Name: Morogo
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Botswana, Southern Africa
Ingredients: 500 g morogo or wild spinach, washed and chopped; 1 whole onion, chopped; 2 whole tomatoes, diced; 2 tbsp peanut powder; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tsp salt

Morogo

Traditional wild spinach greens cooked with tomatoes, onions, and peanut powder — a nutritious everyday dish that connects Batswana to their foraging heritage.

Country

Botswana

Region

Southern Africa

Time

35 min

Serves

Level

easy

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 meal. Plan on a easy cook and about 35 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Pap or bogobe and seswaa

Follow the collection

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

Regional lane

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

Chef watch-outs

Overcooking the greens until the color and texture collapse.
Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.

How you know it is ready

Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.

Sauté onion

Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.

Sauté onion 03:00

Add tomatoes

Add the diced tomatoes and cook until they break down into a sauce, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook tomatoes 05:00

Cook the greens

Add the chopped morogo to the pot. Stir well, cover, and cook for 10 minutes until the greens are tender and wilted, stirring occasionally.

Kitchen noteIf using regular spinach, reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes as it wilts faster.

Cook greens 10:00

Add peanut powder

Sprinkle the peanut powder over the greens and stir thoroughly. Cook for another 3 minutes to allow the peanut flavor to meld with the vegetables. Season with salt.

Kitchen noteThe peanut powder adds protein and a subtle nutty flavor that is characteristic of this dish.

Finish 03:00

Serve

Serve the morogo warm as a side dish alongside pap, bogobe, or seswaa.

Kitchen noteMorogo can also be dried and stored for months — rehydrate in water before cooking.

Morogo

What to know before you cook

See the dish before you cook

Build the table around Morogo

Step-by-step method

Morogo

What to know before you cook

See the dish before you cook

Build the table around Morogo

Step-by-step method

Cook around Morogo