Cooking · Zimbabwean recipes
Chimodho (Steamed Cornbread)
A simple steamed maize-meal bread — slightly sweet, dense, the perfect partner for tea.
Prep
10 min
Cook
60 min
Serves
6
Approx. kcal
~395
Chimodho is a steamed cornbread — closer to a pudding-cake than a Western yeasted loaf — eaten with tea, with butter, or as a side to a meat stew. It's made from the same white maize meal as sadza, but with sugar, a little flour, and steaming rather than boiling. The result is dense, moist and gently sweet.
Ingredients
- 400g maize meal (mealie meal)
- 100g bread flour
- 100g sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 350ml water (warm)
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
Method
- Mix the maize meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the melted butter and warm water gradually, stirring with a wooden spoon, until you have a thick batter — like a stiff cake batter, pourable but not runny.
- Grease a heatproof 1.5-litre pudding basin or bowl thoroughly with butter or oil. Pour in the batter; it should reach about three-quarters full.
- Cover the basin tightly with foil and tie down with string, or use a plate as a lid weighted down. The seal matters — no steam should escape into the batter.
- Set the basin into a large pot. Add boiling water to come halfway up the side of the basin. Cover the pot and steam for 60 minutes on medium-low heat. Top up with boiling water as needed.
- Test with a skewer: it should come out clean. If still wet, steam another 15 minutes.
- Carefully lift the basin out (it will be hot). Let cool 10 minutes before turning out. Slice and serve warm with butter or jam.
About this dish
Chimodho is one of several Zimbabwean breads made primarily from maize rather than wheat — reflecting both the country's maize-centric agriculture and the expense of wheat flour historically. It is eaten at every level of Zimbabwean society and is a common Sunday-tea offering.
Sources & further reading
- Calorie estimate: per-ingredient kcal table (USDA-derived), divided by serves. Approximate — varies with portion size and exact ingredients used.
- Cultural context and method are editorial, based on widely-documented Zimbabwean home cooking. Last reviewed 2026-08-20.
Have a family variation that we missed? Email [email protected] — we credit contributors.
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