mozambican leafy greens in coconut and peanut sauces

Mozambicans in Maputo are the most vegetable-aware Africans I have met: they would tell me all about the nutritional value of eating and cooking them while learning in Mercado Janeta, and leafy greens are a staple in the local diet (a friend told me that many people are actually forced to become quasi-vegetarians, because they can’t afford to purchase more than salads and bread for meals).

I found five main leafy greens available in Maputo markets (and from street vendors selling small piles of fruits and veggies): Nhangana, which grow from planted vigna beans (and are appropriately known as bean leaves in other African countries); folhas de abobora, which are pumpkin leaves, and must have the strings (like celery) pulled off of the stems before preparing; ‘tseka’, a light leaf that loses a lot of volume (like spinach) and is often prepared with a touch of oil (all the others are usually cooked with steam and sauce); kakana, a small, very bitter leaf; and mandioca (cassava) leaves, which are pounded into a paste and used to make matapa (another famous Mozambican dish that I’ll post another time).

Locals will always use a particular leaf with a particular preparation (and the dishes are referred to by the name of the leaf): abobora or tseka with tomatoes, kakana or nhangana with coconut milk. After learning to cook in the market, I would go home and prepare the dishes for friends, sometimes adding some meat (sauteed with onions to start, then following either of the recipes below) or seafood in mozambican marinade (adding the shrimp and calamari to the tomato/peanut recipe for the last few minutes of cooking). They loved the adaptations (including my teachers back at the market), and never complained or noticed when I used the wrong leaf/sauce combination (they would, by contrast, give me an earful for breaking with tradition if I suggested switching leaves/sauces while learning in the market).

I’ve also had similar dishes in other African countries using different leaves, so I recommend using whatever leafy green you can get your hands on (for me, it is most often some form of spinach).

One of the greatest skills of African cooks is their ability to slice and chop with no surface to cut on: they do almost everything with their hands, from meat to diced tomatoes and onions, to the leafy greens in this recipe. It’s hard to appreciate just how skilled these women are with words, so I’ve included a short video demonstrating their method of cutting greens into thin pieces (they make it look easy, but I cut my hand trying, and am still extremely slow at it):

Another thing to mention about peanuts: Mozambicans use unroasted peanuts, pounded with a large mortar and pestle into a powder, which is traditionally added to the sauces. To make it easier to reproduce the recipes in countries where fresh peanuts are not common, I’ve tested the recipes with unsweetened peanut butter: it is still very good, though it gives the tomato recipe a bit of a West/Central African flavour (where roasted peanuts are often ground into a paste for cooking, with a texture similar to peanut butter).

Leafy greens in coconut/peanut sauce

Leafy greens (like spinach) cut into thin strips (on a cutting board works fine!), thinly sliced white onions, salt, coconut milk, a bit of peanut butter

– rinse greens well in a bowl of water, drain by lifting leaves out with hands (don’t squeeze them, the excess water will steam them), and place in a dry pot on medium heat
– add a bit of salt, cover until leaves steam/fall
– drain water, cover leaves in fresh coconut milk
– add onions, a bit of peanut butter (or pounded fresh peanut powder if you have it), leave uncovered, allowing it to simmer and reduce, stirring often (Mozambicans will usually cook it for a long time, up to one hour, which turns the vegetables into a tasty, soft, mushy texture; I tend to cook for less time, so the vegetable retain some of their form and texture)

Leafy greens in tomato/peanut sauce

Leafy greens (like spinach) cut into thin strips, thinly sliced onions, peeled tomato chunks, salt, peanut butter (or fresh pounded peanut powder), hot water

– rinse and drain leaves with hands (do not squeeze them), place in dry pot on medium heat
– cover leaves with salt, onions, tomatoes, cover to cook until leaves fall
– add peanut, mix together, leave to cook a few minutes
– add hot water, leave to boil and thicken to desired tenderness

Both of these dishes are delicious with rice, which soaks up the flavour.

Enjoy!!