Chikanda recipe

A sliceable 'African polony' with no meat in it: dried wild orchid tubers and pounded groundnuts boiled with soda until they set into a firm loaf.

2 hours and 15 minutesmedium6 ingredients

Ingredients

• 120 g dried orchid tuber powder
• 360 g groundnuts
• 750 ml water
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried chilli

How to make Chikanda

1. Chikanda is the dried, pounded tuber of wild Disa, Habenaria and Satyrium orchids; outside Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania it is practically unobtainable, and cassava or arrowroot flour give a different dish.
2. Pound or grind 360 g raw shelled groundnuts to a fine powder and work in a little water to make a paste.
3. Bring 750 ml water to the boil in a heavy pot and stir in the groundnut paste, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp crushed dried chilli.
4. Sprinkle in 120 g orchid powder a little at a time, stirring hard with a wooden stick so no lumps form.
5. Keep stirring over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the mass thickens like stiff nshima and no longer sticks to the stick.
6. Smooth the top, cover, lower the heat and cook 30 minutes more; traditionally hot coals are set on the lid to brown the top.
7. Let it cool completely in the pot, turn it out onto a plate and cut into slices; eat as a snack or with nshima.

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