

Growing up I hated nshima, we ate it too often and I actually stopped eating it for years.  However in the last few years I have started enjoying it again and have come to appreciate it; not only because it brings back fond memories of me eating it with my great grandmother; but because it is very cost effective and has a high nutritional value.

Often time’s nshima is eaten with two side dishes also known as “relish” which tend to be vegetables and fish, chicken or meat.  It offers a full balanced meal; covering your carbohydrates, vegetables, protein and fat.   Known as Nshima in Zambia, Sadza in Zimbabwe and Pap in South Africa; nshima is commonly eaten across Africa, and is the staple food in many African countries.

I don’t think you can ever run away from nshima; it’s one of those foods that you are given at every relative’s house and is a huge part of Zambian culture.  So if any non-Zambians are curious enough to try this meal, then follow the recipe below, and enjoy.

Now, this recipe might be a bit tricky for any first timers; because when I cook nshima I don’t use measurements, in fact most people that I know don’t use measurements for this.  However, I will try and give as much detail as possible to guide you through this; but if you want exact measurements, just type in “how to cook nshima” on Google and you will get a step by step guide.

Preparation and Cooking time 2 ½ hours

Serves minimum 4 people

For this recipe I am using organic pumpkin leaves from the garden.  You can’t go wrong with organic vegetables; much healthier.

Ingredients.

Beans (for those in the diaspora, Kidney beans work just as well)

Organic Pumpkin leaves

About 1 cup of ground nuts

Rib meat

2 large onions chopped

1medium – large fresh tomato chopped

1 tin of tomato

1 pack of maize meal or mealie meal

1 pack of cassava meal (optional)

Salt

Method

Soak the beans overnight, the night before cooking.

In a pot boil beans for 1 hour.  In a separate pan, fry onion and ½ a tin of tomato with a pinch of salt.  Once the beans have softened and nearly all the water is gone; add the onion and tomato, allow to simmer and thicken.

Clean the pumpkin leaves by flicking them to remove any dust. Then hold the stem in one hand and strip the outer fibres down to the leaves. Wash and chop the leaves into small pieces ready for cooking.  Boil water separately and add a pinch or two of salt; add leaves to the water, cover the pot and leave to cook until they have wilted.

Whilst leaves cook, pound ground nuts to a powdery consistency and sieve.  Now that the leaves have reduced to half, add pounded ground nuts, onions and fresh tomato, mix well.  Cover the pot slightly and cook for 1 hour.  You will know the ground nuts are cooked, because they will change from a white powdery colour to a brown colour.  Don’t let all the water evaporate, this veg should not be too dry.

When cooking rib meat of a cow, you do not need to add oil because it already has quite a bit of fat on it. Simply fill a pot with water, until the meat is fully submerged and boil. Once water evaporates, fry the meat add a bit of salt, pepper, onion and ½ a tin of tomato.  Add a bit of water to make the stew and leave to simmer and thicken, adding water accordingly.

Finally cook your nshima.  Put the stove on high heat, in a large pot add a cup of maize meal/mealie meal to two cups of cold water to make porridge.  Now add a lot of boiling water to fill the pot about ½ – ¾ full.  Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot and leave to cook for 3-5 minutes.  Now using a flat wooden spoon stir vigorously to make it smooth; gradually add a tbsp at a time of maize meal/mealie meal to thicken the nshima, always making sure you stir continuously and vigorously, to remove lumps, (this is quite a workout especially if cooking for a large number of people).  To make sure that the maize meal is cooked, cook for about 20 minutes. Finally add cassava meal and mix vigorously once more, until thick enough to eat with your hands and there is no water remaining.  It should be about the consistency of soft Play-Doh but stickier.  Cover the pot and leave to stand for a few minutes.

Serving

Wet a serving spoon, scoop out the nshima in fist-sized lumps and enjoy with your relish. Serve hot, and use your hands to eat.  Enjoy!!

Kanta Temba is a cake maker and decorator. She is also the owner and founder of Kanta Kakes – cake shop.

You can find her work on www.kantakakes.com.  Follow her on twitter @KantaKakes and Instagram @KantaTemba.

GOVERNMENT has admonished United Party for National Development (UPND) presidential advisor Douglas Syakalima over his continued disparaging remarks against President Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front (PF) administration.

Chief Government spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili said in a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday that Mr Syakalima had continued disparaging the Presidency on flimsy grounds such as information contained in a story attributed to him in yesterday’s edition of the Post newspaper.

Mr Kambwili said as a former Member of Parliament (MP) who served in various Committees of the House, Mr Syakalima was in a better position to understand the etiquette of MP’s hence the Government’s concern over his disrespect towards the President.

“One expects Mr Syakalima to be respectful, decent and honourable in commenting on national issues, the Presidency, in particular.

“It is therefore, unacceptable and unbecoming of Mr Syakalima, a former legislator, to callously issue disparaging remarks against the Head of State for no plausible reason,” Mr Kambwili who is also Information and Broadcasting Services Minister said.

He said Mr Syakalima’s morbid hatred for President Lungu would not help him politically but may just serve to destroy the moral fibre of the country as young people were meant to think that insulting a Head of State was normal.

Mr Kambwili said as a lecturer at one of the country’s high institutions of learning, the University of Zambia (UNZA),Mr Syakalima was expected to inculcate good morals in the youth particularly students.

