Ovamboland Street Food

5 dishes in Namibia

5 street foods from Ovamboland, Namibia: Oshikundu, Omagongo, Oshiwambo Chicken with Odjove, Ombidi and Oshigali. Each one has its own page with the story behind it and what to look for.

Street foods of Ovamboland

Fermented Drink · Millet Oshikundu Oshikundu is meant to be drunk fresh: left too long it keeps fermenting, turning sourer and mildly alcoholic, so households brew it daily and… Pearl millet (mahangu) flour and bran are mixed with malted sorghum and tepid water, left to ferment for a day, then strained into a tangy, lightly fizzy, porridge-thin drink served in a… Seasonal Brew · Marula Fruit Omagongo (Marula Wine) UNESCO added Oshituthi shomagongo, the marula fruit festival, to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2015; men carve the serving utensils and… Ripe marula fruit is peeled and mashed by hand, its juice strained into clay pots and left to ferment for two to three days into a tart, mildly alcoholic wine, traditionally poured for… Grilled Poultry · Marula Oil Oshiwambo Chicken with Odjove Odjove is pressed by hand from marula kernels and kept as a delicacy for honoured guests; the same oil is drizzled over wild spinach and oshingali… A free-range village chicken is slowly boiled or stewed until the tough meat turns tender, then seasoned with salt and odjove (traditionally pressed marula kernel oil), giving the meat a… Vegetable Relish · Wild Greens Ombidi To last through the dry season, ombidi leaves are boiled, pressed into balls and sun-dried, then crumbled back into the pot months later. Wild spinach and other leafy greens are pounded and simmered down with a little peanut butter or fat into a dark, savoury relish, ladled generously over oshifima or mahangu porridge. 🫘 Legume Puree · Bean Dish Oshigali The beans are peeled one by one after soaking, which is what gives the puree its pale colour; it's traditionally finished with a drizzle of odjove… Dried beans (usually cowpeas) are soaked briefly, squeezed out of their skins, then boiled until they collapse into a smooth, pale puree that's eaten with oshifima or as a light meal in…

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