Nsinjiro

Ingredients

The groundnuts

• 600 graw groundnuts
• shelled, skins on
• sorted carefully

To roast

• a dry heavy pan
• or clean dry sand
• or a moderate oven

To grind

• a mortar and pestle
• or a grinder
• a fine sieve

To use, per pot

• 4to 5 tablespoons
• loosened with hot water

Directions

1. Grind it to a flour rather than a paste. Stop well before it turns oily. Discard shrivelled or discoloured nuts. Discard any that smell musty at all. A bitter nut should be spat out.
2. 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.
3. Heat a heavy dry pan over medium heat. Add the groundnuts in a single layer. Stir them constantly throughout. Constant stirring keeps them turning. 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.
4. Heat clean dry sand in a heavy pot. Stir the groundnuts through it. Keep stirring them constantly. Sieve the sand out when they are done. It must be clean and completely dry. Sieve it first to remove stones. Spread them on a tray in one layer. Roast at one hundred and eighty degrees. Give them about fifteen minutes.
5. Shake the tray every five minutes. Tip them out onto a cold tray. 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. Let them cool completely before grinding.
6. Warm nuts release their oil readily. Cool nuts grind to a dry flour. Rub the cooled nuts between your hands. Both of them are done in Malawi. Pound the cooled nuts in a mortar. Pound rather than grinding continuously. Heat is what releases the oil. A grinder works but must be pulsed.
7. Let it cool down between bursts. Judging it takes a careful look. Return any coarse pieces to the mortar. Keep it all in a sealed dry jar. Keep it somewhere cool and dark. Keep it sealed and use it within weeks. Discard it if it smells at all off.
8. Grind small batches rather than large. Mix it with hot water beforehand. Stir it into a smooth loose paste. Dry flour tipped into a pot lumps badly. Stir the loosened paste into the relish.
9. Let it cook for ten more minutes. Even roasted flour needs cooking in. Stir it regularly all the way through. Keep the heat low and quite steady. It keeps a few weeks sealed and dry. Grind it fresh wherever you can.

Technique

• Groundnuts can carry aflatoxin, produced by moulds on nuts stored damp or warm and linked to liver damage and liver cancer. It is documented in the region 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. Say clearly when nsinjiro is in a dish, since it goes into many everyday relishes and peanut allergy can be severe.
• The whole difficulty of making it is grinding to a dry flour rather than a paste, since heat releases the oil and turns it into peanut butter. Let the roasted nuts cool completely first, pound in a mortar rather than running a machine continuously, and if using a grinder pulse it in very short bursts, letting it cool between. If it starts to clump it is going to paste, and that cannot be turned back.
• Take the nuts off the roast slightly early since they carry on cooking off the heat, and judge them by splitting one open — the inside should be pale golden, dark brown means overdone and white means underdone.

Substitutions

• Roasting in clean dry sand is traditional and gives a very even roast, the sand being sieved out and reused; an oven at one hundred and eighty degrees is the easiest.
• Some cooks rub the skins off and winnow them away for a paler flour and others leave them on; both are done.

Variations

• It is a dry powder rather than a paste, which is what distinguishes it from peanut butter.
• It thickens, enriches and adds protein to a vegetable relish all at once, which matters where meat is expensive.
• Ground groundnut goes rancid as the oil oxidises, so keep it sealed and dry and grind small batches rather than large.

History

Malawi’s essential seasoning, pounded at home and added to nkhwani and other ndiwo for richness.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nsinjiro?

Nsinjiro is a sauce & condiment from Malawi: roasted groundnut flour stirred into greens and relishes. Malawi’s essential seasoning, pounded at home and added to nkhwani and other ndiwo for richness.

How long does Nsinjiro take to make?

Nsinjiro takes 20 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 500 g. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Nsinjiro?

Yes, within limits. Roasting in clean dry sand is traditional and gives a very even roast, the sand being sieved out and reused; an oven at one hundred and eighty degrees is the easiest. Some cooks rub the skins off and winnow them away for a paler flour and others leave them on; both are done.

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

Grind it to a flour rather than a paste. Stop well before it turns oily. Discard shrivelled or discoloured nuts. Discard any that smell musty at all. A bitter nut should be spat out.