Tambuti Lodge

Tambuti cuisine is unique in using the freshest local Kavango ingredients where possible to create African inspired dishes.

(Please indicate your main dishes (Numbers) when booking)
(Starter.1-6, Main 1-10, Dessert 1-6)

Starters:

1. Fried or dry chilly Mopani worms  (if in season) – (A delicacy of dried caterpillars living from Mopani tree leaves in the northern regions);
2. Small meshed Catfish/Barbell fish balls, bread and salad;
3. Pumpkin soup;
4. Pepper soup;
5. Traditional quiche (See vegetarian);
6. A light salad from our garden with slightly fried portuguese chouriço¹ and corn bread.

Main dishes:

1. Kavango river fish (mainly local indigenous Okavango river Tilapia species, Nembwes and Largemouth sustainable harvested with traditional methods);
2. Sun-dried catfish which is a rich delicacy among many Namibians, cooked in Marula nut (Edi);
3. Succulent grilled Namibian beef, or stews;
4. Namibian grilled lamb steaks or stews;
5. Traditional chicken cooked in Marula or Manketti nuts.

All  main dishes are served with the following staple food as per your choice (on arrival):

• Rice;
• Mahangu (finger millet);
• Yilya (sorghum);
• Local maize porridge;
• Cassava (manioc) or less traditionnal french fried chips,(with home garden grown salad if desired as a side dish).

All dishes are served with two different local wild African leafy vegetables as per season. (Normally two of each to try as per season – Don’t worry, we decide for you.):

• Mboga (Amaranthus thunbergi=wild Spinach);
• Mpungu (Cleome gynandra);
• Mutete leafes (Hibiscus);
• Maliangwa (Pumpking leaves);
• Mudika (Cassava/Manioc leaves).

And one of the following local traditional Sauces (NONE is spicy) as per season:

• Nongono nut sauce (Sauce from pounded Manketti tree² nuts);
• Ondjove (sauce from pounded Marula tree³ nuts);
• Nonsivi (a red nut sauce from the African rosewood tree;
• Fresh basil sauce from the lodge garden with parsley and white yoghurt sauce prepared Tambuti way.

PLUS:

Makunde /Cowpea puree: Prepared in Nongongo nut oil or Marula oil (oshingali) and local butternut squash puree or sweet potatoes puree as per season.

Other main dishes:

6.  Chicken curry (eastern African style) fried and cooked in curry and ginger sauce Tambuti way, served with rice or manioc/cassava flour and Mudika,(young cassava leaves);
7.  Maafe (famous West African dish) / Chicken stew cooked in groundnut sauce served over white rice.

For the vegetarian or as a light meal:

8.  Traditional African spinach quiche/tart prepared the Tambuti, with 50% finger millet (mahangu base) with local Kavango leafy vegetables as ingredients (Mboga, Mutete, Malianga) as available and Mafumpula (local Kalahari truffle) served with our salad;

9.  Another main vegetarian dish consists of boiled and fried Mafumpulas (Kalahari truffles) in butter-parsley-garlic sauce, served with sweet potatoes, leafy vegetables and rice;

10.  Or simply mahangu (millet), oshingali (cowpea past) and wild spinach.

Desserts:

• Tartes aux citrons / Lemon tart:  This is Tambuti favorite dessert; no cream is used for this Tambuti version of “Tarter aux citrons”, only short crust pastry with millet, a light lemon custard and caramelized meringue. Done with the lemon zest of our own lodge grown lemons trees;
• Mint flavoured sweet couscous with raisin and yoghurt;
• Mungome (A sweet traditional pancake);
• Amarula Dom Pedro (a soft ice-cream);
• A very light refreshing lemon-mint, house made sorbet ice-cream (an excellent digestive) FOR ADULTS TRY THE GIN VERSION underneath;
• Lemon-mint sorbet island sprinkled with Gordon’s Dry Gin.

All dishes include a traditional drink:

• Local African wild Hibiscus sabdariffa juice
• Based on local red ‘Mutete‘ flowers
• Kavango Shikundu
• Mutoho style/Oshivambo Oshikundu
• Mahangu/Millet brew with pounded and germinated (malted) Sorghum or Millet grains. This is a very nutritious and refreshing drink
• Freshly grounded Ginger juice/beer.  (Available as juice or beer depending on the time you order).

¹Portuguese chouriço is made with pork, fat, wine, paprika and salt. It is then stuffed and slowly dried over smoke.

²Schinziophyton rautanenii.

³Sclerocarya birrea.