Southern Africa · Side
Umbidvo Wetintsanga (Pumpkin Greens in Ground Peanut Paste)
Silky, tender young pumpkin leaves simmered in a nutty, creamy freshly roasted groundnut paste seasoned delicately with sea salt.
The story
Ubiquitous in rural Swati homesteads across the Shiselweni and Hhohho regions, umbidvo wetintsanga is prepared daily during the summer agricultural season using tender shoots plucked directly from pumpkin patches. It is eaten as an indispensable nutrient-dense side accompaniment to steaming bowls of liphalishi or fermented incwancwa porridge. A crucial traditional rule is peeling the fibrous, bristly outer filaments from the leaf stems before chopping, which allows the pounded peanut fats to fully tenderize the greens.
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