Sometimes I wonder why people came to eat the different things that we all eat. I like to imagine that it was perhaps a mother who had nothing to feed her children that day and decided to try mopani worms. Or it was perhaps the quest not to throw anything away, that made my people realise you could eat cow feet if you cooked them for a long time.
Cow feet have been a part of the Zimbabwean diet I guess since time immemorial. It is only recently though that women have been allowed to eat them, they were meant for men only. Cow feet supposedly increase one’s manliness, whatever that means.
A lot of people in Zimbabwe, especially in rural areas, slaughter their own animals. Its messy but totally worth it. Nothing goes to waste. After the animal is dead, the head, offals and feet are removed to be cleaned. The cow and head are skinned and the hide hung to dry to be used as mats, called dehwe. The cow feet are not skinned because the skin is the meat.
There are two methods of cleaning the feet. The best method, at least for me, is to pour boiling water on the feet and use a knife to shave the hair of the hide. Alternatively you can place the feet on hot flames. It works but can you imagine hair burning. Then you have to remove the hooves which can be tricky and cut the feet into pieces which your butcher can do or use an axe.
The feet takes a long time to cook because its mostly the hide that will cook and they are most definitely an acquired taste. The best cow feet do not have too many flavours added to them. My mother boils them in just water and salt and calls it a day. I guess the flavour comes from the bones.
In this recipe I added onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to the cow feet and just boiled for three hours.
I love having cow feet the next day.
Mazondo (cow's feet)
Ingredients
- 3 lb cow feet
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Place all the indredients in a saucepan and add three cups water and bring to boil on medium high heat.
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Simmer for at least three hours and add more water as needed
