A FOOD TRADITION
Zulu cuisine
Zulu cuisine is associated especially with KwaZulu-Natal and Zulu-speaking communities, while also participating in wider southern African foodways. Maize meal, sorghum, beans, pumpkins, leafy vegetables, amadumbe, fermented milk, and meat are important ingredients. Common techniques include boiling grains and legumes, steaming maize mixtures or breads, fermenting grain and milk, and grilling or stewing meat over wood fires. Recognizable examples include isijingi, a maize-and-pumpkin preparation; ujeqe, a steamed bread; and dishes of amadumbe served with relishes or stews. The tradition includes both household food and ceremonial cooking, with considerable variation between rural, urban, and coastal settings.
Dishes linked to this cuisine
1–5 of 5
Braaivleis
Braaivleis is a Southern African open-fire grilling tradition involving meat such as beef, lamb, or pork; it is widely practiced in Namibia as well as elsewhere in the region.
Mogodu
A traditional South African tripe stew in which cleaned beef offal is simmered with onion, tomato and seasoning until tender.
Pap
Pap is a cooked South African maize-meal porridge served soft or stiff, commonly as a staple accompaniment to savory foods.
Uphutu
A crumbly Zulu maize-meal porridge commonly paired with amasi, beans or cabbage.
Walkie-talkies
A South African street food of seasoned chicken feet and chicken heads that are boiled, stewed or grilled until tender.
Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.