What is Nsima?
Nsima, the Culinary Tradition of Malawi, is a compound name for the culinary and dietary tradition of Malawians as well as the name of a single component of this tradition, a form of thick porridge prepared with maize flour.
How To Make Malawi Nsima
Nsima is the staple food in Malawi. It’s a thick porridge made out of maize flour and water.
Typically, nsima is eaten with vegetables and protein—like fish, beans, or meat. It can be torn apart by hand and used to dip into side dishes or relishes.
“One cannot eat nsima without relish,” Gabriel Kapanda, Orant’s country director, says. But nsima isn’t like bread or rice. It isn’t the side to supplement the main dish. It’s the main dish itself.
Ingredients:
-2 cups of cornmeal
-5 cups of water
Steps:
1. Heat 5 cups of water in a pot until warm
2. Slowly add 1 cup of cornmeal to the water, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until a porridge starts to form and the mixture starts to boil
3. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Remove the lid, and add 1 or 2 more cups of cornmeal, a little at a time, flattening any lumps, stirring constantly over the heat for about 5 minutes
5. Scoop the thick porridge with a spoon, shaping it into multiple patties, each about the size of a hockey puck. Serve with the food of your choice
Is eating Nshima healthy?
Other micronutrients absent in a nshima-rich diet are iron, zinc, and vitamin A.
Zinc helps learning and memory and it helps detoxify heavy metals such as lead, which is one of the biggest environmental threats to IQ.