The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Mozambican Foods. If you manage to be in an Mozambican restaurant or you are visiting Mozambique, I recommend the following
1. Seafood and Peanut Stew
All seafood is good in Mozambique and the country is famous for prawns often grilled with Piri-Piri sauce or with ‘Matapa’, which is a sauce of ground peanuts and cassava leaves served with rice as the main accompaniment to the seafood.
2. Poland Cake
This sponge cake with mashed potatoes and cashew nuts. It has such an evocative taste and a very particular sponginess. Mozambique’s cashew nuts are famous. The country produces around 190,000 tonnes a year. This highly valued nut is also called cashew nut or Merey.
3. Sweet Batata
It is a fairly simple dish to make, the only thing that needs to be cooked first is the sweet potato. It is similar to a quince jelly and goes well with cheese.
4. Malata
It is a clam recipe (not in vain one of the strong points of Mozambique’s economy is seafood fishing), with pumpkin. It is a very different seafood dish from what we are used to, but I encourage you to try it because it is delicious.
5. Baked Cheese Sandwich
The melted cheese sandwich is one of those things we all love. It’s a simple meal that tastes great every time no matter if you’re a kid or an adult. Grilled cheese sandwiches come in all shapes and sizes, and there is an almost endless variety of options to choose from. The smoky flavor and cheese infused crust is just the beginning of this delicious sandwich. You can get it at almost any food stand.
6. Cassava Pudding
Cassava pudding is a basic recipe, but different versions can be found in the Pacific and Caribbean islands. Cassava pudding can take a long time to prepare, from grilling to cooking. It is baked for hours in an outdoor oven under hot stones and wrapped in banana leaves. It is often served as a side dish with fish, but can also be baked as a sweet pudding with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon or eggs.
7. Green Bean Soup
A soup of green beans, accompanied by other vegetables and aromatic herbs that make a very good broth to warm the stomach. It is delicious and nutritious, perfect to enjoy at any time!
8. Maize Porridge
Basically, the maize is ground and boiled in water to make a semi-solid porridge. The taste itself is quite mild, but it is often served with some kind of sauce. It can be stored without refrigeration, so it is cheap and plentiful in all shops and markets. Most people eat seema with bare hands, but some experienced elders claim they can eat it on a full stomach without getting their hands dirty.
9. Matapa
It is a stew of bitter leaves with peanuts and coconut milk. It is considered a national dish of Mozambique as it is a staple in every Mozambican restaurant and household. Originally, this dish is prepared with cassava leaves, peanuts and coconut milk. It can be eaten on its own or with white rice, making it an excellent and delicious vegan meal option. However, the stew can also be served with shrimp, resulting in a dish that is even more colorful and reminiscent of summer holidays.
10. Piri Piri Sauce
It is a spicy sauce made from a type of chili that is of American origin, small, red, slit-eye shaped and ten times hotter than the jalapeño; it is also known as the African devil. Not only does it taste great with chicken, piri piri sauce goes wonderfully with grilled fish or shrimp.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional African Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.