a taste of Malawi.

I've been writing down recipes as Monica cooks so that we can make
Malawian meals together when I come home. Here are some of my
favourites. Go ahead and try them!

Futali- a delicious breakfast food
1. Peel 8-10 medium potatoes- sweet or regular, it's up to you.
2. Shell 4-5 cups of peanuts and mash them with a mortar and pestle
until it becomes a flour (we call it singiro, but in English it's
called groundnut flour).
3. Cook potatoes in a pot with water and a little bit of salt until
they are mashable.
4. Strain most of the water from the potatoes when they are ready,
leaving a little bit for mashing.
5. Pour groundnut flour on top of the potatoes, cover and let sit for
a couple of minutes.
6. Mash potatoes and groundnut flour together into a soft mashed potato texture.
7. Let sit on the stove for a couple of minutes, stirring sometimes.
8. When it looks good enough to eat, dig in!

Nsima- lunch and dinner staple food
Warning: This is hard work. If it is your first time making nsima,
start with a little pot!
1. Fill pot with water (as much water as you want nsima), set stove to
medium-high and make water lukewarm.
2. Add 3-4 handfuls of ufa and stir it into the water. Ufa= maize
flour. You can buy this at the grocery store in the Mexican food
section. On the package it says it's used to make tortillas but it can
also be used for nsima!
3. The water will become thicker with the flour but still watery. When
you stir with a wooden spoon, the mixture should be seen on the spoon
when you take it out. Stop adding flour at this point.
4. Let bubbles happen for ~8 minutes. When the mixture is noticably
thicker, it is time to start making nsima.
5. Start adding handfuls of ufa, stirring it into the water as you go.
As you continue to add ufa, the mixture will become thick and more
difficult to stir. Keep it up! Power! Continue to turn the mixture and
work the flour in, removing any lumps with your strong stirring.
6. When it is thick (barely thicker than cookie batter), it is time to
stop stirring. You should be really tired by now. Give it a couple
more strong stirs and smooth it out as much as you can.
7. Remove from stove.
8. Get a bowl of water ready and a smaller bowl. Dip the small bowl in
water and scoop out an oval shaped ball of nsima (it is called a
ration). Place the scooped nsima on a serving plate. Continue to dip
the small bowl in water before scooping out the nsima.
9. You've made nsima! You'll need to get some practice at this, but
it's worth it!

Egg Ndiwo- relish, to be eaten with nsima
1. Fry 4 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Add 3 scrambled eggs and a tsp of salt.
2. Let it deep fry like an omelet. When it is cooked, break it up into
smaller pieces and move the oil to one side of the frying pan.
3. Smash a tomato (they crush it in their hand here- try it!) into the
separated oil. Let it deep fry.
4. When tomato is cooked, mix the egg and tomato together.
5. Add 2 more tbsp of oil into the pan and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
6. Remove from stove and enjoy with nsima.

Rapini Ndiwo- relish, to be eaten with nsima
1. Cut a head of rapini into very thin strips. Rapini is like lettuce
and you can find it in some Canadian grocers.
2. Put a little bit of water in a pot with 4tbsp of salt.
3. Place Rapini in the pot and cover.
4. When the rapini has deflated and is relatively soft, remove rapini
from the pot and place in another bowl.
5. Place 4tbsp of oil into the pot.
6. Smash a tomato into the pot with your hands.
7. When the tomato is cooked and its juice is mixed with the oil, add
the steamed rapini to the pot.
8. Stir together and it is ready to serve.

Eating Rules
When you eat nsima, you must use your right hand. Take a small piece
of nsima from your ration and make it in a small ball with your hand.
Indent it with your thumb and use it to pick up some relish. I can
usually only eat one ration, but I've seen my host mother eat three!
Put on some Malawian tunes and have some fun cooking! When I get home,
I'll put some cooking lessons on youtube.
Love skate