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Umngqusho (Samp and Sugar Beans)
Creamy samp and tender sugar beans are gently simmered with aromatic spices, onions, and rich butter to create an iconic Xhosa staple.
The story
Umngqusho is the quintessential comfort food of the Xhosa people of the Eastern Cape, frequently prepared for Sunday family gatherings and major celebratory feasts. Revered across South Africa as Nelson Mandela's favourite meal, it relies on slow-simmered stamped white maize and speckled sugar beans. Traditionally cooked in a heavy three-legged cast-iron potjie over open coals, the starch must naturally break down without violent boiling to yield a velvety, rich texture without bruising the beans.
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