''Chikanda'' is a

Zambian Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are th ...

dish made from the boiled root tubers of terrestrial orchids also called ''chikanda''. The dish is often called "African polony" because it has a texture that resembles

bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

. Chikanda can be eaten as a

snack A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snacks are p ...

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...

, or an accompaniment to ''nshima'', a

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

flour

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

Background

Chikanda has been eaten for hundreds of years by people in parts of Zambia, northern

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

, and southwestern

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. The dish is traditionally associated with the

Bemba Bemba may refer to: * Bemba language (Chibemba), a Bantu language spoken in Zambia * Bemba people (AbaBemba), an ethnic group of central Africa * Jean-Pierre Bemba, the former vice-President of the Democratic Republic of Congo * A Caribbean drum, ...

tribe in northeast Zambia, although it is eaten throughout Zambia today. For the Bemba, it is an integral part of the culture and is served at special occasions such as

weddings A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

. Originally a food in the setting of rural scarcity, it has now shifted to an urban trend. Now, chikanda can be found being sold by street vendors,

supermarkets A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

, and large restaurants as the urban population has an increased demand for this rural tradition. In Malawi, it is thought that eating the dish will protect against sickness. In southwestern Tanzania, a similar dish called ''kinaka'' in Kiswahili are eaten by the

Nyamwanga Mwanga, or Namwanga (Nyamwanga), is a Bantu language spoken by the Mwanga people in the Northern Province of Zambia (mainly in the districts of Isoka and Nakonde) and in Mbeya Region, Tanzania. The 2010 Zambian census found 140,000 speakers. The ...

Nyika Nyika is a Swahili word meaning "bush" or "hinterland" (of the East African coast). More specifically, it can refer to: * Mijikenda peoples, nine ethnic groups in coastal Kenya (also: ''Wanyika'') * Nyika language, a Bantu language of Tanzania and ...

Nyiha The Nyiha are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group based in Mbeya Region, Tanzania and northeastern Zambia. In 1993 the Nyiha population was estimated to number 626,000, of which 306,000 were in Tanzania and 320,000 were in Zambia. The Nyiha are scattere ...

, Fipa,

Lungu Lungu is a village in Türi Parish, Rapla County in western-central Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from F ...

, and Ndali.

Ingredients

There are many different

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of orchids used, but primarily from the '' Disa'', ''

Habenaria ''Habenaria'', commonly called rein orchids or bog orchids, is a widely distributed genus of orchids in the tribe Orchideae. About 880 species of ''Habenaria'' have been formally described. They are native to every continent except Antarctica, g ...

'', and '' Satyrium''

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

. Researchers determined that 16 orchid species in 6 genera are in the ''chikanda'' trade. The orchid roots resemble the shape of an Irish potato but is smaller in size. The

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

water or baking soda with their high pH likely provides supplemental

minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

and leads to the soapy taste and firm texture of ''chikanda''.

Preparation

The tubers are dried and pounded. Then, a mixture of the dried brown orchid meal and

groundnut Groundnut may refer to: * Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes: ** '' Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni ** '' Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species ** ''Vigna sub ...

meal are boiled to form a

slurry A slurry is a mixture of denser solids suspended in liquid, usually water. The most common use of slurry is as a means of transporting solids or separating minerals, the liquid being a carrier that is pumped on a device such as a centrifugal pu ...

. Dried chili peppers can also be added. The slurry is thickened by soda, salted, and flavored with spices. As it simmers, the slurry thickens into a cake and rises like dough. It is usually served sliced.

Sustainability issues

The orchid roots grow wild throughout Zambia. However, due to the high demand, this had led to the present scarcity of the orchids in the country. Now, they are illegally imported from Tanzania,

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, and the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, leading to the risk of overharvesting abroad. Traditional sustainability practices included only harvested tubers that have spread their seed and replanting stalks. However, the locals have abandoned these practices due to increased demand. Unfortunately, the orchids are difficult to cultivate in

captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...

. Current efforts for

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

focus on cultivating the threatened orchids. A similar issue with unsustainable harvesting of orchids is noted with the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

trade in '' salep'', a starch used in dessert and beverages.

References

{{reflist Zambian cuisine