Name: Seswaa
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 195 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Botswana, Southern Africa
Ingredients: 1½ kg beef shin or chuck, bone-in, cut into large pieces; 1 whole onion, quartered; 2 tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper, ground; 2 litres water

Seswaa

Botswana's national dish: beef slow-boiled until falling apart, then shredded and pounded to a tender pulled-meat texture with simple salt-forward seasoning.

Country

Botswana

Region

Southern Africa

Time

195 min

Serves

Level

easy

What to know before you cook

Seswaa is the pride of Botswana, served at weddings, funerals, national celebrations, and important family gatherings. The traditional heart of the dish is restrained: meat, water, salt, and patient cooking, with some home versions adding onion or pepper. The simplicity lets Botswana's beef or goat shine.

What the dish tastes like

Botswana's national dish: beef slow-boiled until falling apart, then shredded and pounded to a tender pulled-meat texture with simple salt-forward seasoning.

When to cook it

Best for Celebrations and weddings, with a easy cooking level and about 195 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Bogobe (sorghum porridge) or pap

Regional lane

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

Chef watch-outs

Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.
Cooking on heat that is too high once the dish should be steaming or simmering.

How you know it is ready

The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
The final texture should match the dish style before you plate it.

Boil the meat

Place the beef pieces and quartered onion in a large heavy pot. Add enough water to cover the meat by about 5cm. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Bone-in cuts give the broth more flavor and body.

Bring to boil 10:00

Skim and simmer

Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for about 3 hours until the meat is completely tender and falling off the bone.

Check occasionally and add more water if the level drops below the meat.

Slow simmer 180:00

Remove bones

Remove the meat from the pot and discard all bones. Reserve the cooking broth. Place the meat on a large wooden board or in a mortar.

Pound and shred

Using two forks or a wooden pestle, pound and shred the meat until it has a fine, pulled texture. Season with salt and pepper.

Traditionally this is done with a wooden pole in the pot itself — the pounding action is what gives seswaa its name.

Moisten and serve

Return the shredded meat to the pot and add a few ladles of the reserved broth to keep it moist. Heat through and serve with bogobe, pap, or dumplings.

The cooking broth is precious — serve some on the side as a gravy.

Seswaa

What to know before you cook

See the dish before you cook

Build the table around Seswaa

Step-by-step method

Seswaa

What to know before you cook

See the dish before you cook

Build the table around Seswaa

Step-by-step method

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