Zimbabwe | Stew

Mazondo

Zimbabwean ox trotters slow-cooked with onion, tomato, garlic, and spices until gelatin-rich and tender.

Country
Zimbabwe
Region
Southern Africa
Time
205 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 weekend meals, beerhall-style plates, and cold-weather comfort.. Plan on a medium cook and about 205 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Sadza, muriwo, cabbage, or chili.

Regional lane

Zimbabwe national table. A structured Zimbabwe 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 Mazondo

Sadza, muriwo, cabbage, or chili.

Best route from here

Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe
4 steps 25 min prep 180 min cook 205 min total medium
1
Simmer trotters
Boil trotters in water until very tender, skimming as needed.
simmer 130:00
2
Cook base
Cook onion, garlic, tomatoes, curry powder, oil, salt, and pepper into a gravy.
base 15:00
3
Combine
Add tender trotters and some cooking liquid to the gravy.
combine 20:00
4
Reduce
Simmer until glossy and sticky.
reduce 15:00

Some cooks keep mazondo very plain with salt, while others add tomatoes, curry powder, or a richer gravy.

Keep exploring

Cook around Mazondo

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

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