The Minister said partisan politicking as being practised by Mr Syakalima was not allowed in institutions of learning because it only served to negatively influence students and disrupt their concentration on studies.

He threatened that Government would be left with no option than to recommend the termination of Mr Syakalima’s contract as he had continued to engage in partisan politics.

“Government, therefore, wonders whether politically charged lecturers like Mr Syakalima should continue serving in the University or indeed other institutions of higher learning.

“If Mr Syakalima continues with his conduct, Government will be left with no option but recommend the termination of his contract,” Mr Kambwili said.

This year, Mr Syakalima has made headlines in the Post Newsaper against President Lungu.

Yesterday, the Post Newspaper quoted him as saying that Zambia has a lazy President whose success only shows in tailor-made suits. In August, Mr Syakalima was again quoted saying that said President Lungu also needed a lot of rest, and not alcohol, because of his health condition.

“Because of his physical health, he easily becomes fatigued without doing anything. But when he is fatigued like that, he goes on beer. He has an alcohol problem,” he said. Syakalima said there was also need for the Head of State to start going to the gym so that alcohol could be removed from his system.

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) deputy secretary-general Mumbi Phiri has called on founder members who left in anger during wrangles after President Michael Sata’s death to re-join the party.

Ms Phiri said in Kitwe that the PF leadership is ready to welcome all members who have joined various opposition political parties.

She said no political party can meet the people’s aspirations apart from the ruling PF, which she said has stuck to its ideals of serving the poor through the implementation of pro-poor policies.

“Those who left the party in anger should come back. They should not continue wasting time in small opposition parties that do not have any future. Let’s be united. Politics is about numbers,” Ms Phiri said.

She said sanity has returned to the PF after the departure of some people who were causing confusion because of their ‘insatiable appetite to usurp power from Mr Sata’.

Ms Phiri also received defectors from various opposition political parties.

She attacked some opposition party members for allegedly exploiting small-scale farmers by buying maize at K50 per 50-kilogramme bag.

“People who claim to be rich were buying maize at K50 per 50-kg but Government, which cares for farmers, is buying at K75 per bag. Such people should not be taken seriously,” she said.

Former MMD members Joel Malanji and Prince Mushili, who recently joined the PF, said they are happy to be part of an all-inclusive party.

PF member of the central committee Elizabeth Phiri urged youths that have just acquired national registration cards to register as voters.

The voter registration exercise will run from September 11 to November 11.

PF Copperbelt Province chairperson Stephen Kainga and youth chairperson Nathan Chanda said the region is ready for the 2016 general elections and solidly behind President Lungu.

Rating agency Moody’s says the suspension of operations at Glencore’s Mopani mine and at the Chinese-operated Luanshya mine will depress growth and reduce proceeds from exports and royalties.

In a research report released today, Moody’s says reduced copper production will put further pressure on the country’s fiscal and external positions.
 
Moody’s Vice President Senior Analyst Zuzana Brixiova said the suspension of some mining operations now introduces downside risk to the government’s revised growth projections.

Ms. Zuzana Brixiova said Zambia’s growth prospects already face challenges from subdued global copper demand, depressed copper prices which she said Moody’s expects to persist and drought-induced electricity shortages.
 
“Zambia’s growth which has averaged more than 7% per year over the past decade — is now at risk of falling to the Sub-Saharan Africa median, Moody’s estimates that next year’s fiscal deficit will widen by additional 0.75-1.00 percentage points of GDP owing to the reduced copper tax base alone,” She said.
 
Ms. Brixiova estimated that next year’s fiscal deficit will widen by an additional 0.75-1.00 percentage points of GDP owing to the reduced copper tax base alone.

“Lower growth and tax revenues will negatively pressure the government’s already rising budget deficit and debt levels, continuing a trend of missed fiscal targets that were among factors behind our 29 May decision to assign a negative outlook,” Ms. Brixiova said.

She said reduced export proceeds will exacerbate the trade deficits that have emerged in recent months further widening the current account deficit beyond the projected 3% of GDP for 2015, and add to the forces driving the recent rapid depreciation of currency.

“During the past five months, the kwacha has depreciated by 30% against the US dollar, more than any other currency in the region,” Mrs Ms. Brixiova said.

Last Monday, Glencore International AG announced that it would suspend operations at its Mopani Copper Mine in Zambia for 18 months.

Glencore’s suspension follows a recent decision by China’s Luanshya to place the mine on care and maintenance.

Australia based ,Zambian singer Portia Clark responds to B flow’s open letter to Taylor Swift.

she posted the following on her facebook page :

“I feel really ashamed calling myself a Zambian musician when there is a “Zambian Musician” that has recently been posted abroad representing Zambia and writing to one of the biggest and talented pop singers in the World criticising her latest music video, as if she will even take the time to read the useless letter, I truly believe you learn from those doing it better than you and not criticise them, who in Africa let alone Zambia has been as successful like Taylor Swift. I was just with Taylor’s manager Scott Borchetta the Director to one of the most successful labels and he will not even glance his eye over this stupid letter, please don’t fool your fans to believe that you are actually doing anything sensible and will make any impact, if you want to do something then get to work and make it in your own music career, by the way your letter was more racist than Taylor not having African people or as you put it Blacks in her video, By the way we are not Black. We are all
One now stop criticising the best in the business and go and do something sensible with your time,”

Read B flows letter here : https://www.lusakatimes.com/2015/09/11/b-flow-thanks-taylor-swift-for-her-wildest-dreams/