Inswa

Ingredients

Termites

• 500 gflying termites
• with wings removed
• water, for rinsing

To cook

• 1 teaspoonsalt
• no oil at all

Sometimes added

• 1onion, finely chopped
• 1tomato, chopped
• a pinch of chilli powder

To serve

• nshima, thick maize porridge
• or eaten alone by the handful
• cooked greens

Directions

1. Spread the termites out on a tray. Rub them gently between your hands.
2. Put the termites in a bowl of water. Stir them gently with your hand. Skim them off with a large spoon. Repeat that until no wings remain. Drain the termites thoroughly.
3. Spread them on a cloth to dry. Pat every one of them gently dry. Heat a heavy dry pan over a medium heat.
4. Add the termites in a single layer. Do not add any oil to it at all. Shake the pan constantly as they cook. Give them about ten full minutes.
5. Add the salt in near to the end. Judging when they are done takes a test. Take them off before they blacken. Tip them out onto kitchen paper. Let all the excess fat drain off.
6. Fry the termites dry first of all. Add chopped tomato in with it. Cook it all down for about five minutes. Serving them is done warm or cool.
7. Tip them into a bowl for a snack. Serve them beside nshima as a relish. They keep a week in a sealed jar. Fry them again briefly to crisp them.

Technique

• Insects contain tropomyosin, a protein also found in shellfish, and cross-reactivity is documented, so anyone with a shellfish or dust mite allergy may react and should not eat them.
• These are the winged reproductive alates rather than worker termites, released once a year after the first heavy rains, in Zambia usually November, in a swarm that lasts only hours; they are drawn to light and trapped in a basin of water beside a lamp.
• The alates are very high in fat, which renders out so they fry in their own fat with no oil added at all; adding oil makes them greasy and soft.

Substitutions

• The same insect is eaten as enswa in Uganda and under other names across the region.
• Dried termites are sold in markets and need only brief frying.

Variations

• Fried dry and salted they are a snack, and fried with onion and tomato they become a relish.
• Some people dry them for keeping through the year.
• They are eaten alone by the handful or alongside nshima.

History

Swarms rise from termite mounds after the first November rains and are trapped overnight with lamps and water traps.

Frequently asked questions

What is Inswa?

Inswa is a snack from Zambia: flying termites fried without oil until crisp, eaten by the handful. Swarms rise from termite mounds after the first November rains and are trapped overnight with lamps and water traps.

How long does Inswa take to make?

Inswa takes 30 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6 as a snack. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Inswa?

Yes, within limits. The same insect is eaten as enswa in Uganda and under other names across the region. Dried termites are sold in markets and need only brief frying.

What is the most important thing to get right in Inswa?

Add the termites in a single layer. Do not add any oil to it at all. Shake the pan constantly as they cook. Give them about ten full minutes.