Vegetables · Leafy greens
Pumpkin leaves
Young pumpkin leaves and shoots, de-stringed and cooked with groundnuts or tomato in Southern and East Africa.
Also called: pumpkin greens, nkhwani, muboora, chibwabwa, ugu-style pumpkin leaves
Around the world: nkhwani (ny) · muboora (sn) · chibwabwa (bem)
What it is
Pumpkin leaves are the large, rough, hairy leaves and tender tips of pumpkin vines. The prickly skin on stems and veins is peeled away before chopping. Cooked, they are tender and mild. In Zambia (chibwabwa), Malawi (nkhwani) and Zimbabwe (muboora) they are simmered with tomato, onion or peanut powder.
Cucurbita species (leaves)
How it’s used
- Simmered with pounded groundnuts
- Stewed with tomato and onion
- Served as relish with nshima or sadza
- Added to soups
Characteristics
- Taste
- Mild, slightly nutty and green.
- Texture
- Tender once peeled and cooked.
- When cooked
- Peel off the fibrous strings before cooking; cooks in 10–15 minutes.
- Sold as
- fresh, dried
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Suitable for boiling
- Common in
- Zambian, Malawian, Zimbabwean, Kenyan, Nigerian, Mozambican
Storage
Refrigerated. Refrigerate wrapped and use within a day or two.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 19 kcal
- Protein
- 3.15 g
- Carbohydrate
- 2.33 g
- Fat
- 0.4 g
- Fibre
- — g
- Sugars
- — g
USDA FoodData Central: Pumpkin leaves, raw.
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
Related ingredients
Recipes with pumpkin leaves
Nkhwani
Malawian · 45 min · 187 kcal · Vegan
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