The Zambian meal is not divided into starter-main-dessert. At the center is insima (often written nshima): a thick paste of white maize flour that is shaped by hand into small balls. Around it are one or more munani (relish, accompaniments) — green leaves in peanut sauce, dried fish, village chicken — which are picked up with the nshima. Everyone eats together, from the same dish, with the fingers of the right hand. Fermented drinks and street fritters are taken separately, outside the main meal.

In Zambia, groundnuts roasted and then pounded into powder or paste are the signature of munani: they coat green leaves, thicken sauces, and give that round, roasted base recognizable among all. It is the soul of Zambian relishes, far more than butter or cream.