The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) is touted as the "Glastonbury of African festivals." Established in 1999, the festival takes place each year in late April or early May in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.
The week-long festival encompasses five principal disciplines: theatre, music, dance, fine art, and poetry. Attendees can take djembe drumming lessons, take in a poetry session, fashion show or catch their favourite artists performing.
So in this edition, we have paired some delicious Zimbabwe dishes that you can enjoy with a bottle of Muratelia
Mupunga Unedovi
Mupunga unedovi is a traditional African dish originating from Zimbabwe. This simple dish is
made with a combination of only three ingredients: long grain rice, peanut butter, and salt. The rice is cooked in water until it soaks up the liquid, and the peanut butter is then added to the pot along with some water.
The combination is cooked for a few more minutes until the rice and peanut butter are blended together and the rice is slightly overcooked. Mupunga unedovi is usually served with different meat stews and sauces. It's also recommended to eat the leftovers on the next day with a cup of tea on the side.
Chikenduza
Chikenduza is a traditional African dessert hailing from Zimbabwe. These candy cakes are made with a combination of flour, butter, vanilla, milk, sugar, yeast, eggs, salt, powdered sugar, and red food colouring. The dough is rolled into balls and baked in muffin tins or similar baking vessels until puffed.
Once done, these candy cakes should be double the size of a muffin. The cooled cakes are topped with thick pink icing made from powdered sugar, water, and food colouring.
Muboora
Muboora is made with a combination of
pumpkin leaves, oil, tomatoes, onions, salt, and soda bicarbonate. The pumpkin leaves need to be washed carefully as they're usually full of soil. They are simmered in a pot filled with boiling water and all the other ingredients until the onions and tomatoes are fully cooked.
Once done, muboora is typically served as it is or with sadza (pap) and relish on the side. Optionally, the cream can be added to the dish, and there is also a version called muboora une dovi that's made with the addition of peanut butter.
All these delicious treats pair well, with a bottle of Muratelia, why not give it a go...
Until next time
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