Sometime in a new city, you chanced upon an eatery around the corner that wowed you. Chiveve is one of those underrated restaurant that serves solid, hearty meals.
Chiveve was named after a river in Mozambique where the owner and his wife (who is the chef) came from. The owner, Eddie, was extraordinarily friendly in welcoming us in to his restaurant without a booking and he switched seamlessly between Portuguese and English as he tended to the bevvy of nationalities dining that evening.
The majority of the country’s dishes consist of curries or stews combined with coconut milk and/or ground peanut. Ethiopian traders frequented the country in the late medieval period, while from the 1500s to 1975, Mozambique was a Portuguese colony, which also left a mark on the local cuisine.
When it comes to Mozambican cuisine, two thoughts immediately come to mind: “I’ve never had anything like it,” and “Anthony Bourdain couldn’t get enough of it.” From spicy curries to hearty stews and flavorful hot sauces, its cuisine is basically a historical footprint of the Bantu region, with influences from the Indian, Persian, Ethiopian, and Arabic cuisines.
Chamussas Carne Novilho (Beef Samosas)
In Portuguese-speaking countries and former colonies of Portugal, samosas (which is of Indian origin) are known as chamuças. They are usually filled with chicken, beef, pork, lamb or vegetables, and generally served quite hot. These were filled with minced beef with beautiful flavours from herbs, quite different from the spicy, potato filled ones we get here. We also ordered some local salted olives as snacks.
Matapa com Camarão (Matapa with Shrimp)
Matapa is, in Mozambique, a dish made with piled cassava leaves, cooked in a sauce based on ground peanuts and coconut milk and seasoned with seafood, in this case shrimps (camarão).
The young cassava leaves are grounded together with garlic and chilli until they make a cream that you put to boil (without water); when the cream is almost dry, you add the coconut and peanut milk and let the dish boil, stirring constantly; then let it simmer.
Camarão Frito À Moçambicana (Mozambican Fried Shrimp)
This dish is one of those staples that tell a very sad tale of today’s seafood supply in Mozambique. Several dishes in Mozambique, which are reliant on their seafood quality, have suffered due to the mass export of seafood to China. Big crabs, tiger prawns, and groupers used to be very easy to buy from local fishermen but now, in a few areas, it’s almost impossible. Eddie explained that he was very proud that he could reproduced this childhood favourite using quality tiger prawns. He went easy on the spiciness for this classic dish, but next time I would have it spicier.
Everything came with rough cut potato wedges or white rice. Rice was essential to soak up all the curries.
Frango À Zambeziana (Zambezian Grilled Chicken)
The region in Mozambique called Zambezia is known for their grilled chicken. The chicken was made by Eddie’s wife, whom is from that region, and he promised that it would be the best chicken we ever tasted. He was right, and we ordered another portion. Covered with a white, creamy coconut sauce, it was tasty on its own. Served with a side of potato wedges.
Caril de Frango com Amendoim (Chicken Curry with Peanuts)
Caril de amendoim (peanut curry), a dish from Mozambique, served with white rice (arroz blanco) and used chicken (frango) as protein. In Mozambique, locals buy whole peanuts for a very low price and use them in several dishes. The common practice is to smash them with a “Pilão” until they turn into flour. This curry originated in the northern part of Mozambique.
Caril de Caranguejo Desfiado (Crab Meat Curry)
Like many local curries, this one is particularly packed with grated coconut, sunflower oil, and spices. However, the main feature is the crab (caranguejo). The crab meat was quite obviously canned, and this would be the only dish that evening that I did not enjoy.
I complained that it was not spicy enough, the owner brought me a plate of these.
Mozambican Desserts
Doce de Mandioca (in red bowl) is similar Arroz doce literally means “sweet rice” to can be served hot or cold. It is one of the tastiest traditional sweets in Mozambique, and most children can’t resist it. It’s made with coconut milk and cinnamon, perfect to eat for breakfast and as dessert.
This family-run restaurant was an awesome find. What a wonderful, warm and friendly place with absolutely delicious food and excellent service. Busy but never felt rushed or overlooked, I felt like I was at a good friend’s home and just told to sit back and relax. And the food…yum! The chillies were a crowning touch on my curry. Great value too. Highly recommend!
Restaurante Chiveve
R. Andrade Corvo 5D, 1050-007 Lisboa, Portugal
Tel : +351 21 8036347
Visited Aug 2023
#mozambiquecuisine # africancusine #lisbon
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