Namibia: vegan ombidi with oshifima

For our stop in Namibia, we cook not one but two vegan Namibian recipes. Oshifima, a stiff millet porridge is served with ombidi, a juicy spinach and tomato stew. This type of stiff porridge is popular in many regions of the African continent and is something you have to try on your own culinary journey. Read on to learn a bit more about the two vegan Namibian recipes or jump straight to the recipes.

Namibian cuisine

Namibia in South Africa (the region) lies just north of South Africa (the country) and was governed by its southern neighbour as part of the Versaille Treaty 1919 ​[1]​. Prior to being governed by South Africa, the region that is today Namibia was ruled by Germany. Namibia gained its independence in 1990. As a consequence, the Namibian cuisine has many influences from both Germany and South Africa.

Namibia is the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa ​[2]​ and the cuisine is very dependant on meat ​[1], [3]–[5]​. You will find many meat-centered dishes like kapana (barbecued cow with a special spice blend), biltong and oodhingu (dried meat), sausages and marathon chicken (a slow-cooked chicken stew). The German influences are found primarily in baked goods, such as Schwarzwald cake, Apfelstrudel, and Brötchen ​[1], [3]​. Among the South African influences you will be able to find vetkoek (literally fat cakes), deep-fried dough balls eaten either on their own or stuffed with minced meat, like a savoury donut hole sloppy Joe ​[6]​.

For our visit to Namibia, I chose two vegan Namibian recipes: oshifima, a stiff millet porridge, and a wild spinach stew called ombidi.

Oshifima

Oshifima is a firm porridge-like dish served with almost every meal in Namibia. The dish is closely related to the large family of grain-based porridges served as staple dishes throughout large parts of sub-Saharan Africa ​[7], [8]​. The related dishes have many different names, styles and variations depending on local languages and traditions. Common names include nsima, ugali, and posho but in Namibia it is usually known as oshifima or pap. (Wikipedia has a long (60+) list of local names for this family of dishes.) These grain porridges are typically made from flour from millet, sorghum, corn, or cassava ​[7]​. A closely related group of dishes is made from boiling and crushing starchy vegetables like cassava, yams, sweet potatoes or plantain/matoke to create fufu ​[9]​. Regardless of name or main ingredient, most of these porridges are eaten with stews, soups or sauces and often used to scoop up the other dish(es).

Namibian oshifima

In Namibia, the firm porridge goes by the name oshifima or oshithima in Ovambo, the largest language group. It is also known as pap, in particular in neighbouring South Africa (the country, not the region). Traditionally, oshifima is made from ground millet, or mahangu, an important crop in Namibia. The country is the driest African country south of Sahara ​[2]​ and millet is able to thrive on low amounts of rainfall ​[10]​. As such, millet constitutes a major part of the diet for more than half the people in the country. Some cooks add maize flour or make a stiff porridge with only maize flour, often called mielie pap ​[11]​. Oshifima is eaten with most meals and is often paired with grilled meat, sausage, sauces, or stews, such as oshingali – skinned, boiled, and mashed, black-eyed peas, not entirely unlike hummus or ful medames ​[1], [3]–[5], [12]​. Another popular pairing is the wild spinach stew ombidi described below. Regardless of what you serve it with, you eat the oshifima with your hands and use the porridge as a scoop.

How to make oshifima

Preparing oshifima and similar flour-based stiff porridges is very straightforward. Bring water to a roiling boil and whisk in the flour ​[12]–[15]​. Stir continuously to make sure the oshifima doesn’t burn and try to work out any lumps that might have formed. One trick some cooks use is to mix the flour with some cold water first and then pour it into the boiling pot. For oshifima, millet and/or maize flour is usually used. Despite your best efforts, Sometimes you will end up with a slightly burnt layer in the bottom of your pot, similar to Persian tahdig. This layer is called ekoko and can be given to children (or adults) to snack on ​[15]​.

