Zambia is one of the largest countries in Africa and one of the continent’s prime vacation and safari destinations. Trying various delicious local dishes in Zambian cuisine will greatly enrich your vacation or safari.
Zambia's culinary landscape is a vibrant tapestry of flavors, textures, and traditions that reflect the nation's rich cultural heritage of Africa. From hearty staples to unique delicacies, here's a curated list of traditional Zambian dishes you must try.
When you think of Zambia, your mind might wander to scenes of breathtaking landscapes, the majestic Victoria Falls or incredible safari adventures. The food in Zambia is deeply tied to its land, people and history. The dishes are built around fresh, locally sourced ingredients and have many years of tradition behind them.
Beyond maize, Zambians draw on a hearty amount of produce - think leafy greens, groundnuts, beans and fresh fish from the abundant rivers like the mighty Zambezi.
Let's sit down for Ubwali One of the larger adjustments Peace Corps volunteers make upon arrival is surprisingly gastro-intestinal. What our stomachs are really adjusting to is the Zambian cuisine, designed to sustain a long day’s work and simple enough that once you are familiar, becomes very comforting.
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Zambian Food| Nshima (Mealie Meal)
The Cornerstone of Zambian Cuisine: Nshima
Nshima is a cornerstone of Zambian cuisine, making it much more than just a staple food. Often known as Zambia’s staple food, it’s a thick porridge made from maize flour central to the nation’s culture and cuisine. Rooted in pre-colonial traditions, it symbolizes unity.
This daily dietary essential is made from ground maize flour. This comforting dish is then served with a variety of side dishes, including relishes, meat stews, fish, vegetables, and beans. It must be firm enough to hold its shape when molded.
Lots of cultures have staple foods. In many Asian countries this food is rice, in European countries a meal may be considered incomplete without wheat or a bread, in Zambia, the staple food is nshima, or by the Bemba name, “Ubwali.”
Nshima is a cooked lump of cornmeal or cassava (as is common in Luapula, the province where I reside) during a Zambian meal. To eat, one just pulls off a bite-sized chunk of nshima in, in the right hand and massages the corn meal until it makes a ball. The nshima is pressed into a spoon or a scoop shape to act as a carrier for the prepared side dishes of the meal. The thickness of the cornmeal is similar to the cornmeal eaten in tamale; it holds its own shape.
Through out the country everyone eats Nshima. When I am invited for dinner, people ask “Mulefwaya ukulya ubwali?”” which translates to, “ would you like to eat nshima.” Nshima = dinner. This carbo hydrate sits heavily in an eater’s stomach. It’s the ideal food to fill you up after a long day of work, and its blandness males it a great carrier of other more flavorful dishes.
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For many Zambians, nshima is the first solid food they learn to eat after waning from their mother’s milk. During training, many of my dinners were eaten with my host mother and her six-month-old baby. Every now and then as she ate she would massage a tiny piece of nshima for the infant to try, and event though most of the cornmeal was just spit up again onto the baby’s front, it was fascinating to see the young Zambian’s eyes light up with her first few rendezvous with a food she would be returning to perhaps all throughout her life.
How to Enjoy Nshima
Traditionally, nishima is eaten with the hands. Diners shape a small portion of nshima into a ball, and an indentation is made in the ball to scoop up the relish. This practical method of eating enhances the communal aspect of the meal.
Guests are shown respect by letting them eat just with the father or the head of the household, or possibly alone. Dinner isn’t as much seen as a time to socialize, but rather a time to relax after a long day. As for mothers and children, they are eating out in the insaka( open hut structure) where the food is cooked. It is important for mothers and children to eat together in Zambian culture so children can learn table manners and how to cook for themselves.
Since everything is eaten by hand, dinner will generally start with everyone passing a water bowl around to rinse the hands. The food is eaten with the right hand. You must be careful handling the hot nshima! If it is hot, roll it around in your hands and eat slower. Blowing on food to cool it down makes it seem like you are rushing to eat and that you don’t normally eat well.
Relishes: The Flavorful Companions to Nshima
Our technical trainers in rhe Peace Corps are trained world-wide as experts in their respective fields. I would recognize them more as side plates or dishes. Essentially, this is the food you eat with your nshima. Common dishes include rapeseed (a leafy green similar to kale), cabbage, chicken, fish, soya(faux meat), okra, white egg plant, sweet potato, boiled quash or pumpkin.
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The majority of these dishes are cooked for along time in oil alongside tomato, onions, and green pepper. On special occasions the family might cook goat or dove(pigeon). Guests of honor are usually given the best cut of meats or the rarest part such as the chicken gizzard or fish head. The cooking style is fairly uniform for many dishes.
Lots of oil is added, again to bolster the calories needed for laborious. Food is saltier as well because it is believed to be very nutritious in needed minerals. Guests will be served food that is more oily and salty as a sign of wealth and being treated well by the host family.
Because of varying availability not many other spices are use in the food’s preparation. This does not mean that the Zambian palette is sensitive to spice, strong aromatic spices such as turmeric and paprika can at times be found in the market and a common table spice is piri piri. Piri Piri is a tiny hot pepper grown on a bush that is indigenous to Africa. These peppers look harmless due to their small size and bright colors, but their heat packs a serious punch.
One thing you wont find as a side dish is any presence of raw vegetables. While fruits are obviously consumed raw (although too many mangoes is believed to cause malaria - more on that in a different blog post) many Zambians living in the village remain skeptical about eating fresh vegetables. This could be because many of the most common vegetables must be cooked such as sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, or rapeseed.
