The
Essence of.....Botswana
An exploration of the world through food and drink
Essence -ial Information
|
UK Tourist Office |
6 Stratford Place, London W1C 1AY |
|
Currency |
Pula |
|
Capital |
Gaborone |
|
Language |
Tswana |
|
Main Airlines |
No direct flights from UK |
|
Flying Time from UK |
12 hrs 40 mins |
|
Visa |
No |
PROFILE
Botswana is an African country dominated in geographical term by the Kalahari Desert. Botswana is bordered by Zambia and Zimbabwe to the northeast, Namibia to the north and west, and South Africa to the south and southeast. Due to the fact that Botswana is an equatorial country the most important dishes are vegetables and fruits. Talking of any one 'native cuisine' in Botswana is misleading, as what a person eats is dependent on where they live and what ethnic group they belong to.
Botswana is unique but also shares some characteristics with other cuisine of Southern Africa. Examples of Botswana food include Pap, Samp, Vetkoek and Mopane worms. A food unique to Botswana includes Seswaai, heavily salted mashed-up meat.
Wheat and rice and other kinds of cereals not grown locally are imported. Lots of different kinds of beans are grown, including cow peas, ditloo, and letlhodi. Peanuts (groundnuts) are also grown. Many vegetables are grown, such as spinach, carrots, cabbage, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and lettuce.
Favourite meats in Botswana are beef, lamb,goat and Chicken. Sorghum is the staple starch. Breads are oven baked and deep fried. Vegetables, fresh and cooked, are of infinite variety, fruits are peeled and cut in small slices for dessert, but the Botswana people also love sweets and every housewife knows how to make Custard.
Seswaa or Chotlho is a very popular traditional meat dish made for most special occasions. It is usually cooked by men in a three-legged iron pot, simmered until soft, with only salt and water. Another popular dish is Serobe: the intestines and some inside parts of goat, sheep or cow are cooked until soft.
Like most countries in the region, Botswana has two distinct beer types: clear and opaque. Most visitors and more affluent people in Botswana drink the clear beers, which are similar to European lagers and always served chilled. Castle and Lion are the lagers brewed by South African Breweries' subsidiary here. The less affluent residents will usually opt for some form of the opaque beer (sometimes called Chibuku, after the market-leading brand) – though as a visitor you'll have to really make an effort to seek this out.