Southern Africa · Street food
Gwenya (Pan-Roasted Salted Pumpkin Seeds)
Crispy, crackling, pan-roasted whole pumpkin seeds seasoned with wood-ash sea salt and fiery peri-peri.
The story
In communal farming areas throughout rural Zimbabwe, gwenya is prepared immediately following the autumn pumpkin (nhanga) harvest as a nutritious afternoon snack. Women and children harvest the wet seeds, brine-soak them, and roast them in large communal cast-iron pans (magango) over open wood fires during storytelling circles. A critical traditional step involves parboiling the seeds in salted water before dry-roasting, which expands the inner kernel and makes the tough, fibrous outer husk brittle and delightfully edible.
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