Graça Machel at the table

In Mozambique, the meal is organized around a starch base, xima (a thick porridge of flour, formerly millet or sorghum), eaten with the fingers. Around this base revolve one or two accompaniments (caril) — fish, vegetables, green leaves — and the meal often ends with a tropical fruit or drink. It is not a starter/main/dessert sequence, but a simultaneous ensemble shared at the center of the mat or table, where each diner shapes their mouthful and dips it into the common sauce.

The coastal cuisine of southern Mozambique is recognizable by freshly grated coconut milk and roasted peanut paste (xima de folhas, matapa). Cultural note: the peanut is perfectly legitimate here — Mozambique is in Africa, and even outside anachronism, the person lives in the 20th-21st century. It is this double coconut/peanut base, spiced with local green leaves, that gives the carils their unmistakable roundness.