Peanut Butter Rice
Aperçu
Peanut butter rice is Zimbabwean everyday cooking, rice finished with peanut butter until each grain is coated, giving a rich, mildly savoury dish eaten as a meal or as a side. Peanut butter, dovi in Shona, is not an occasional ingredient in Zimbabwean food. It is a staple seasoning used the way another cuisine might use cream or coconut milk, stirred into vegetables, greens, chicken and rice. Peanut butter rice, mupunga unedovi, is one of the most common expressions of it, sold by food vendors and restaurants across the country and cooked constantly at home. What separates it from a peanut sauce poured over rice is that the peanut butter goes in during cooking, not after. The rice absorbs it, taking on colour and a faint sheen, and the result is closer to a risotto in texture than to a rice-and-sauce plate. It is deliberately mild. Where West African groundnut cooking often runs hot with chilli, the Zimbabwean version is gentler, and the peanut is the flavour rather than a background to something spicier. Some versions add a little sugar or cayenne to lift it. It is also a practical dish for using up rice cooked the day before, which is much of why it gets made as often as it does.
Note de Patrimoine AFN
Peanut butter, dovi in Shona, functions as a staple seasoning in Zimbabwean cooking, stirred through vegetables, greens and meat as well as rice. Peanut butter rice, mupunga unedovi, is among the most common household preparations built on it.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
Place the rice in a pot and add water
- 2
Add salt and oil and cook normally till all the water is finished
- 3
Fluff the rice with a fork.
- 4
Add peanut butter and turn with a spoon.
- 5
The rice should be a bit sticky in appearance.
- 6
Add more peanut butter according to your taste.
Notes de l’Africook
- Loosen the peanut butter with a little hot water or stock before it goes in. Added straight from the jar it clumps and will not coat evenly.
- Use natural peanut butter if you can. Sweetened varieties push the dish towards dessert.
- Stir it through gently over low heat. High heat makes the peanut butter split and go oily.
- Leftover rice works better than fresh, the drier grains take the coating without going sticky.
- A small amount of sugar or cayenne lifts it, but keep it mild. This is not meant to be a hot dish.
Questions fréquentes
What is dovi?
Dovi is the Shona word for peanut butter, and by extension for the many Zimbabwean dishes built on it. It functions as a staple seasoning rather than a spread, stirred into greens, vegetables, chicken and rice. If you see a Zimbabwean dish described as dovi, it means peanut butter is central to it.
Is this the same as West African groundnut stew?
They share the ingredient but not much else. West African groundnut stew is usually a tomato-based, often quite hot dish where the groundnut adds body and richness. Zimbabwean peanut butter rice is milder and simpler, with the peanut as the main flavour rather than one element among several, and the rice absorbs it rather than being served under a sauce.
Can I use crunchy peanut butter?
Yes, though smooth coats the rice more evenly. Crunchy gives texture but tends to distribute unevenly, leaving some mouthfuls plain. If using crunchy, loosen it well with hot liquid first so the peanut base still spreads through the pot.
Does it contain peanuts in a form that affects allergies?
Yes, entirely, peanut butter is the defining ingredient and there is no version of this dish without it. Peanut is one of the most serious food allergens, so this recipe is unsuitable for anyone with a peanut allergy and there is no substitution that preserves the dish.
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Popped into the international shop on London Road to get proper smooth peanut butter with no added sugar for this. The sticky texture took me by surprise but it goes brilliantly with grilled chicken. Next time I might add slightly less salt to the water as the peanut butter had enough on its own.
My Zimbabwean housemate in uni days used to make this for us when we were broke sha. Couldn't find smooth Zim peanut butter in Asda so I used ManiLife from Sainsbury's. Worked perfectly. You really have to turn it in well with the spoon while the pot is still hot so it melts properly. E sweet o!
Tried this with brown rice like the options said, but 3 cups of water wasnt enough water to get it soft before stirring in the 3 tbsp of peanut butter. Came out too dry and not sticky at all. Baie disappointing for Sunday braai. Will try white long grain next time to see if it works better.
made this to go with our braai meat last night instead of plain pap. I used 4 tbsp of smooth Black Cat peanut butter right at the end after fluffing the long grain rice. turned out so lekker and rich, even my husband who was skeptical loved how sticky it got.