Eswatini

In the rolling highveld and sunlit valleys of Eswatini, food is more than sustenance. It is a living archive, a record of cultural memory carried on the tongue and in the kitchen fires of rural homesteads. Meals here are less about novelty than continuity, rooted in tradition yet shaped by the rhythms of daily life and the influences of neighboring Southern African nations. At the center of Eswatini’s culinary identity lies maize. The grain, both staple and symbol, anchors much of the national diet. A common preparation is billi nja, a smooth porridge that forms the foundation of countless meals. Its mild flavor, deceptively simple, is designed to accompany an...