Omboga

Ingredients

The greens

• 150 gdried wild spinach
• omboga, or dried amaranth leaves
• warm water, to rehydrate

The pot

• 2onions, chopped
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tablespoonsoil
• 1stock cube
• salt and black pepper

Sometimes added

• a little peanut butter
• or ground groundnut
• a hot chilli, chopped
• a little butter

To serve

• with oshifima
• the stiff mahangu porridge
• eaten with the right hand

Directions

1. Use a larger bowl than you expect. They take up far more room wet. Put the dried greens in a large bowl. Cover them all with warm water. Let them soak for about thirty minutes. Thirty minutes is usually enough. Soak them for longer if they are. Rinse them in a few changes of water. Rinse them properly rather than once.
2. Lift them out and let the grit settle. Draining them is straightforward enough. Drain all of the soaked greens. Squeeze out all the excess water. Squeeze them gently in your hands. That stops the pot going watery.
3. Chop the soaked greens roughly. Cooking it is straightforward enough. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pot. Add all the chopped onions to it. Cook them for a good eight minutes. The onions should soften right down. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot.
4. Cook them down for about eight minutes. The tomato should break down completely. Add the chopped greens to the pot. Turn them through the tomato base. Add the stock cube to the pot.
5. Season it with salt and black pepper. Add a little water if it looks dry. Cover the pot and lower the heat. Let it simmer for about twenty minutes. Rehydrated greens still need cooking. Stir it through every now and then. Stirring stops it burning there.
6. Stir it into the whole pot well. Let it cook for ten more minutes. Judging it takes a careful taste. Cook it down further if it is loose. Taste it and adjust the salt as needed. Dried greens take a good deal of salt.
7. Add black pepper to it as well. Stir a little butter in at the end. Butter enriches a plain relish. Some households do it and some do not. Spoon it out into a serving bowl. Serve stiff oshifima alongside it. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• The drying is the point of the dish: northern Namibia has a long dry season when fresh vegetables are scarce, and wild greens gathered during the short rains and dried carry the household through the whole year rather than a few weeks. That is a genuine food security practice rather than a preference.
• Dried greens expand a great deal, so a hundred and fifty grams feeds six and needs a larger bowl than you expect. Rinse them in several changes of water after soaking, lifting them out so the grit settles, since field greens carry soil to begin with and more collects during drying. Then squeeze out the excess water, or the pot goes watery.
• Dried greens taste deeper and more concentrated than fresh, which is different rather than inferior and is what is wanted here.

Substitutions

• Peanut butter loosened with hot water and cooked in for ten more minutes enriches and thickens the relish and is common across the region; say clearly if it has gone in, since the allergy can be severe.
• A little butter stirred in at the end enriches a plain relish and gives it a gloss; some households do it and some do not.

Variations

• Oshifima is the stiff porridge of mahangu, pearl millet, which tolerates drought and grows where maize struggles; a piece is pinched off, pressed into a scoop and used to lift the relish.
• Blanching the leaves before drying preserves colour and nutrients better and speeds the drying, though not every household does it.
• The relish must be thick enough to hold on the scoop, since a thin one falls off.

History

Wild spinach leaves gathered in the rainy season and dried for storage, a northern Namibian vegetable staple.

Frequently asked questions

What is Omboga?

Omboga is a salad & side from Namibia: dried wild spinach rehydrated into a hearty relish. Wild spinach leaves gathered in the rainy season and dried for storage, a northern Namibian vegetable staple.

How long does Omboga take to make?

Omboga takes 15 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Omboga?

Yes, within limits. Peanut butter loosened with hot water and cooked in for ten more minutes enriches and thickens the relish and is common across the region; say clearly if it has gone in, since the allergy can be severe. A little butter stirred in at the end enriches a plain relish and gives it a gloss; some households do it and some do not.

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

Use a larger bowl than you expect. They take up far more room wet. Put the dried greens in a large bowl. Cover them all with warm water. Let them soak for about thirty minutes. Thirty minutes is usually enough. Soak them for longer if they are. Rinse them in a few changes of water. Rinse them properly rather than once.