Namibian recipe
How to make Oshifima
oshifima (Oshiwambo)
Northern Namibia, from Ovambo cooking
A stiff porridge made from mahangu (pearl millet) flour, maize meal or a mix of both, and the most important food in the north. A small piece is pinched off with the right hand, shaped with the fingers and used to scoop up meat, spinach or sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 litre water
- About 300 g pearl millet (mahangu) flour, maize meal, or a mix of both
- A pinch of salt (optional)
Method
- Bring the water to the boil in a heavy pot, with the salt if you use it.
- Sprinkle in about a third of the flour while stirring hard with a wooden spoon, to make a thin porridge. Let it bubble for 2 or 3 minutes.
- Add the rest of the flour a little at a time, stirring and pressing the mixture against the side of the pot, until it is thick, smooth and pulls away from the pot.
- Cover and leave on a very low heat for 5 minutes. Shape into a mound with a wet spoon and serve with meat, wild spinach or a stew.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Mahangu grows well in the hot, dry north where other grains fail, and the harvest is stored in large woven baskets lined with clay.
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