Alternative names | Kinaka, Chinaka, Kikanda, African Polony, Zambian Polony, Zambian Sausage |
---|---|
Type | Snack, Dessert, Side dish |
Place of origin | Zambia |
Region or state | Southern Africa, East Africa |
Main ingredients | Orchid tubers, Groundnut meal, Baking soda or ash water, Spices |
Chikanda is a Zambian dish made from the boiled root tubers of terrestrial orchids also called chikanda. [1] [2] The dish is often called "African polony" because it has a texture that resembles bologna. [2] [3] Chikanda can be eaten as a snack, dessert, or an accompaniment to nshima, a maize flour porridge. [2]
Chikanda has been eaten for hundreds of years by people in parts of Zambia, northern Malawi, and southwestern Tanzania. [4] The dish is traditionally associated with the Bemba tribe in northeast Zambia, although it is eaten throughout Zambia today. [2] For the Bemba, it is an integral part of the culture and is served at special occasions such as weddings. [3] Originally a food in the setting of rural scarcity, it has now shifted to an urban trend. [3] [4] Now, chikanda can be found being sold by street vendors, supermarkets, and large restaurants as the urban population has an increased demand for this rural tradition. [3]
In Malawi, it is thought that eating the dish will protect against sickness. [5]
In southwestern Tanzania, a similar dish called kinaka in Kiswahili are eaten by the Nyamwanga, Nyika, Nyiha, Fipa, Lungu, and Ndali. [4]
There are many different species of orchids used, but primarily from the Disa , Habenaria , and Satyrium genera. [1] [4] Researchers determined that 16 orchid species in 6 genera are in the chikanda trade. [6] The orchid roots resemble the shape of an Irish potato but is smaller in size. [7] The ash water or baking soda with their high pH likely provides supplemental minerals and leads to the soapy taste and firm texture of chikanda. [8]
The tubers are dried and pounded. [2] Then, a mixture of the dried brown orchid meal and groundnut meal are boiled to form a slurry. [7] Dried chili peppers can also be added. [2] The slurry is thickened by soda, salted, and flavored with spices. [7] As it simmers, the slurry thickens into a cake and rises like dough. [7] It is usually served sliced. [2]
The orchid roots grow wild throughout Zambia. [7] However, due to the high demand, this had led to the present scarcity of the orchids in the country. [1] [3] Now, they are illegally imported from Tanzania, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, leading to the risk of overharvesting abroad. [1] [3] Traditional sustainability practices included only harvested tubers that have spread their seed and replanting stalks. [3] However, the locals have abandoned these practices due to increased demand. [3] The orchids are difficult to cultivate in captivity. [3] Current efforts for conservation focus on cultivating the threatened orchids. [3]
Cooking bananas are a group of starchy banana cultivars in the genus Musa whose fruits are generally used in cooking. They are not eaten raw and generally starchy. Many cooking bananas are referred to as plantains or 'green bananas'. In botanical usage, the term "plantain" is used only for true plantains, while other starchy cultivars used for cooking are called "cooking bananas". True plantains are cooking cultivars belonging to the AAB group, while cooking bananas are any cooking cultivar belonging to the AAB, AAA, ABB, or BBB groups. The currently accepted scientific name for all such cultivars in these groups is Musa × paradisiaca. Fe'i bananas from the Pacific Islands are often eaten roasted or boiled, and are thus informally referred to as "mountain plantains", but they do not belong to any of the species from which all modern banana cultivars are descended.
Tapioca is a starch extracted from the tubers of the cassava plant, a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America. It is a perennial shrub adapted to the hot conditions of tropical lowlands. Cassava copes better with poor soils than many other food plants.
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal, or it can be mixed with spices, meat, or vegetables to make a savoury dish. It is usually served hot in a bowl, depending on its consistency. Oat porridge, or oatmeal, is one of the most common types of porridge. Gruel is a thinner version of porridge and congee is a savoury variation of porridge of Asian origin.