Ombidi

Ombidi is both the name of a plant and a dish in Namibia ​[16]​. The plant, often referred to as wild spinach, is a leafy green plant with long bushy stems and leaves that somewhat resemble clover. The ombidi plant is either picked and used fresh or boiled and then dried in the sun for later usage ​[16]​. The most popular way to cook ombidi is to stew it with tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Sometimes ghee/butter and spices like chili ​[14]​, nutmeg ​[17], [18]​ or kapana spice ​[14], [19]​ are added. Kapana is a Namibian barbecue dish flavored with a specific spice blend, simply called kapana spice blend, containing several different spices, such as cumin, coriander, paprika, and thyme ​[20]​. Sometimes the ombidi is topped with marula oil ​[14]​, the hand-pounded oil from a nut about the size of a nutmeg ​[21]​.

Vegan ombidi and oshifima

Oshifima is most often vegan, using mainly water and millet and/or maize flour though some recipes call for the addition of milk ​[22]​. Ombidi is likewise commonly vegan with only spinach, tomato and flavour elements like onion, garlic, and spices, but I did come across recipes using ghee or butter ​[17], [19]​. So to create these vegan Namibian recipes, we can just rely on the traditional recipes that don’t add dairy.

I was not able to find any ombidi, dried or fresh, locally or online so I used spinach, as recommended by a few online recipes I came across ​[17], [18]​. Instead of making a batch of the kapana spice blend, I selected a few of the spices used by Ester in their recipe and included these in the recipe below. If you have a hard time finding millet flour, you can make your own using a blender or spice grinder. Or you can try to make a maize flour mielie pap instead.

Conclusion

This was my first time making one of the many types of stiff porridge popular in many parts of the African continent and I’m very glad I finally did it. I have come across similar dishes time and time again during our vegan world tour. It has been a long time coming. The oshifima is very creamy and pairs well with the ombidi. The dish reminded me a bit of boiled polenta or Swedish semolina porridge in texture.

On its own, oshifima might be a bit unexciting (like many other side starches, such as plain rice) but as a side (and eating utensil) accompanied by one or more stews, the oshifima really shines. If you do want to try it, and I can’t see any reason not to, then trying it with this ombidi is a good introduction. The ombidi itself is very easy to prepare and nice and juicy to go with the oshifima. These two vegan Namibian recipes are well worth trying.

Join me again next time when we return to West Asia and visit Lebanon. If you don’t want to miss the next stop, you can subscribe to the email list and I’ll send you an alert when we arrive.

Vegan Namibian recipes for ombidi with oshifima

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Ombidi with oshifima

Ombidi is a Namibian spinach stew often served with oshifima, a stiff and creamy millet porridge.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Namibian, South African

Keyword Millet, porridge, spinach, stew

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Equipment

• 1 High-powered blender (optional, for making flour)
• 1 spice grinder (optional, for making flour)

Ingredients

Oshifima

• 400 mL water
• 120 mL millet flour see note
• salt to taste

Ombidi

• 200 g fresh spinach
• 100 g onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 tsp oil, e.g. canola
• 1 pinch thyme
• 1 pinch ground coriander
• 1 pinch cumin
• 1 pinch paprika
• 1 pinch chili flakes
• 1 pinch ground, dried ginger
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Oshifima

• If grinding millet to flour, do this now. I ground approximately as much millet as I needed flour using a high-powered blender and measured the flour afterwards.
• Bring the water with salt to a roiling boil.
• Carefully pour in the flour in a stream while stirring or whisking to avoid lumps.

  Tip: you can try to mix the flour with some cold water and pour in the water and flour mix instead.
• Bring to a simmer, stirring continuously. The oshifima burns easily. Keep simmering and stirring for 5-10 minutes until it goes thick.
• Pour into a serving bowl and cover. Let the oshifima cool while you prepare the obimi. The oshifima will thicken as it cools.

Ombidi

• Chop onion and tomatoes and mince the garlic.
• Sweat the onion with the oil in a pot on medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and sweat for another minute.
• Add the tomatoes and let cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes are done.
• Add the spinach and close the lid. Let wilt for a few minutes.
• Stir the ombidi and add the spices and salt to taste.

Ready to eat

• Serve the ombidi with the oshifima straight away. Break of pieces of the oshifima with your fingers, roll into a ball and use it as an edible utensil to scoop up som ombidi.

Notes

If you can’t find millet flour, you can grind your own from whole millet using a blender or spice grinder. Sift the flour afterward to remove any coarse grains.

References