Valentine Cascarino
food
Although Mozambican cuisine is one of the most delicious in Africa, it nevertheless requires patience from patrons as most meals take about two to three hours to prepare. But it’s worth the wait if you want first-hand experience of a cuisine that goes beyond prawns peri-peri, entering a realm caught up between traditional medicine and deliciousness.
In the newly refurbished Portugalia Restaurant, run and managed by popular Mozambican singer Rosalia Mbo’a and her husband, I’m told it will take about three hours to prepare matapa, the most sought-after traditional dish in that country. Matapa is the Mozambican name for leaves from a cassava plant. The leaves, said to cure ailments such as stomach ulcers, are harvested fresh, pounded in a mortar until soft and then boiled for an hour. Peanuts or coconut are ground and the liquid extracted through a blender or grate and used as a soup to which the matapa is added. It is then cooked with fresh or dry prawns or shrimps and other ingredients such as onions, tomato, ginger, garlic and peri-peri. Beef or chicken can be substituted for the prawns or shrimps. Matapa is served with rice or boiled green banana.
There’s also cacana, a bitter medicinal herb that springs naturally from the soil after rainfall. Its leaves are also harvested fresh, squeezed and the bitter solution given to people suffering from high blood sugar. For a delicious meal, the leaves are washed, immersed in hot water for three minutes and then cooked with grated coconut or peanut, prawns or shrimps, oil and other ingredients. It is usually served with hot porridge.
Also on offer is galinha a peri-peri (or peri-peri chicken) and camarao grelhado peri-peri (or grilled shrimp peri-peri). Garlic, bay leaves, paprika and chiles (Capsicum spices) are mixed in a bowl to form a thick paste. Coconut milk is slowly added to the paste and stirred well. The chicken must be marinated in this mixture for 12 hours and the prawns and shrimps for three hours. Lemon juice, butter and olive oil are added to the marinade and brought to the boil. Some marinade is reserved as a dipping sauce. The mixture is used to baste the chicken. It is then grilled and served hot. Boiled cassava is a traditional accompaniment.
The restaurant is one of the most decent, cleanest and friendliest African restaurants in town, and is frequently visited by people of all races. It can accommodate up to 20 people. Orders should be made several hours ahead of time or even a day in advance.
The Portugalia Restaurant is situated at 62 Troye Street in central Johannesburg. Tel: 083 466 6471