Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
A typical sadza dish served here with chicken and vegetables. Jackfish fresh from the sea. - Contributed Photos
This week, our ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 adventure takes us across the continent to Zimbabwe and back in the region to St. Vincent & The Grenadines to sample their national dishes.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be one of the host countries and we find out about their 'fishy' national dish. Plus, Zimbabwe's very starchy national dish is on show.
Sadza is a cooked pulverised grain meal that is the staple food in Zimbabwe.
Sadza in appearance is a thickened porridge. The most common form of sadza is made with white maize. Despite the fact that maize is actually an imported food crop to Zimbabwe, it has become the chief source of carbohydrate and the most popular meal for indigenous people.
The sadza is usually served in a communal pot and is taken with the right hand, rolled into balls, and dipped into sauce, gravy, or stewed vegetables.
Breadfruit and jackfish
Breadfruit came to our shores in 1793 courtesy of Captain Bligh as a staple intended for slaves. Indeed, St. Vincent was the first Caribbean country where it was introduced. If you were to pay a visit to the Botanical Gardens in Kingstown you would see a sucker from the original tree that Captain Bligh planted.
In St. Vincent, the breadfruit holds pride of place. So much so that roast breadfruit and jackfish or saltfish is the national dish. While it is reported that the slaves apparently did not take a liking to breadfruit, their descendants are now singing its praises
http://en.wikipedia.org and http://hairoun.blogspot.com
Baked breadfruit and jackfish
INGREDIENTS
50 g butter
50g smoked bacon cut into strips
6 spring onions, sliced
1 tbs. curry powder
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 sprig thyme
Half scotch bonnet pepper, chopped
1 decilitre coconut cream
2 decilitres coconut milk
600g jack fish cut into cubes; all bone and skin
Salt and pepper
METHOD
1. Bake the breadfruit at 180° Celsius in the oven until soft. Test with a needle.
2. Cut off a thin slice from the bottom so it stands straight. Take off a four centimetre slice from the top and remove the core. Keep warm.
3. Add a little butter to the pan. Add the bacon and fry gently until crisp.
4. Add the spring onions and scotch bonnet pepper and sweat for a further minute. Add the fish and season with salt and pepper.
5. Dust with the curry powder. Add the coconut cream, coconut milk and tomatoes. Simmer gently until the fish is cooked.
6. Adjust seasoning. Fill the hot breadfruits.
Information sourced from www.congocookbook.com and http://recipes.chef2chef.net
Sadza
Ingredients
Four to six cups corn flour, white cornmeal or ground maize.
Water
METHOD
1. In a large pot, bring four cups of water to a boil.
2. Remove about a quarter of the corn flour and set it aside. Place the remaining corn flour in a large bowl.
3. Mix the corn flour with four cups of cold water. Stir until the flour-water mixture is a thick paste.
4. Slowly add the paste to the boiling water, stirring constantly.
5. Bring to a second boil, stirring constantly while the mixture thickens. Do not allow lumps to form and do not allow it to stick to the bottom of the pot. Cook and stir for a few minutes.
6. Slowly add the remaining flour. The mixture should be very thick and smooth, like extra-thick mashed potatoes. At this point, the sadza should begin to pull away from the sides of the pot and form a large ball. Cook for a few minutes more.
7. Transfer the sadza to a large bowl. With wet hands, form the sadza into one large ball (to serve family-style) or serving sized-portions. Serve immediately with any soup or stew.
