Dinner

Lilly and Felismina made a traditional Mozambique dinner yesterday. Preparations began a few days before hand as one of the ingredients involved fermentation of, I think, a grain. The day prior while we were at the market, Lilly picked pumpkin leaves, some greens that looked like chard to me, some ground peanut, and other ingredients. Of course, she did all the negotiating in Portuguese, and along the way she was also learning the Rongan (sp?) words for things. It is one of the local African languages, and she wants to pick that up as well. I just watched in awe.

I had opportunity to watch in awe once again during dinner preparation on the day of as well.

The coconut milk did not come from a carton, rather from those round things that grow on trees. It turns out there is a specialized tool specifically for grating the meat out of the shell.

It is a sort of metal spur attached to a stool, and it was not an easy task.  My job was to watch and take photos, and get in the way from time to time. Tough, I know, but someone had to do it.

There were three dishes in the end, one that resembled polenta in its consistency, but very white, and more flavorful than polenta. I think it's called sheema, but I'm hoping Lilly will correct/expand on this. One of the other dishes included the pumpkin leaves, and one the chard, plus several other ingredients. Both had coconut milk in them, both were very good.  The cooking process is part of the whole experience.