Delta Foraged Staple · Water Lily Bulb
Tswii (Water Lily Bulb)
🌊
Photo coming soon
Tswii, also called mwende, is harvested by hand from the beds of the Okavango Delta's channels, where the Bayei people have gathered the bulbs of the water lily for generations.
The starchy bulbs of the water lily are dug from the shallows, cleaned and simmered over an open fire with fish, chicken or meat until soft. Around Maun and the Delta villages it's a seasonal side dish, often paired with seswaa or a simple fish stew.
Why it's made this way: For the Bayei and Hambukushu communities who settled the Delta's waterways, tswii turned the flooded channels themselves into a food source, a staple unique to this wetland corner of an otherwise arid country.
More from Botswana
Chibuku (Bojalwa)
Magwinya (Vetkoek)
Phane (Mopane Worms)
Seswaa
Bogobe (Sorghum Porridge)
Dikgobe (Samp and Beans)
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.