Swazi Cuisine

Swazi cuisine is hearty, wholesome staple food shaped by the land and by tradition, closely related to the wider cooking of southern Africa and built on maize, sorghum, vegetables, meat and dairy. The everyday staple is a stiff maize porridge, or pap, and the softer sishwala, eaten with the hands and served with relishes of stewed meat, beans and cooked leafy greens. A cherished traditional food is emasi, thick, tangy fermented sour milk, often eaten with pap or dry porridge. Seasonal wild foods, grilled meat and, at gatherings, the home-brewed sorghum beer complete a simple, communal diet shared with the famous warmth of the Swazi people.

What you actually see

• Pap and sishwala - the maize staples with relishes.
• Emasi - the tangy fermented sour milk.
• The stewed meat and greens - the everyday relishes.
• The grilled meat - the barbecued meat at gatherings.

When to go

Year-round; local markets and simple eateries serve the hearty staples, and a meal shared at a homestead offers the warmest introduction to Swazi food and hospitality. Grilled meat and home-brewed sorghum beer feature at social gatherings, while the great cultural ceremonies bring their own communal feasting.

Honest expectations

Swazi food is simple, filling and maize-heavy, sharing much with the wider southern African diet, so its appeal is honest, wholesome staple cooking and the communal, hospitable way it is shared rather than variety or refinement; the fermented emasi sour milk is an acquired taste. Enjoyed with the genuine warmth of Swazi hospitality, though, a hearty meal of pap, stew and greens is an authentic and satisfying taste of everyday life in the kingdom.

Nearby

Mbabane, Manzini and the homesteads and markets across the country are the places.