Cooking · Zimbabwean recipes
Samp and Beans (Isitshwala lendumba)
Coarsely-cracked maize cooked with sugar beans — a slow-cooked, deeply nourishing one-pot.
Prep
15 min
Cook
120 min
Serves
4
Approx. kcal
~549
Samp — coarse, broken white maize — and sugar beans, cooked together until both soften into a thick, savoury one-pot. This is rural, working-people food: inexpensive, filling, and providing complete protein when the two grains are cooked together. It needs an overnight soak and a long simmer, but the active time is minimal.
Ingredients
- 300g samp (coarsely cracked maize)
- 200g dried sugar beans (or red speckled beans)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 stock cubes
- Salt and pepper
- 1.5 litres water
Method
- The night before: soak the samp and beans separately in cold water. Both need at least 8 hours.
- Drain and rinse both. Combine in a heavy pot. Add the 1.5 litres of fresh water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer.
- Cook 75-90 minutes, partly covered, until the samp is plump and the beans are softening. Top up with hot water if it dries out — samp and beans absorb a lot.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, fry the diced onion in the oil over medium heat until deep golden, 10 minutes. Set aside.
- When samp and beans are both fork-tender, stir in the fried onion (and the oil from the pan), crumble in the stock cubes, and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook another 15-20 minutes uncovered to let everything come together into a thick, creamy texture.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot, traditionally alongside a fresh vegetable side (muriwo) or a piece of grilled chicken or beef.
About this dish
Samp and beans is a staple across southern Africa — known as umngqusho in isiXhosa (Nelson Mandela's favourite dish, reportedly), isitshwala lendumba in Ndebele Zimbabwe. The grain-and-pulse combination is nutritionally important: together they form a complete protein, while neither alone does.
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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