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Botswanan

Seswaa

Non-vegetarian

Botswana's national dish: beef boiled for hours with nothing but salt and water, then pounded into tender, salty shreds and served with pap or sorghum porridge.

Seswaa is a Botswanan main course, ready in about 3 hours 40 minutes and made with beef chuck and salt. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Plate of seswaa, pounded shredded beef, served with maize porridge
Photo: Kalanga / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-3.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
3 h 30 min
Total
3 h 40 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
256

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the beef and onion (opens in a new tab) in a heavy pot and add water to just cover. Bring to the boil and skim off the foam.

    Food safety: Wash hands and boards after handling raw meat.

  2. Step 2

    Cover and simmer very gently, topping up with hot water if needed, until the meat falls off the bone.

    • 180 min
    • low heat

  3. Step 3

    Remove any bones, add the salt and boil uncovered until almost all the liquid has gone.

    • 15 min
    • medium heat

  4. Step 4

    Pound and stir the meat in the pot with a heavy wooden spoon until it breaks into fine shreds and soaks up the remaining fat and juices. Serve with pap or bogobe.

    • 10 min

    Two forks work if you do not have a heavy wooden pestle.

About this dish

Origin
Botswana · Well documentedTraditionally cooked by men in three-legged iron pots for weddings, funerals and national celebrations.Also popular in South AfricaMore food from Botswana
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses
Cooking method
Boiled, Slow-cooked
Taste
savoury, salty, rich
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Whole-food focused · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Low-fat · Calorie-conscious
Without the optional extras: Paleo-styleWith the listed swaps: Beef-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · One-pot · Batch cooking · Freezer-friendly
Cook more with
Beef chuck
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Stock making

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

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

256 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 535 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 68%
  • Carbohydrate 0%
  • Fat 32%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy256 kcal48 kcal
Protein43.5 g8.1 g
Carbohydrate0.3 g0.1 g
Net carbohydrate0.3 g0.1 g
Sugars0 g0 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0 g0 g
Fat9 g1.7 g
Saturated fat3.7 g0.7 g
Trans fat0.5 g0.1 g
Cholesterol128 mg24 mg
Sodium944 mg176 mg
Salt equivalent2.4 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
734 mg
Calcium
60 mg
Iron
4.2 mg
Magnesium
49 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
4 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0.2 µg
Vitamin B12
4.6 µg
Folate (DFE)
6 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: onion, cornmeal.
  • “—” 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

  • Fatty, bony cuts give the best flavour; very lean beef makes dry seswaa.

Common mistakes

  • Salting at the beginning toughens the meat; add salt once it is tender.

Serve with

  • Serve with pap or bogobe and morogo or a beetroot salad.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen.

Reheating

  • Reheat with a little water, stirring, until piping hot.

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

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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

  • Beef chuck, large chunks; bone-in brisket or shin is traditional1200 g
  • Cornmeal (optional)350 g
Used in steps 1, 4

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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