Ingredients
The groundnuts
- 500 graw groundnuts
- in their skins
- shelled
To roast
- clean dry sand
- for the traditional method
- or a dry heavy pan
- or an oven
To finish
- salt, to taste
- a little water, to help it stick
To serve
- by the cup
- in a paper cone
- through a bus window
Directions
- Discard any that are shrivelled or discoloured. Discard any that smell musty at all. A bitter nut should be spat out. Spread the shelled nuts on a tray. Pick through them all carefully. Discard shrivelled or discoloured nuts.
- Discard any with visible mould. Discard any that smell musty at all. Take real time over doing this. Discard anything you are unsure about. Heat clean dry sand in a heavy pot. Let it get genuinely very hot. It must be clean and completely dry.
- Sieve it first to remove stones. Stir the groundnuts through the hot sand. Keep stirring them constantly. Constant stirring keeps them moving. Keep them moving for about fifteen minutes. Do not trust a clock alone for it. Take them off slightly early for that. Golden rather than brown is the target.
- Pour the whole lot through a coarse sieve. Shake it well to separate them. Shake them thoroughly to remove it. Rub them in a dry cloth as well. Heat a heavy dry pan over a medium heat. Add the groundnuts in a single layer.
- Stir them constantly throughout. A dry pan heats only from below. Spread them on a tray in one layer. Roast at one hundred and eighty degrees. Give them about fifteen minutes. Shake the tray every five minutes. It also needs the least attention. Tip them out onto a tray immediately.
- Spread them in a single layer. Piled nuts hold heat and keep roasting. Spread out they cool much quicker. That stops them going too far. Sprinkle salt over them while warm. Dry salt slides straight off dry nuts.
- Rub them between both your hands. Serving them is done warm or cool. Scoop them into cups or paper cones. They keep two weeks in a sealed jar.
Technique
- Groundnuts can carry aflatoxin, produced by moulds that grow on nuts stored damp or warm and linked to liver damage and liver cancer. It is a documented problem in groundnut growing regions and Malawi has active work on reducing it. Roasting does not destroy aflatoxin and neither does any home cooking — once present it stays. Buy from a source you trust, sort carefully and discard shrivelled, discoloured or musty-smelling nuts, and spit out any that taste bitter.
- Sand surrounds each nut completely and holds a steady temperature, so it heats them from all sides at once and gives an even roast with no oil; a dry pan heats only from below and needs constant stirring, and stopping for a moment burns a batch. The same sand is sieved out and reused indefinitely.
- Split a nut open to judge them: the inside should be pale golden, dark brown means overdone and white means underdone. They carry on roasting off the heat, so tip them onto a tray and spread them out immediately.
Substitutions
- An oven at one hundred and eighty degrees for fifteen minutes is the easiest and most even method, though it lacks the smokiness of a fire.
- Peanut allergy is common and can be severe, so say clearly what is being offered, particularly with a shared bag.
Variations
- The nuts are roasted with their skins on, which protect them; many people eat them skins and all, though they can be rubbed off.
- A few drops of water helps salt stick to dry nuts, or they are salted in the sand near the end.
- They are sold in cups and paper cones at bus stations and roadsides, passed through bus windows.
History
Hawked through bus windows across Malawi, roasted in sand over a fire so the nuts cook evenly.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mtedza wokazinga?
Mtedza wokazinga is a snack from Malawi: groundnuts roasted in their skins and sold by the cup. Hawked through bus windows across Malawi, roasted in sand over a fire so the nuts cook evenly.
How long does Mtedza wokazinga take to make?
Mtedza wokazinga takes 10 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Mtedza wokazinga?
Yes, within limits. An oven at one hundred and eighty degrees for fifteen minutes is the easiest and most even method, though it lacks the smokiness of a fire. Peanut allergy is common and can be severe, so say clearly what is being offered, particularly with a shared bag.
What is the most important thing to get right in Mtedza wokazinga?
Discard any with visible mould. Discard any that smell musty at all. Take real time over doing this. Discard anything you are unsure about. Heat clean dry sand in a heavy pot. Let it get genuinely very hot. It must be clean and completely dry.
