Exotic Africa: Grilled hanga

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Today is December 3 and only 21 days left before Christmas. Surely, where does time go? It seems like a few weeks ago when we had our Christmas series and we baked Xmas cakes, made turkey and cooked other delicacies.

Today is December 3 and only 21 days left before Christmas. Surely, where does time go? It seems like a few weeks ago when we had our Christmas series and we baked Xmas cakes, made turkey and cooked other delicacies.

By Edith

This year let’s take on a rather Zimbabwean Christmas and see what local and traditional dishes we can make up this festive season. It is my prayer that this is going to be a Christmas different from the others we have had over the last couple of years. It is my prayer too that we will maintain the peace and stability we have had over the last couple of weeks. On to cooking.

This week, I want to talk about a least-eaten bird, which is coming up a bit slowly in popularity. A number of traditional restaurants often feature this bird on their menu and those who have dared to try it, speak of its good taste and especially the fact that it is lean on fat.

It is predominantly a wild bird but it is becoming domesticated because people have realised its value and some are rearing it for commercial purposes.

I remember growing up on a farm in Chegutu and we would have a number of these birds once in a while. As a young girl, I didn’t appreciate the taste because I preferred the regular broiler chicken or perhaps it was how my mother made it.

So what bird am I talking about today? I am talking about the guinea fowl. Known in Shona as hanga or in IsiNdebele as ithendele. Guinea fowl meat is low in cholesterol and high in protein. It is a great source of Vitamin B6, niacin and selenium.

I hope you will be able to make this this for your Christmas dinner or you can make it before. why wait to enjoy life on December 25 when you can enjoy it today?

Grilled hanga

Ingredients:

l1,2kg guinea fowl

l3 cloves garlic

l2 sprigs rosemary

lBlack pepper

lSalt to taste

lOlive oil

Method:

Clean and pat dry your bird. You can cut it up if you like or you can roast it as a whole bird. If you are roasting it as a whole bird, mix some olive oil, salt, black pepper and the leaves of one sprig of rosemary and rub over the guinea fowl.

Pop the whole clove and one sprig of rosemary into the inside of the bird. Add salt and black pepper. grill in the oven for about 45 minutes or until done. This cooks rather fast as it is a rather small bird. Enjoy with sadza remhunga and creamed spinach.