Breakfast Meal: (n) finer-textured maize meal ground to easier digestive breakdown
Roller Meal/Mugaiwa: (n) whole grain maize meal.
This is NOT a political rant. This is about nshima.....😌
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My first encounter with roller meal was in 2003 when dispute my mother's scoldings on eating in people's homes, I stayed over at a friend's house till they served lunch. I was served the GOAT of meals: nshima (of roller meal) with vinkubala🤤 (mopane worms).
Just looking at my plate I knew I was in for a surprise. The nshima was more brown than the white one I knew.
The first bite that had me regretting disobeying my mother. I had let my mother down by staying over for lunch kwabene, but I knew not to disgrace her by outrightly showing I hadn't had a good meal. Good home training (at least where I'm from) demands you eat what you're given- even if it's something outside your conventional diet.
Eat it without grimace and always say thank you. Lest "umwana wa Bana Phiri balimutumpika" become the whispers in the neighbourhood. I grew up ku Kopala, even the suburbs had such gossip.
I wasn't a picky eater (I'm still not) but this nshima looked as bad as it tasted; HORRIBLE. So horrible it managed to give the otherwise flavourful mopane worms its bitter (if not raw) after taste.
My face gave me away (I was 7, cut me some slack). Barely a few mikusu into my meal, I gave up. I learnt it was still assumed I was a spoilt brat that didn't eat mopane worms😂.
In those days, roller meal and mugaiwa were common food elements in Zambian homes- middle class & lower.
Not only was it a cheaper option, the country was just recovering from mealie meal shortages in the 80s- whose trickle effect was upcoming millers just learning how to make the finer-textured breakfast meal.
I have had roller meal a couple of times after that, but it still isn't my favourite choice of mealie meal.
Now years later, roller meal has evolved from looking appallingly brown to a bright white- and it tastes less "bitter" too. However, the standards of living have acclimatised to breakfast meal that roller meal is now associated to low income/class & diabetic diets. Who would have thought😂.
Roller meal regained its popularity over the past two weeks. Our Veep advised the nation on substituting breakfast meal for roller meal amist hiked mealie meal prices- much to the annoyance of an already angry general public.
Surprisingly, the annoyance was more of "how dare you" than "that doesn't still doesn't solve the problem". All of a sudden, people felt insulted about buying the cheaper (and healthier) roller meal- not the situation that lead to lack of options. Few even spoke of how roller meal was STILL too expensive for mealie meal.
It was a matter of the people's ego vs. the state.
This uproar took me back to the 2003 scene.
Looking back, the nshima was never the problem.....I was.
I was unexposed to the reality of the times. I may have been young, but I was entitled too. Entitled to eating the same quality of food as my mother cooked. Entitled to not adapting to what was set before me.
Much like 7 year-old Zaria, this nshima discussion brought out a lot of entitlement harboured in the Zambian folk. We are blinded to what we know & want that when nothing else makes sense, we can't even think of the next best thing.
Whereas the Veep's suggestion was a little provocative during these hard times, it's not the first time someone of that status uttered such tones. Yet we still react the same way: with rage. We don't even give the right recourse. We are busy blabbering about why can't so and so do ABC.
Well, what are we doing about it in our individual capacities?
In the height of the high cost of living, what substitutes are in place to live within our means? A garden, a farm, an extra job, lower rentals, an emergency fund, a PJ?
Don't get me wrong, someone is responsible for creating an conducive living environment for us. But let's face it...it been over 2 generations since trucks handed out bread & butter on Independence Day.
Do we have personal contingency plans for when things go left (if they haven't already😒)
Who exactly do we think is coming to save us if not ourselves?
We either make a hell of a meal out of the roller life has dealt us......
Or continue throwing rocks at walls.
Anyway, ni vi life che...
