Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Kondowole with Greens Relish
A sticky, elastic cassava-flour staple from northern Malawi, shaped into a smooth mound and served with a simple tomato-and-greens relish.
Malawian · medium · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 35 min
~279 cal · 2g protein · 51g carbs · 7g fat · 4g fiber · 5g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Kondowole is the staple of northern Malawi, especially around the lakeshore, where grows more readily than maize. Where the rest of the country shapes maize flour into nsima, the north cooks flour into kondowole, a stickier, glossier and more elastic mound that takes real arm strength to stir.
The is traditionally peeled and soaked for days until it and softens, then pounded, dried and milled into flour. Cooked into boiling water and beaten hard, it turns into a translucent, stretchy dough that is shaped with a wet spoon and eaten with the fingers, pinched off to scoop up relish.
It is almost always served with a saucy accompaniment, most often a tomato-and-greens relish and, where there is a catch, dried or fresh fish from Lake Malawi.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups flour
5 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 large bunch leafy greens (pumpkin leaves, rape or collards), shredded
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp
Instructions
1
Make the relish first: soften the onion in the oil, add the tomatoes and cook to a sauce, then stir in the greens and cook until wilted and tender. Season with salt and keep warm.
2
Whisk the cassava flour into 2 cups of the cold water with the salt to make a smooth, lump-free slurry.
✎ Chef’s note
Mixing the flour with cold water first is the only way to avoid lumps once it hits the heat.
3
Bring the remaining 3 cups of water to a boil, then pour in the slurry, stirring hard and constantly.
4
Keep cooking and beating vigorously as it thickens into a sticky, stretchy, translucent mass, about 8 to 10 minutes. It should pull away from the sides of the pot.
✎ Chef’s note
Kondowole is far stickier than nsima; brace the pot and use your whole arm.
5
Wet a plate and a spoon, turn the kondowole out and shape it into a smooth dome. Serve hot with the greens relish (and flaked cooked fish alongside if you eat it).
Northern Malawian tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Lilongwe. Lake Malawi runs a third of the country's length and supplies most of its protein. Fish is grilled fresh at the shore or dried in the sun and carried inland, and the maize that becomes nsima is pounded, soaked and milled repeatedly to get the fine white flour Malawians actually want.
🗺️
Malawi. Ndiwo is the word for the relish, and it does the work of making nsima into a meal: pumpkin leaves or cassava leaves pounded and cooked with groundnut flour, or beans, or fish. Nsima is turned with a wooden spoon until it is stiff enough to hold a thumbprint, and a piece is used to scoop.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Malawi
Grilled Chambo with NsimaLake Malawi's prized chambo fish, grilled whole, with nsima and a tomato-onion relish.
ZitumbuwaMalawian banana fritters: very ripe bananas bound with a little cornmeal and deep-fried into sweet, golden, craggy morsels.
MkhwaniTender pumpkin leaves simmered with groundnut flour into a creamy green relish, eaten with nsima across Malawi.
Browse all Malawi recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Whisk.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Malawi meal
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Mbatata CookiesDessert
MkhwaniLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Kondowole with Greens Relish?
A sticky, elastic cassava-flour staple from northern Malawi, shaped into a smooth mound and served with a simple tomato-and-greens relish.
Where does Kondowole with Greens Relish come from?
Kondowole with Greens Relish is a Malawian dish from Lilongwe, Malawi.
Can Kondowole with Greens Relish be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kondowole with Greens Relish recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kondowole with Greens Relish safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Kondowole with Greens Relish take to make?
About 45 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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