Biltong is a form of dried, cured meat which originated in Southern African countries. Various types of meat are used to produce it, ranging from beef to game meats such as ostrich or kudu. The cut may also vary being either fillets of meat cut into strips following the grain of the muscle, or flat pieces sliced across the grain. It is related to beef jerky; both are spiced, dried meats; however the typical ingredients, taste, and production processes may differ.
Mămăligă is a polenta made out of yellow maize flour, traditional in Romania, Moldova, Hungary, south-west regions of Ukraine and among Poles in Ukraine, the Black Sea regions of Georgia and Turkey, and Thessaly and Phthiotis, as well as in Bulgaria (kacamak) and in Greece. It is traditional also in Italy, Switzerland, Southern France, Slovenia, Croatia, Brazil, with the name polenta.
Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multi-ethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.
Taro is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in African, Oceanic, East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cultures. Taro is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.
Chicharrón is a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or fried pork rinds. Chicharrón may also be made from chicken, mutton, or beef.
Ugali, also known as posho, nsima, papa, pap, sadza, isitshwala and other names, is a type of corn meal made from maize or corn flour in several African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, DRC, Malawi, Botswana and South Africa. It is cooked in boiling water or milk until it reaches a stiff or firm dough-like consistency. In 2017, the dish was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, one of a few foods in the list.
Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea that form edible tubers.
The cuisine of Botswana is unique but shares some characteristics with other cuisines of Southern Africa. Examples of Setswana food include pap, samp, vetkoek, bogobe and mophane worms. A food unique to Botswana is seswaa, salted mashed-up meat.
Lontong is an Indonesian dish made of compressed rice cake in the form of a cylinder wrapped inside a banana leaf, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Rice is rolled inside a banana leaf and boiled, then cut into small cakes as a staple food replacement for steamed rice. The texture is similar to that of ketupat, with the difference being that the ketupat container is made from woven janur fronds, while lontong uses banana leaf instead.
A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions where cassava is cultivated.
Ohn no khao swè is a Burmese dish consisting of wheat noodles in a curried chicken and coconut milk broth thickened with gram flour. It features wheat noodles in a rich broth made with curried chicken and coconut milk, thickened with gram flour. Crispy fried bean fritters, hard-boiled eggs, sliced raw onions, chili peppers, and crispy noodles are added to the dish. Fish sauce and lime or lemon juice are then drizzled over everything.
Treculia africana is a tree species in the genus Treculia which can be used as a food plant and for various other traditional uses. The fruits are hard and fibrous, can be the size of a volleyball and weight up to 8.5 kg (19 lb). Chimpanzees have been observed to use tools to break the fruits into small pieces that they can eat. The fruits contain polyphenols.
Malaysian Indian cuisine, or the cooking of the ethnic Indian communities in Malaysia, consists of adaptations of authentic dishes from India, as well as original creations inspired by the diverse food culture of Malaysia. Because the vast majority of Malaysia's Indian community are of South Indian descent, and are mostly ethnic Tamils who are descendants of immigrants from a historical region which consists of the modern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka's Northern Province, much of Malaysian Indian cuisine is predominantly South Indian inspired in character and taste. A typical Malaysian Indian dish is likely to be redolent with curry leaves, whole and powdered spice, and contains fresh coconut in various forms. Ghee is still widely used for cooking, although vegetable oils and refined palm oils are now commonplace in home kitchens. Before a meal it is customary to wash hands as cutlery is often not used while eating, with the exception of a serving spoon for each respective dish.
Northern Irish cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Northern Ireland. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but has also drawn heavily from Irish and British cuisines.
Dioscorea dumetorum, also known as the bitter yam, cluster yam, trifoliate yam, or three-leaved yam, is a species of flowering plant in the yam family, Dioscorea. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa and especially common in the tropical regions of West Africa, including Nigeria, Benin, and Ghana. D. dumetorum has both toxic and non-toxic varieties.
Zambian cuisine offers a range of dishes, which primarily features nshima, a staple thick porridge crafted from maize flour, locally known as mealie meal. Nshima itself is quite plain, but it is typically accompanied by an array of traditional Zambian side dishes that introduce a spectrum of flavors to the meal.