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Zimbabwe Matemba

Dried Matemba (Kapenta) stew

Written by Published on in Fish, Meats
3-4 Servings ~ 20 minutes
  • 250g dried kapents
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • Oil for frying

Kapenta, in our vernacular matemba, are one of Zimbabwe’s traditional meals. There are many ways of preparing them from just having them fried, coated and this here version stewed. A lot of Zimbabwean families eat this, be it once in a long while, every week or once in a month or two! But you cannot deny it being part of our cuisine here. This is really a basic kapenta stew recipe and is pretty easy to do. Let’s get into it.

Quick Instructions

  1. Get your main ingredients ready which are chopped onion (1 medium onion), chopped tomato (1 large tomato) and your dried kapenta (250g). Soak your kapenta in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Make sure they are all immersed in the water. After 15 minutes, drain and pat dry your kapenta. Heat oil in pan and add the kapenta.
  2. Fry until browned up then add onions and curry powder (1 tsp). Stir and fry the onion and kapenta for about a minute. Add the tomatoes, stir, reduce heat and cover the pot for about 5 minutes to allow the tomatoes to get cooked.
  3. After 5 minutes, add a little of water. You may add soup powder at this point, if using, cover the pot again and let it simmer for another 3 minutes and your kapenta stew is ready to serve.
Also see  Boiled shelled peanuts (Nzungu dzakabikwa)

 

Pictorial Detailed Instructions

Step 1
Get your main ingredients ready which are chopped onion, chopped tomato (a) and your dried kapenta (b). Soak your kapenta in boiling water for about 15 minutes (C). Make sure they are all immersed in the water. After 15 minutes, drain and pat dry your kapenta. Heat oil in pan and add the kapenta (d).

 

Step 2
Fry until browned up (a) then add onions and curry powder (b). Stir and fry the onion and kapenta for about a minute. Add the tomatoes (c), stir, reduce heat and cover the pot for about 5 minutes to allow the tomatoes to get cooked (d).

 

Step 3
After 5 minutes (a), add a little of water (b). You may add soup powder at this point, if using, cover the pot again and let it simmer for another 3 minutes (c) and your kapenta stew is ready to serve (d).

 

Dried Matemba (Kapenta) stew
Dried Matemba (Kapenta) stew

 

 You can serve this with sadza (pap) and muriwo (leafy green vegetables). As you have seen, it also doesn’t take much in terms of preparation. Give it a go and let me know how it turns out.