Mozambique | Stew

Matapa

Matapa is a stew with cassava leaves, peanut, coconut, and seafood. Serve

Country
Mozambique
Region
East Africa
Time
95 min
Serves
6
Level
medium
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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Use this overview to check the occasion, serving ideas, regional context, and cooking commitment before you begin.

When to cook it

Best for family meals, weekend cooking, and country cooking.. Plan on a medium cook and about 95 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

xima or rice

Regional lane

Mozambique national table. A structured Mozambique dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs
  • Adding too much liquid after the rice goes in.
  • Stirring too often once the grains should be steaming.
  • Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
How you know it is ready
  • The grains should be tender but still distinct, with steam carrying the seasoning upward.
  • The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Chef board

Build the table around Matapa

xima or rice

Best route from here

Mozambique national table

Collections to keep cooking
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Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Mozambique
4 steps 25 min prep 70 min cook 95 min total medium
1
Cook greens
Simmer cassava leaves until softened and safe to eat.
greens 30:00
2
Build sauce
Cook onion, tomato, oil, and chili into a thick base.
base 12:00
3
Enrich
Add peanut, coconut, and seafood and ground peanuts or coconut, then simmer into the greens.
simmer 18:00
4
Finish
Season and serve with xima or rice.
finish 05:00

Matapa changes by household and market. Keep the main ingredient and seasoning balance, then adjust heat, liquid, or starch for your table.

Keep exploring

Cook around Matapa

Follow country, category, collection, time, and pairing paths without turning the recipe page into a link farm.

Mozambique Stew Matapa Mozambican matapa, pounded cassava leaves simmered with ground peanuts, coconut milk, garlic, piri-piri, and shrimp. Time105 min ServingsServes 4 DifficultyMedium DietGluten Free RegionEast Africa Open recipe Mozambique Dessert Bolo Polana Bolo Polana is a dessert with cashew nuts and potato, citrus and vanilla. Serve Time75 min ServingsServes 6 DifficultyMedium DietDairy Free RegionEast Africa Open recipe Mozambique Snack Badjia Badjia is a snack with black-eyed pea paste, onion and chili. Serve Time50 min ServingsServes 6 DifficultyEasy DietDairy Free RegionEast Africa Open recipe Mozambique Main dish Caril de Camarao Mozambican caril de camarão, prawns simmered briefly in coconut milk, tomato, curry spice, garlic, ginger, and piri-piri. Time50 min ServingsServes 4 DifficultyEasy DietGluten Free RegionEast Africa Open recipe
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