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Mupunga unedovi
Peanut butter rice
Mupunga unedovi: Zimbabwean soft rice stirred with peanut butter
Ask someone who grew up in Masvingo or a Harare township about Sunday rice and many will describe mupunga unedovi: white rice cooked a little past fluffy, then beaten with dovi, the peanut butter that sits in every Zimbabwean kitchen. The grains turn creamy and almost risotto-like, savoury and nutty with a whisper of salt, and it is what a grandmother makes when there is no meat in the house. Eat it from a bowl on its own, or spoon it beside a tomato and onion relish, covo greens or a pot of sugar beans. The usual mistake is adding the peanut butter while the rice is still boiling hard, so it catches on the base of the pot and tastes scorched. Chef's tip: loosen the peanut butter with a ladle of the hot rice water first, so it melts into the grains instead of sitting in lumps.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz long-grain white rice
- 3 ¾ cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 ½ oz smooth peanut butterunsweetened, ideally just peanuts and salt
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Rinse 10 ½ oz long-grain white rice in a sieve under cold running water until the water runs almost clear, to wash off loose starch.
Step 2: Bring 3 ¾ cups water to the boil in a heavy saucepan over a high heat, add 1 tsp salt and tip in the rice. Stir once so no grains stick to the base.
3 minStep 3: Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring every 5 minutes, until the grains are very soft and have swelled past their normal size, with a little starchy water still bubbling between them. You want it softer and wetter than ordinary boiled rice.
18 minStep 4: Scoop about 100 ml of the cloudy cooking water into a bowl, add 3 ½ oz smooth peanut butter and whisk with a fork into a smooth, pourable cream.
Step 5: Pour the peanut cream over the rice and stir hard over the lowest heat with a wooden spoon until every grain is coated and the pot looks thick and glossy, like a loose risotto.
3 minStep 6: Take the pan off the heat, cover and leave it for 2 minutes to settle, then taste for salt and serve hot.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mupunga unedovi take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of long-grain white rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of smooth peanut butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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