Maize meal, plain flour, sugar, baking powder and salt are mixed dry; warm water and oil bring it together into a thick batter. The batter is poured into a greased tin, covered tightly with foil, and steamed inside a pot (sitting on a trivet or upturned saucer above water) for an hour. The result is a dense, moist loaf with no crust, more pudding than bread.
Pumpkin chunks boil in salted water until tender. Drain, return to the dry pot, dry off any surface moisture over low heat, then mash with butter, a spoonful of sugar (or honey) and salt. Eat warm. A teaspoon of cinnamon or grated ginger lifts it; some homes add a splash of milk or peanut butter.
Dried white maize kernels (the same ones that grind into mealie meal) are heated in a heavy dry pan over medium heat. They crackle, jump and split open, some puff slightly, others stay whole and toasted. A pinch of oil keeps things moving; salt finishes. Faster than popcorn, denser, less puffy, more savoury.
The trotters get a hard initial boil to set the meat and start releasing gelatin; the water is changed. Onion, tomato and spices build a hot, dense gravy; the trotters re-enter for a long slow simmer until the gelatin gives. The sauce thickens as it cools, glazing every piece. Heat is part of the point.
Onion is fried soft in oil; tomato softens to a jammy base; greens (covo, kale, spring greens or cavolo nero) wilt down and braise with a little water; smooth peanut butter is added towards the end, thinning to a glossy sauce. Salt, pepper, maybe a squeeze of lemon. Eaten with sadza.
Cold water and a slurry of maize meal go into the pot first; the pot comes to a boil and thickens to a loose porridge (rapoko / first thickening). More dry meal is added in handfuls, stirred hard with a wooden mugoti (paddle), until the mixture is too thick to stir easily and pulls cleanly from the sides of the pot. The pot is covered and steamed for 5 minutes to finish.