Mogodu

Mogodu is beef tripe stewed slowly with onion and tomato, a traditional Tswana dish from Botswana. Tripe is the stomach lining of cattle, an inexpensive cut that needs long, gentle cooking to become tender. Mogodu is one way Botswana cooks it, and the dish is known by its Tswana name rather than an English one.

What it really is

Beef tripe is cleaned, cut into pieces and simmered in water until it softens. Onion, tomato, garlic and salt go into the pot, and the liquid cooks down into a sauce around the meat. The seasoning is simple and built on those four ingredients. Because tripe is firm and chewy, the long cooking time is what makes it tender, and that patience is the main skill in the dish.

How it's served

• Hot, as a main course, with the tripe and its sauce served together.
• With a thick porridge such as bogobe or pap, eaten alongside to soak up the sauce.
• Kept warm for service, as stews are, and it reheats well.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the protein in the dish name or description, for example "Mogodu, beef tripe stewed with onion and tomato", since many guests do not know tripe is offal.
• The classic recipe has no common allergen. Ask the kitchen whether the stock, seasoning mix or any thickener contains wheat, milk, celery or mustard, and flag the porridge separately if it is sold with the stew.
• State the portion weight in grams and whether porridge is included in the price.
• Write the local name first and the English description after it, so guests can search for either.