Sadza

Sadza is a stiff porridge of maize meal, the staple starch eaten by hand with relishes in Zimbabwe. It is the everyday centre of a Zimbabwean meal, served beside a meat, fish or vegetable relish that carries most of the flavour. Similar stiff maize porridges, such as nshima in Zambia and ugali in Kenya and Tanzania, are eaten across the region.

What it really is

Maize meal, usually refined white meal sold as mealie meal, is stirred into boiling water a little at a time. The mixture is cooked and stirred hard until it pulls away from the sides of the pot and sets into a smooth, firm mass. Sadza needs only maize meal, water and salt, and its texture depends on the ratio of meal to water and on how well it is stirred.

Sadza has little taste of its own, so the relish supplies the flavour. The texture is firm enough to hold in the hand, which is why it is eaten this way.

How it's served

• Hot, shaped into a mound or ball on the plate, with the relish served alongside.
• Eaten by hand: a small piece is pinched off, pressed with the thumb to make a hollow, and used to scoop up the relish.
• Served with a relish of beef or chicken, dried fish, or leafy greens.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the dish as sadza, made from maize meal, and name the relish that comes with it, such as beef, chicken, dried fish or greens.
• Maize is not on the declarable allergen list, but flag peanuts in groundnut relishes, and milk, butter or fish in any relish that contains them.
• Say what the relish is made with, because it decides which dietary needs the plate meets.
• State the portion by weight or by bowl, since the stiffness of sadza varies from kitchen to kitchen.