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Zimbabwean

Sadza ne nyama

Non-vegetarian

Zimbabwe's national meal: a firm white maize sadza eaten with a rich beef and tomato stew, scooped up by hand.

Sadza ne nyama is a Zimbabwean main course, ready in about 2 hours 5 minutes and made with beef chuck and cornmeal. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
White sadza with beef stew and cooked greens on a plate
Photo: Shark2025 / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
1 h 50 min
Total
2 h 5 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
642

Ingredients

4 servings

For the nyama

For the sadza

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the beef in a heavy pot with 600 ml water and the salt. Cover and simmer until tender and the water has mostly evaporated.

  2. Step 2

    Add the oil and let the beef brown in the pot, then add the onion (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab) and fry until golden.

    • 10 min
    • medium heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the tomatoes (opens in a new tab) and curry powder (opens in a new tab) with a splash of water and simmer into a thick gravy.

    • 10 min
    • low heat
    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile make the sadza: bring 900 ml water to the boil, whisk in a slurry of 100 g mealie meal (opens in a new tab) and 200 ml cold water and cook 5 minutes (this is bota). Beat in the rest of the meal gradually until very thick, cover for 5 minutes, then beat smooth.

    Food safety: Thick porridge spits; stir with a long wooden spoon.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Serve mounds of sadza with the beef stew.

    • 1 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Zimbabwe · Well documentedSadza belongs to the regional family of maize porridges; with beef stew it is Zimbabwe's best-known meal.More food from Zimbabwe
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Stews & braises
Cooking method
Stewed, Boiled
Taste
savoury, rich, mild
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · High-protein · Low-fat
With the listed swaps: Beef-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday
Cook more with
Beef chuck · Cornmeal · Onion · Garlic · Tomato
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Stewing

Allergens

  • May contain: Mustardfrom curry powder
  • May contain: Celeryfrom curry powder

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

642 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 844 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 28%
  • Carbohydrate 47%
  • Fat 25%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy642 kcal76 kcal
Protein46.7 g5.5 g
Carbohydrate76.9 g9.1 g
Net carbohydrate68.4 g8.1 g
Sugars5.3 g0.6 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre8.4 g1 g
Fat18 g2.1 g
Saturated fat4.2 g0.5 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol112 mg13 mg
Sodium1060 mg126 mg
Salt equivalent2.7 g0.3 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1195 mg
Calcium
96 mg
Iron
7.1 mg
Magnesium
172 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
51 µg
Vitamin C
17 mg
Vitamin D
0.2 µg
Vitamin B12
4 µg
Folate (DFE)
51 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: curry powder.
  • “—” 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

  • The slurry stage (bota) is what gives smooth, lump-free sadza.

Common mistakes

  • Skipping the bota (slurry) stage — the sadza turns lumpy.

Serve with

  • Serve with muriwo une dovi or covo greens.

Food safety

  • Simmer stewing beef, goat or lamb until fork-tender; cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate within 2 hours.

Storage

  • The stew keeps 3 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen.

Reheating

  • Reheat the stew until piping hot; make sadza fresh.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

For the nyama

Make Everyday curry powder (British-style)Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Masalas in this recipe

Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

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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