5 Namibian Foods You Probably Haven't Eaten Before

Am I Namibia's number one cook?

No.

But! I have been excited to try my hand at traditional dishes, especially the ones that are considered a staple. Not only that, but I've been equally excited to just try food in general that simply don't exist back home. There's a lot of trial and error on my part-like accidentally buying 100 nuts that I have no way to cook or eat-but luckily I'm surrounded by people who tolerate my naivety and support me in eating anything I set my mind to.

I want to firmly say, first and foremost, that I think Namibian food is extremely tasty, flavorful, and nutritious. When you come to visit the country, please don't stick with what you're used to, even if it's offered on the menu. And ditch the knife and fork! I promise you won't need them, and I bet you'll even like the eating experience more without the utensils.

Below is a list that is made up of some staples, some fun stuff, and some weird stuff. Enjoy!

1. Pap

Pap is the stable food here! If you're at a workshop, conference, or just going out to lunch or dinner, you should expect to be served pap. It was one of the first things I ate when I came to Namibia, and remains to be the most consistent thing that I eat each week. What am I having for dinner tonight? You already know the answer to that.

Pap is made from either mahangu grain (on the left) or maize grain (on the right). You can easily recognize the two by the different colors. Mahangu tends to be a bit more bland, and I think most people prefer maize, myself included; however, mahangu remains as the true indigenous crop of Namibia, while maize has been more recently introduced. Women will take the mahangu grain and beat it down to powder in large bowls with a 5 foot pounding stick. I've been informed that how well you beat the grain translates into how good a wife you will become... I am starting to fret that I will never become a good wife.

Pap is then created by slowly adding the powdered grain into boiling water and continuously stirring until it becomes fluffy and moldable. It sounds simple enough, but there is definitely finesse involved and a deep understanding in knowing how much pap to add at which point in the process. The taste is...agreeable. It honestly doesn't really have that much of a flavor, but that's kind of the point. The real point of pap is to become your spoon, where you grab a little bit into your finger tips, roll it into a little bowl, and then use it to scoop up whatever else is on your plate.

2. Mutete

Mutete is made from dried spinach. The process starts by first "cleaning" the spinach in order to properly remove the sand and to get rid of some of that potent spinach smell. You do this by boiling the dried spinach in a pot, straining it, and then continuing to pour water over it while sifting through the spinach with your hands.

While this is happening, traditionally onions and tomatoes are sauteed. Once those are a bit mushier, you then add the spinach back in with oil and leave it. The mutete will then continue to cook at low heat, and you're free to start making the pap. Mutete is just as much of a staple as pap, and I fully expect it to be served if I'm out for lunch, whether it's for work or just in town. Because of how nutritious it is, it's easy to want to eat this as much as possible. Plus, I think it's really tasty.

This is a picture of a standard meal. We go out for lunch sometimes, and the menu is always the same: pap, meat, and either boiled cabbage or mutete.

3. Fat Cakes

You know with a name like that it has to be good. Fat cakes are Namibia's version of fried dough, since, of course, every culture has their own variation of fried dough. They are made from flour, sugar, salt, water, and yeast. Luckily for me, the best fat cakes in Namibia are made right outside my office for $2 a piece. How do I know they're the best? I've tried a lot, and when you come to Namibia, you will too. They're available at any open market-just find a woman sitting next to a large bowl and she'll sell them to you nicely.

When is a good time to eat a fat cake? Mornings are obviously best, since they're freshly cooked, but have you ever had a donut in the afternoon? Somehow it's just as yummy. My colleagues and I have these fairly regularly. It makes for a nice, cheaper way to treat everyone before we get down to work.

4. Maguni

It's officially maguni season! Magunis are one of the many fruits here that are a well kept secret. When I said I was excited to try it, my coworkers asked, "Why?" I said it was like if they were eating their first raspberry or blueberry, to which they responded, "What are those?" Exactly, it's fun to try new things. As we were driving home from a school, we saw a basket full of magunis on the side of the road, so we pulled off for a quick fruit break.

The only way to eat a maguni is to violently bash the hard shell open. You can bash two magunis together (not recommended), take a hammer to it (also not recommended), a knife (not recommended), or bash it across your countertop (recommended). The inside is a cluster of about two dozen seeds, all wrapped in the "fruit." Because of this, there's not a lot of real fruit to be chomped on, it's mostly just sucking on the juice and spitting the seeds out.

I have to say, the look of it may resemble rotten brains, but the taste itself is really good. It's very refreshing and has an "exotic tropical" taste to it. It gives off hammock-on-a-beach vibes.

5. Mopane Worms

Mopane worms are actually caterpillars that are caught and cooked with spices. While people aren't necessarily going bananas to eat the worms, you can usually find a woman selling them, especially during the rainy season.

I was honestly so excited to try one, that I went out of my way to find them! Read that again. I said I was excited to try one, and then have everyone clap and be like, "Yay, you did it!" Turns out, you can't just buy one. You buy a scoop of them. See that foil on the table? It is filled with worms.

But how did it taste, you ask? There were many times where I thought it was actually yummy! Good meaty texture, nice flavors, am I eating chicken? But...not every bite was the same. Some bites rendered a gushing of "juice" as I bit down, as caterpillar guts oozed out. And honestly, some of them I couldn't eat. They looked too gross. They looked...bad. Look, I'll eat just about anything, so if I'm telling you it was gross, I mean it. Just take my word for it.

What would you like to try? Would you eat any of the items on this list?