Ifisashi: A Creamy Vegetable Stew
Ifisashi is typically a flavorsome vegetable stew made of leafy greens and groundnut sauce. The greens are usually boiled or steamed until tender, and then they are mixed with the peanut sauce, which adds a creamy richness to the dish. Other ingredients often added include tomatoes, onions, chili, and garlic.
Serving: Ifisashi is commonly served with the Zambian cuisine staple nshima that we described above.
Meat Dishes in Zambian Cuisine
The meat dishes are usually served at dinner time, together with the popular Nshima dish. These meat dishes are called Ndiwa and they are often cooked from domestic and wild meats that include beef, goat, mutton, deer, buffalo, elephant, warthog, wild pig, mice, rabbits or hare, antelope, turtle, alligator or crocodile, monkey.
Monkey meat is prepared fresh in rural areas. It is also smoked to preserve it and allow it to be sent to market in the cities. A common sight along rural roads is smoked whole monkeys for sale, tales tied to heads to make carrying handles. Monkey meat is often prepared in a tomato sauce or tomato-peanut sauce.
Wild boar in groundnut sauce is an exotic dish. Another exotic meat recipe is tiger fish with spring greens, tomato, onions and garlic.
Unlike commercial broiler chickens, village chickens are free-range and are much more flavorsome. These pieces are then seasoned and fried in oil in a large pot until brown. Then, other ingredients, like a large chopped onion, tomatoes, garlic, some paprika, and chili, are added as desired. Tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, and mixed spice seasoning can also be added for depth of flavor.
This appetizing dish is best served hot with nshima, rice, and vegetables or potatoes.
Personally, I don’t eat meat generally opting for beans or soya for my protein. Soya is a texturized soybean that is dried and mimics the texture and taste of meat, usually for much cheaper! However, in Zambia chicken or fish are the most common meat dishes. The local chickens are described as “village” chickens, scrawny birds with less meat than the breeds eaten stateside. Some volunteers prefer this chicken because of its tougher, heartier meat.
Depending on if the farmers in your village have fishponds or live by a river, much of the community might be eating fish most of the week. The most common types of fish I have seen at the market have been cisense (a small dried fish), kapenta, and apende. During celebration or a big meal you may eat a larger fish like tilapia.
Other Zambian Dishes
- Kapenta: Small, dried sardine-like fish that are fried with onions and tomatoes. Kapenta is a common relish accompanying nshima, especially in regions near Lake Tanganyika.
- Michopo: The dish features grilled beef, goat or chicken marinated with garlic chilli and a blend of vibrant African flavours, then cooked over an open flame for a smoky, charred perfection.
- Village Chicken: Traditionally cooked with minimal spices, this dish allows the natural taste of the chicken to shine. It is slow-cooked to perfection in a simple tomato-based sauce with garlic, onion and locally grown herbs.
- Ifinkubala: These protein-rich caterpillars are a delicacy in Zambia. Typically, they are soaked in hot water, then fried with onions and tomatoes, and served with nshima.
Unique Dining Experiences in Zambia
As African safari experts of many years standing at Discover Africa, we know that Zambia offers incredibly good value as a safari and wildlife vacation destination. It has some of the best luxury lodges in the world but also offers more affordable options like renting a 4×4 vehicle or camper.
From traditional home-cooked meals to luxury dining by the Zambezi, experience the vibrant flavors of Zambia like never before. Join guided food tours, dine with locals, savor gourmet delicacies, and immerse yourself in the country’s rich culinary heritage.
Hosts live in Lusaka and Livingstone in areas which are only a few minutes from town, but rarely visited by tourists. Having a local meal gives you a view into the everyday life of locals and enables these women to expand their incomes while doing what they all love: Cooking!
As a guest, you will eat home-cooked traditional Zambian foods that you rarely find in restaurants. Our hosts come from the various tribes of Zambia-Tonga, Bemba, Lunda, Ngoni, and more-and each one loves to cook meals that represent their cultural heritage. Every meal is different based on what is in season and fresh that day, and also what the host feels her guests will enjoy. We promise you an unforgettable meal and a new neighbor that you can call your friend.
New Soweto Market is a vibrant city market in downtown Lusaka. We offer a guided market tour, focused on food, followed by a traditional Zambian lunch at the first restaurant established in the market. You will learn about the diversity of Zambian foods, which are trucked in from all corners of Zambia and neighboring countries. You'll be surprised to learn how many foods are only prepared and eaten at homes, and never found on restaurant menus. You'll also see how seasonal foods are preserved for sale throughout the year. Trained local youths are your guides, promoting new income streams for youth in Zambia's tourism sector.
Table: Top 10 Zambian Foods
| Number | Dish | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nshima | Staple food made from maize flour, served with various stews and vegetables. |
| 2 | Ifisashi | Vegetable stew made with peanut sauce, tomatoes, and onions. |
| 3 | Chikanda | Vegetarian delicacy made from wild orchid tubers, ground peanuts, and spices. |
| 4 | Ifinkubala | Protein-rich caterpillars fried with onions and tomatoes. |
| 5 | Kapenta | Small, dried sardine-like fish fried with onions and tomatoes. |
| 6 | Tute ne Mbalala | Roasted cassava paired with groundnuts (peanuts). |
| 7 | Delele | Dish made from okra, cooked with tomatoes and sometimes flavored with baking soda. |
| 8 | Vitumbuwa | Deep-fried dough balls made from flour, sugar, and yeast. |
| 9 | Traditional Vegetables | Pumpkin leaves, cassava leaves, and Chinese cabbage cooked with groundnuts or tomatoes. |
| 10 | Golabjamoun with sweet potatoes | Dessert made from sweet potatoes boiled in sour milk. |
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