Hungry for Nshima

August 2, 2017

In general, Zambians eat meals similar to those eaten in America. Most contain some kind of meat, a starch, and vegetables. The biggest difference is that meals are expected to be eaten by hand, without the use of utensils. The most important food in Zambia that is incorporated to every Zambian meal is nshima. Nshima is a staple in Zambia, and it is made simply by boiling water and mixing in white or yellow corn meal. It is affordable and easy to produce in large quantities. This is why when ordering nshima at a restaurant, one is usually given 3 large scoops of nshima, enough to require a plate separate from the rest of the meal. Nshima looks like mashed potatoes, and does not have much taste, but the reason it is so important is it is used to eat the other parts of the meal. You start by rolling the nshima into a ball in one hand, and then flattening it out a bit before using it to scoop up whatever you are eating. I had the opportunity to cook nshima for 60 kids at my service learning site. When talking about nshima, every Zambian will mention that it is “very filling” which makes it even more attractive to the members of a widely impoverished country.
There are a variety of Zambian restaurants on my street, but once the group got tired of nshima, we started planning group dinners a few times a week that we would cook in the small kitchen at our hostel. The kitchen leaves something to be desired. There are two working burners which take 30 minutes to boil water, and no microwave. However, we’ve made some delicious meals there. Each room decides on a meal they want to cook, and they make it for all 15 of us. We’ve made tacos, pasta, and vegetable stirfry so far. It’s the TAs’ turn to cook next!
I am ashamed to say that I am not the most adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. I was perfectly happy chowing down on chicken and nshima, but some other students decided to try something new. The most interesting food they tried was fried caterpillar, which they said was crunchy and enjoyable as long as they didn’t think about what they were eating. Other Zambian delicacies available at any market are dried fish and crickets. I think I’ll stick with nshima for now…

Written By

Maegan Cross

My name is Maegan, and I couldn't possibly be more excited to be embarking on this once-in-a-lifetime journey to Zambia with my peers and some truly incredible faculty members. I am a second year Politics, Philosophy, and Economics major with a minor in Human Services. My program on this DOC is Driving Social Change. Although I someday hope to work domestically in the fields of economic policy, income inequality, and human rights law, I know that this is going to be an invaluable experience for me because I will get hands-on experience in third-party intervention strategies. I, like so many other Northeastern students, want to work for the federal government so I can incite positive social change that will benefit the least-advantaged, oppressed, underrepresented members of our society. However, a huge factor in my ability to accomplish my goals is that I, as I am not myself a member of many of the populations I will be working to serve, am limited in my understanding of the needs of these people. This is why learning foreign intervention strategies is so important to me. My work developing programs for youths in a Zambian nonprofit will teach me best practice for understanding the needs of a community and implementing programs that will fulfill what the people need, not just what I, or any other person coming from a place of privilege, think they need. The skills I learn in Zambia will fuel my ability to advance the social and economic well-being of minority communities in my own country, and allow me to be the most positive ally I can possibly be.