What to eat Namibia? culinary specialties and gastronomy

The oldest human presence in Namibia dates back more than 25,000 years and the country has always been a patchwork of different tribes that have developed over the millennia various specialties mixing local products from southern Africa and the ingredients gradually imported by European settlers. Among the Ovambo, who represent almost half of the Namibian population, the daily dish is maize or millet porridge, served with pieces of meat or freshwater fish. From millet, the Owambo also prepare soup.
The Himba, a pastoralist people, readily consume dairy products (curdled milk carried in calabashes and butter), whereas the formerly hunter-gatherer peoples (Bergdamara, San, etc.) have a more diversified diet containing a variety of foods.) have a more diversified diet containing until recently many foods found directly in the deserts and savannahs (tubers, wild onions, nuts, berries, game, ostrich eggs), although many are increasingly consuming grocery store products (packet soup, corn meal, etc.).
Some of these foods may seem a little disconcerting, such as the mopane worm. This large caterpillar comes from a species of butterfly from southern Africa. Smoked, dried or in sauce, they are traditionally considered a delicacy for many communities in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. While these mopane worms or omagungu may not be to the taste of our western palates, they are nevertheless a valuable food in Southern Africa, as they are very rich in protein, iron and calcium. Perfect for a hypernutritious meal, provided you overcome the psychological barrier. You can find them in markets and sometimes in some traditional restaurants.
Namibia was colonized by the German Empire between 1884 and 1915. Although the colonial presence was very limited and focused on a few coastal towns, the German influence can be found in some recipes and in particular in the tasty desserts that can still be found in the country. Between 1915 and 1990, South Africa controlled the country, which explains why many Afrikaner specialties are eaten.
At mealtime, the meat is usually accompanied by vegetables such as white or green beans, squash, spinach, not forgetting the gem squash, a small round squash, stuffed with a knob of butter or cheese before being cooked over a wood fire in aluminum foil. The quality of Namibian meat is excellent. Game, cooked as steak, in sauce in the potjie (traditional cast iron pot), over a wood fire or on the braai (barbecue), is frequently offered in guest farms and lodges. Unlike the bush meat of some African countries, the game offered in Namibia has a much stricter traceability and the meat offered is often farmed and in all cases the animals hunted are not endangered species. The cold waters of the Namibian coast are full of fish and seafood, including excellent lobsters.
In local restaurants, the food is often quite rich, with little seasoning. However, in recent years, high-end lodges have made great efforts to improve the quality of their cuisine and offer dishes that are sometimes a little more Mediterranean in flavour, making the most of the country's excellent products.

Namibian breakfast is based on the basics of an Anglo-Saxon breakfast (fried eggs, scrambled eggs, eggs with bacon, white beans, etc.), to which are added cold cuts, cheese, fruit, yogurt, cereals and a multitude of rolls with jam, butter or honey, as in Germany. The eggs are sometimes served with grilled sausages of Afrikaner origin.
These sausages, called boerewors, are mainly made of ground beef, vinegar and various spices (coriander seeds, nutmeg, cumin, etc.). There are variations with lamb or pork. They are accompanied by roosterkoek, brioche buns baked on the barbecue and potato salad. Indeed, the barbecue or braai is a precious moment in the life of Namibians and a common event on weekends with family and friends. Kapana is a specialty of grilled beef cubes with kapana spices (a mixture of fennel seeds, coriander, garlic, turmeric, nutmeg, etc.) and chilli. It is a snack prepared and served directly on the grill, very common in the markets of Windhoek, often accompanied by a "salsa" of raw tomato and onion. Finally, biltong is a preparation of beef, ostrich or game marinated with salt, vinegar and spices, hung and dried in the open air for several weeks. This snack of Afrikaner origin was highly prized by farmers, herders and explorers for its long shelf life and is still a popular snack.
Matangara is the local name for tripe, usually cow or goat. It is cooked in a rich broth with vegetables and condiments. It is a common dish in Namibian restaurants. Tripe is sometimes used to make potjiekos (pronounced "poi-key-kos"), a stew that is very common in Namibia. Made with game meat, poultry or lamb and a variety of vegetables, this dish is cooked over a wood fire in a three-legged cast iron pot called a potjie. Marathon chicken takes its name from the race of the same name. Namibian chickens often live in the wild and it is usually necessary to run after them to catch them. This dish, which consists of a whole chicken that is simmered for a long time with mild spices, is normally prepared on special occasions.
Although Namibia's coastal waters are rich in fish, strong currents make fishing with small boats difficult and the consumption of seafood is a fairly recent trend. However, freshwater fish have been caught for thousands of years in the rivers of the north and south of the country. One example is the Zambezi bream or kariba bream which is grilled and served with steamed corn and spinach.
Vegetable and cereal dishes are not to be forgotten. The mealie meal or corn porridge is the daily dish par excellence and can be found both at breakfast and as a side dish during the day. Oshithima or millet porridge is a popular food in the Oshiwambo culture. This meal can be served with a variety of meat and vegetable stews. Umboga is a stew made from wild spinach or Cleome gynandra, a plant that is actually more similar to capers than spinach. The leaves are boiled and then dried and cooked with tomatoes, onions and chilli. Alternatively, oshigali is a white bean puree cooked over a fire until it becomes soft enough to be mashed. Millet is also found in oshikwiila, small, very thick patties eaten for breakfast and snacks. From South Africa, oukuki, or vetkoek in Afrikaans, are small ball-shaped fritters that are usually served with soup, dried meat or tripe. They are very soft and are also eaten as a snack with a spicy tomato sauce.

If traditionally the notion of desserts and sweets was not necessarily present in the tribal societies of the country, the German settlers were able to export their pastries, without forgetting the influence of Afrikaners who also popularized desserts from South Africa.
There are many tea rooms and other pastry shops where you can enjoy schwarzwälder kirschtorte (black forest), apfelstrudel (apple strudel), bienenstich (honeycomb cake with almonds and vanilla cream), sachertorte (chocolate cake with apricot jam and chocolate icing), Linzer augen (raspberry jam cookies), as well as many other cakes, pastries and cookies. The bread is also excellent.
With a German and South African background, coffee and tea are important in the daily life of Namibians. Coffee is of a very respectable quality and tea, usually served with a splash of milk, is sometimes replaced by South African rooibos, which does not contain any theine. Cool drinks include the delicious sabdariffa juice, made from wild hibiscus flowers or bissap.
Namibia's Teutonic heritage has naturally put beer on a pedestal. In fact, the country respects the Reinheitsgebot or Beer Purity Decree, a law enacted in 1516 in Bavaria to ensure the quality of beer. This gives us the excellent Windhoek Lager, Tafel Lager and Windhoek Draft, not to mention the Camelthorn brewery, which was only established in 2009.
With its largely arid climate, it is quite surprising to discover that the country has a few - small - wineries such as the Neuras Winery, east of the Namib-Naukluft National Park, known for its reds. However, in the supermarket shelves and in the restaurants, you will find South African wines, which are much cheaper. Otherwise, try more traditional alcoholic beverages such as oshikundu (a very light, fermented millet-based drink that is usually drunk the same day) or mataku (a kind of wild watermelon wine). Amarula, a creamy, sweet liqueur made from marula fruit, comes from South Africa and is very popular in Namibia.