Kandolo

Ingredients

Sweet potatoes

• 8medium sweet potatoes
• a brazier or charcoal fire

Optional

• salt
• butter
• groundnuts, pounded

To serve

• sweet black tea

Directions

1. Choose sweet potatoes of a similar size so they cook at the same rate.
2. Wash them but leave the skins on and do not dry them completely.
3. The damp skin steams the flesh from inside as the outside chars, which is what keeps a fire-roasted sweet potato moist.
4. Prick each one two or three times with a knife.
5. Prick them or they build up steam and burst, which is messy and loses the best of the flesh.
6. Build a charcoal fire in a brazier and let it burn down to grey coals with red hearts, with no flame.
7. Wait for the flames to die. Over live flame the skin carbonises black in minutes while the middle is still raw.
8. Set the sweet potatoes directly on the coals, or on a grate just above them.
9. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes with tongs.
10. They are done when the skin is blistered and blackened in patches and a knife slides through the thickest part with no resistance.
11. Squeeze one gently: it should give completely and feel soft the whole way through.
12. Let them sit a few minutes, then peel back the skin and eat from it.
13. The sugars caramelise against the hot coals and the flesh under the charred skin turns almost jam-like, which is the whole reason it is cooked this way rather than boiled.
14. Serve hot, plain or with salt, butter or pounded groundnuts.
15. They are sold from braziers on Zambian street corners from early morning, wrapped in newspaper and eaten walking, particularly through the cold season.

Technique

• The orange-fleshed varieties are sweeter and the white-fleshed ones drier and more filling; both are sold.
• It is breakfast and mid-morning food more than an evening dish.
• An oven at 200°C (390°F) for an hour works but misses the smoke entirely.

Substitutions

• A domestic oven or a barbecue.
• Cassava roasted the same way, which is equally common at the same stalls.

Variations

• Split and filled with pounded groundnuts.
• With a sprinkle of salt and chilli.
• Boiled instead of roasted, which is the home version.

History

A Zambian breakfast bought on the way to work, especially in the cool months after the harvest.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kandolo?

Kandolo is a street food from Zambia: sweet potatoes roasted on a brazier and sold hot in the morning. A Zambian breakfast bought on the way to work, especially in the cool months after the harvest.

How long does Kandolo take to make?

Kandolo takes 5 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Kandolo?

Yes, within limits. A domestic oven or a barbecue. Cassava roasted the same way, which is equally common at the same stalls.

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

Wash them but leave the skins on and do not dry them completely.