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Matapa

adapted from Fred Stowe's kitchen and Friederich Hospitality Foundation


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(this recipe was awful... waiting for Fred's)
Apart from seafood, Mozambique’s signature dish is Matapa. This shrimp stew is especially popular in the south where shrimp are plentiful and inexpensive. The basis of Matapa is cassava leaves cooked in peanut sauce and coconut milk. It is hearty, slightly sweet (from the coconut and prawns) and has a distinct flavour found nowhere else, from the cassava leaves.

Ingredients

  • 2 Onion, chopped

  • 5 cloves Garlic

  • 3 Red Chillis

  • 4 Tomatoes, chopped

  • 500g Spinach (traditionally made with fresh, young cassava leaves)

  • 600-700g Seafood

  • 500g ground Peanuts

  • 800ml Coconut Milk

  • 500ml Chicken Stock

  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. Chop garlic, spinach and chillis in a food processor.

  2. Put the chopped ingredients in a pot with the chicken stock.

  3. Cook on low heat for about 30 minutes until most of the water has evaporated.

  4. Add the diced tomatoes and onion and mix well and keep cooking.

  5. Grind the peanuts to a coarse powder in a food processor.

  6. Once ground, add a little warm water and keep processing until you get a creamy consistency.

  7. Add the peanut sauce to the pot and continue cooking for about 45 minutes. Add a little water if required so that the matapa does not dry out.

  8. Add the coconut milk and continue cooking on low heat for about 45 minutes.

  9. Add the seafood and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes depending on size.

  10. Season with salt.

  11. Serve with white rice or chima (also xima, corn porridge).

Notes

© 2025. Feel free to use any of these... if you invite us to the tasting!

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