Mozambique | Stew

Matapa

Name: Matapa
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Mozambique, East Africa
Ingredients: 600 g cassava leaves, pounded or frozen and thawed; 1 large onion, chopped; 4 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 whole piri-piri chile, minced; 1 cup raw peanuts, ground fine; 400 ml coconut milk; 250 g shrimp, dried shrimp, or crab meat; 2 cups water; 1 whole lemon, juiced; salt, to taste

Mozambican matapa, pounded cassava leaves simmered with ground peanuts, coconut milk, garlic, piri-piri, and shrimp.

Country

Mozambique

Region

East Africa

Time

105 min

Serves

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 everyday meals. Plan on a medium cook and about 105 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

White rice, xima, grilled prawns, or piri-piri chicken

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Vegetarian Africa is the easiest collection to explore after this dish. Vegetarian Africa

Regional lane

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

Chef watch-outs

Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.

How you know it is ready

The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.

Chef board

Build the table around Matapa

White rice, xima, grilled prawns, or piri-piri chicken

Best route from here

Mozambique national table

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Servings 4

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

Ingredients

For 4 servings

Stew

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

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

Back to Mozambique

5 steps 30 min prep 75 min cook 105 min total medium

Start leaves

Put pounded cassava leaves, garlic, chile if using, and water in a pot. Simmer until the leaves begin to soften.

Cook leaves 30:00

Add peanut

Stir in ground peanuts and onion. Cook gently, stirring often so the peanut does not catch.

Cook peanut 20:00

Simmer creamy

Add coconut milk and continue simmering until the leaves are tender and the sauce is creamy.

Simmer matapa 20:00

Cook seafood

Add shrimp, dried shrimp, or crab and simmer until cooked through and absorbed into the sauce.

Cook seafood 10:00

Finish

Season with salt and lemon juice if using. Serve hot over rice or xima.

Every household has small variations. Start here, then adjust seasoning, heat, and serving sides to your kitchen.

Matapa

What to know before you cook

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Step-by-step method

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