🇧🇼Botswana, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, has a landscape defined by the Kalahari Desert and the Okavango Delta, which becomes a lush animal habitat during the seasonal floods. The massive Central Kalahari Game Reserve, with its fossilized river valleys and undulating grasslands, is home to numerous animals including giraffes, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs.
🇧🇼Food-Beef is the most popular meat, followed by goat meat. River fish are also part of Botswana cuisine. Sorghum and maize are the main crops grown in Botswana.
🇧🇼☕️Most coffee farming in Botswana has been done in the Pandamatenga village located in the Chobe region to the northeast of the country. Pandamatenga hosts mineral-rich “black cotton soils” for crop production.
🇧🇼Since its independence in 1966, Botswana has been able to make great economic and social strides under stable political conditions. But over the last 15 years, development has slowed down. Growing social inequality, high unemployment and stagnant poverty are increasing challenges.
🇧🇼The national dish of Botswana is called Seswaa. This consists of a meat stew served over thick polenta or pap. The stew is made by boiling meat with onion and pepper. Adding anything else is considered an infringement.
🇧🇼Botswana Literacy Rate is 86.82% -just a reminder the USA literacy rate is 79%.
🇧🇼🧳✈️Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution for travel
Exercise increased caution in Botswana due to crime. Country Summary: Crimes of opportunity, primarily the theft of money and personal property, are common in Botswana.
I read such wonderful books from the library for this month’s Food and Lit.
I even watched some lovely nonfiction videos.
Seswaa
Ingredients:
• 450g or 15oz beef
• 1 large onion, chopped coarsely
• salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon flour
Method:
1. Into a large pot, place the beef, onion and salt.
2. Cover the ingredients to a height of 2 inches above the meat with water.
3. Turn burner to medium and cook the dish for 2-2½ hours until the meat is soft. Add more water when it cooks down, to just cover the meat until the last 15-20 minutes and then let it cook further down.
4. Remove from fire and drain, save the liquid to use for gravy.
5. Put the meat into a sturdy and clean plastic bag (otherwise, you’ll get meat bits all over your kitchen), place bag on a clean counter or wooden board.
6. Now the fun part! Pound the meat with a meat mallet or pestle until it is flattened and flaky. Remove the bones, if there are any.
7. Put it all back in the pot and simmer to reduce the liquid. Add about a tablespoon of flour, mix it in well, to thicken it. Season to taste.
8. Serve the dish with cooked vegetables and Bogobe (recipes below).
Traditional Cabbage and Carrot
Ingredients:
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
½ onion, shredded as if it were coleslaw
1 carrot, shredded
1 teaspoon each of ginger, thyme, and dried chillies (crushed)
1 small head of cabbage, shredded
vegetable oil, for frying
Method:
1. Heat a frying pan and add frying oil, then heat the oil.
2. Fry the tomato and onion for 5 minutes.
3. Add the seasonings and stir.
4. Add carrot and stir, then add shredded cabbage and stir again to mix.
5. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for a few minutes, half covered, until cabbage is soft but not discolored.
6. Serve with Seswaa and Bogobe (recipe below).
Bogobe
Ingredients:
750g or about 26oz of cornmeal or sorghum flour
1½ – 2 litres of water
Method:
This one you can vary depending on how much you want to make.
1. Basically, all you do is boil water, and add the corn or sorghum meal, and stir frequently.
2. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently until it reaches the desired stiffness, not too runny, but not too dry. Serve topped with Seswaa.
