Nkhwani

Name: Nkhwani
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 500 g pumpkin leaves, tough strings peeled from stems, leaves chopped; 100 g peanuts, raw, ground to a fine flour; 1 onion, chopped; 2 tomatoes, chopped; 300 ml water; 1 tsp salt; 1 pinch baking soda (optional)

Vegetarian

Nkhwani ndi nsinjiro

Tender pumpkin leaves simmered with tomato and onion, then thickened with ground peanuts into a creamy green relish (ndiwo) to eat with nsima.

Nkhwani is a Malawian side dish, ready in about 45 minutes and made with pumpkin leaves and peanuts. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 25 min
Total: 45 min
Serves: 4
Level: Easy
Calories: 187

Ingredients

4 servings

500 g Pumpkin leaves (opens in a new tab), tough strings peeled from stems, leaves choppedSwap: Spinach (Cook for only 5 minutes.); Amaranth leaves
100 g Peanuts (opens in a new tab), raw, ground to a fine flourContains peanuts
1 (110 g) Onion (opens in a new tab), chopped
2 (240 g) Tomatoes (opens in a new tab), chopped
300 ml Water (opens in a new tab)
1 tsp (6 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
1 pinch (0.5 g) Baking soda (opens in a new tab) (optional)Stands in for chidulo, a traditional ash-water softener.

Equipment

Saucepan (opens in a new tab)

Method

1
Step 1
Bring the water, onion (opens in a new tab), tomato (opens in a new tab), salt and the pinch of bicarbonate of soda (opens in a new tab) to a simmer in a saucepan (opens in a new tab).
- 5 min
- medium heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels
2
Step 2
Add the pumpkin leaves (opens in a new tab), cover and cook until soft.
- 10 min
- medium heat
3
Step 3
Sprinkle in the peanut flour, stir well and simmer uncovered, stirring often, until thick and creamy and the peanuts (opens in a new tab) taste cooked.
- 10 min
- low heat

About this dish

Origin: Malawi · Commonly attributedPumpkin leaves with groundnut flour are eaten across Malawi and Zambia.Also popular in ZambiaMore food from Malawi
Dish: Lunch · Dinner · Side dishes · Stews & braises
Cooking method: Simmered
Taste: nutty, earthy, creamy
Diet: Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: One-pot · Budget-friendly · Everyday
Cook more with: Peanuts · Onion · Tomato
Techniques: Simmering

Allergens

Contains: Peanutsfrom peanuts

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

187 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 314 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 21%
Carbohydrate 23%
Fat 56%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	187 kcal	60 kcal
Protein	11.2 g	3.6 g
Carbohydrate	11.8 g	3.8 g
Net carbohydrate	—	—
Sugars	—	—
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	—	—
Fat	13 g	4.1 g
Saturated fat	1.9 g	0.6 g
Trans fat	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	607 mg	193 mg
Salt equivalent	1.5 g	0.5 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 904 mg
Calcium: 92 mg
Iron: 4.1 mg
Magnesium: 100 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 146 µg
Vitamin C: 24 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 119 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: baking soda.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Peeling the fibrous skin from pumpkin stems makes them tender enough to eat.

Common mistakes

Skipping the stem peeling — the fibrous strings stay tough however long you cook them.

Serve with

Serve with nsima and fried chambo or beans.

Storage

Keeps 2 days in the fridge.

Reheating

Reheat with a splash of water.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Pumpkin leaves, tough strings peeled from stems, leaves chopped500 g
Peanuts, raw, ground to a fine flour100 g
Tomato, chopped2 piece · 240 g

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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