Botswana offers a wide selection for the palate that is actually the healthiest food around for the Heart. The food found in this country is a combination of exotic dishes found only in Botswana and dishes that are commonly found in the entire region, mostly vegetables, fruits and wholesomely cooked meats. The traditional Botswana Food is praised throughout Southern Africa, and hotels and restaurants in Botswana serve these traditional dishes alongside the various continental dishes. These are home-grown, cheap, easily available, with correct spices, that is not salt, these dishes are definately food for the Heart!

A major characteristic of the Botswana diet is that meat is very popular, with beef being the most widely eaten meat. Other meat sources include chickens, goats and fish.

Sorghum, rice, maize and other cereals together with meat are popular, and vegetables such as spinach, carrots, onions, tomatoes, lettuce and cabbage are also abundant and can be found in most markets.

Fruits such as marula, watermelons and other types of melons are also usually found easily.

Popular dishes

One of the most popular dishes is the Chotlho, a meat dish usually cooked by men on special occasions. The meat is cooked in water until it is tender and ready for eating. Serobe, on the other hand, is a dish cooked just like Chotlho but with the inside parts of a goat, sheep or cow. A popular way of cooking chicken is to cook it using an open fire, which is believed to bring out the best flavor of the meat.

Bogobe (porridge) is usually cooked and eaten together with these meat dishes. Usually, the porridge is prepared by immersing sorghum and maize in boiling water until a paste forms. When fermented milk (Madila) is added to this porridge, the dish takes on a different flavor and can be eaten on its own.

Bread

Bread has become popular in recent years and it has become part of the usual diet in Botswana. Some of the most popular bread types are the matemekwane (dumplings), the diphaphatha (flat cakes) and the magwinya (fat cakes). The breads are made by either boiling the dough together with meat or by cooking it in hot oil.

The meat dishes are prepared with much care in Botswana and these include:

• Oxtail – This spicy dish is a favorite with the local people of Botswana.
• Mopane worm – It is prepared in a unique fashion by either cooking in hot ashes or by boiling or by drying and frying.

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