Ingredients
Greens
- 700 gcovo, rape, tsunga or collard greens, thick stems removed and leaves shredded
- 1onion, finely sliced
- 2tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tbspvegetable oil
- 1 tspsalt
- 200 mlwater
Dovi (peanut butter sauce)
- 4heaped tbsp pure peanut butter, no added sugar
- 150 mlhot water
To serve
- sadza
Directions
- Stack the leaves, roll them into a cigar and shred them 1 cm wide; Zimbabwean cooks cut greens fine so the sauce coats every piece.
- Soften the onion in the oil in a wide pan over medium heat for 5 minutes, until translucent.
- Add the tomatoes and salt and cook 5 minutes, pressing them down, until they break into a loose sauce.
- Add the shredded greens with the 200 ml of water, cover, and steam for 6 to 8 minutes, until the leaves collapse and turn deep green but still have a little bite in the stem.
- Whisk the peanut butter with the 150 ml of hot water in a bowl until it is completely smooth and pourable, with no seized lumps.
- Pour the dovi over the greens and stir through gently so every leaf is coated.
- Simmer uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce thickens, turns a shade darker and the raw peanut smell is gone; if it looks oily, add a splash of water and stir it back together.
- Check the salt, and serve hot with sadza, scooped up by hand.
Technique
- Dovi splits if you boil it hard. Keep the pan at a lazy simmer and stir; a broken sauce can usually be rescued with a few spoons of hot water and vigorous stirring.
- Traditional households pound their own roasted groundnuts rather than using a jar, which gives a coarser sauce with visible flecks and a much stronger smell. If you can pound them, do.
- The greens matter: covo and tsunga have a mustardy bitterness that the sweet peanut sauce is there to balance. Spinach, which has none, makes a blander dish.
Substitutions
- No covo: use collard greens, kale or the tops of turnips, all of which have the right bitterness. Smooth commercial peanut butter works, but avoid anything sweetened.
Variations
- Muriwo une dovi nemunyu, cooked drier with no tomato, is the plainer everyday version.
- Nyevhe or spider-plant leaves, slightly slimy and very bitter, are cooked the same way and prized by older Zimbabweans.
History
Collards or rape simmered with peanut butter, the everyday relish beside sadza in most Zimbabwean homes.
Frequently asked questions
What is Muriwo unedovi?
Muriwo unedovi is a salad & side from Zimbabwe: leafy greens simmered in creamy peanut butter. Collards or rape simmered with peanut butter, the everyday relish beside sadza in most Zimbabwean homes.
How long does Muriwo unedovi take to make?
Muriwo unedovi takes 10 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings as a side. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Muriwo unedovi?
Yes, within limits. No covo: use collard greens, kale or the tops of turnips, all of which have the right bitterness. Smooth commercial peanut butter works, but avoid anything sweetened.
What is the most important thing to get right in Muriwo unedovi?
Traditional households pound their own roasted groundnuts rather than using a jar, which gives a coarser sauce with visible flecks and a much stronger smell. If you can pound them, do.
