African Cuisine

Northern Africa

Algeria

A traditional Algerian dish, rechta is made with thin, flat noodles and chicken sauce. The noodles are prepared with flour, salt, water, and ghee. The sauce consists of chicken pieces, onions, garlic, oil, chickpeas, ras el hanout (a special spice mix), cinnamon, turnips, potatoes, and zucchini. When the dish is ready, the rechta noodles are placed on a large dish and topped with the chicken sauce.

Chakhchoukha is a flavorful dish that is made with torn pieces of thin, round flatbread called rougag which is the main ingredient of this stew. The word chakhchoukha derives from tacherchert meaning crumbling or tearing into small pieces. The torn pieces of flatbread are mixed in with the stew ingredients that consist of diced lamb, tomatoes, chickpeas, onions, and spices like cumin, ras el hanout, caraway, galangal (more pungent than ginger), lavender, and red chili peppers.

Chorba frik is a traditional soup and one of the staples of an Algerian diet. The tomato-based soup is prepared with mutton or lamb, chickpeas, and a grain known as frik, which is an ancient cereal green in color and resembles bulgur. It is seasoned with traditional Algerian spices like mint and coriander.

Egypt

Umm ali is prepared by dividing bread or puff pastry into pieces and mixing the pieces with sugar, milk, and coconut flakes. The mixture is sprinkled with raisins, pistachios, and cinnamon. It is baked until the top is golden brown. This desert can be eaten hot or cold.

Samak mashwi is prepared with a whole baked fish that has been cleaned, leaving the head intact but removing the eyes. The fish is garnished with parsley, lemon slices, mayonnaise, pickles, and sliced olives. It is seasoned with salt and olive oil and baked.

Shwarma is marinated and spit-roasted meat. The meat is usually lamb, turkey, chicken, beef, or a mix of meats. The marinated meat is cut into thin slices, stacked in a cone shape, and cooked for hours on a rotating skewer, basting in its own juices and fats.

Keba Eskandarani, or Alexandrian liver, is a specialty of Alexandria, Egypt. The dish is made with fried beef liver flavored with cumin, garlic, cardamom, and chili peppers. The liver is served in sandwiches along with tahini dip or accompanied by warm rice, lime wedges, or pita bread.

Morocco

Sfenj are popular doughnut-like fritters. They are prepared from sticky unleavened dough. The dough is shaped into rings and deep-fried golden brown. The exterior is crispy, and the interior tender and chewy. They are eaten plain or dusted with powdered sugar.

Zaalouk is a traditional salad prepared with eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, and spices like garlic, cilantro, cumin, paprika, coriander, parsley, and olive oil. Lemon juice can be added as a flavoring. It is eaten as a dip with bread.

Briouats are small crispy pastries stuffed with ingredients like chicken, lamb, cheese, or lemon. The pastry is baked or fried. Usually, they are served as an appetizer.

Tunisia

Kafteji is a traditional dish prepared with fried vegetables. The vegetables used to prepare this dish include eggplants, bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, and pumpkins. The vegetables are fried, chopped, and mixed with fried eggs and seasonings. When served, the dish is sprinkled with coriander or parsley.

Lablabi is a chickpea soup that is hot and spicy and flavored with garlic, cumin, and harissa. It is usually ladled over chunks of stale crusty bread drizzled with olive oil or either vinegar or lemon juice and garnished with cilantro, parsley, and scallions. Versions of the soup can include capers, olives, pickled vegetables, and tuna.

Fricassee is a traditional Tunisian sandwich. The bread dough is prepared with flour, eggs, oil, salt, water, and yeast and shaped into round or elongated rolls. The rolls are fried in hot oil and stuffed with tuna, hummus, boiled eggs, capers, olives, harissa, and boiled potatoes.

Mechouia is a salad that is made with grilled, coarsely chopped onions, peppers, tomatoes, and garlic, drizzled with olive oil and flavored with caraway, salt, and black pepper. The salad is garnished with hard-boiled eggs, olives, or tuna. It can be served on its own or with toasted bread or baguette slices.

Shakshouka is a delicious dish with poached eggs in spice tomato sauce. The tomato sauce is prepared in a skillet with onions, tomatoes, and spices. The eggs are added to the sauce and poached until done. Merguez sausage can be added to this dish.

Eastern Africa

Ethiopia

Shiro is a stew prepared with chickpeas or broad beans, garlic, onions, ginger, tomatoes, and chili peppers. Chickpeas provide a nice texture and a nutty flavor.

Genfo is a simple Ethiopian porridge usually eaten for breakfast. It is prepared with dry-roasted barley flour and boiling water, making a smooth, thick consistency. When served, a hole is made in the center of the porridge and filled with clarified spiced butter and berbere spices. The porridge can be accompanied by a scoop of yogurt.

Doro wat, the national dish of Ethiopia, is a spicy chicken stew with onions. The chicken is cut into eight or ten pieces and soaked in cold water with lemon juice. In a large pot, onions are sauteed until deep brown, then berbere, garlic, and ginger are added and cooked for 30 minutes until deep red in color. Oil and tomato paste are added, and then the chicken pieces until well coated in the mixture and simmered for 30 minutes. Covered in chicken stock and simmered on low until the chicken is tender. Five minutes before the stew is done, peeled hard-boiled eggs are added.

Eritrea

Fata is a spicy tomato and bread salad that is prepared with mince onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, oil, tomato paste, cayenne peppers, allspice, and pieces of crusty bread. The salad is usually dressed with yogurt.

Kulwa is a flavorful dish made with lamb or beef chunks fried with berbere spices, ghee, tomatoes, and onions. It is served with rice or injera flatbread on the side.

Tanzania

Mchicha is a thick and creamy vegetarian dish. It is made with leafy vegetables like amaranth or spinach, grated coconut, coconut milk, peanut butter, tomatoes, and onions. It is served with rice, ugali, or samp, and beans on the side.

Middle Africa

Cameroon

Poulet DG is a tasty chicken dish prepared with chicken and ripe plantains in tomato sauce. The dish combines vegetables like green beans, bell peppers, and carrots. The name of the dish refers to DG Directeur General in French or CEO in English, meaning the dish was served to the upper classes.

Western Africa

Mali

Maafe is a traditional stew that includes roasted peanuts ground into flour to make the basic sauce of the dish. The stew is made with tomato paste, fish or meat like lamb, goat, chicken, or beef, and various vegetables. Spices for flavor include ginger, turmeric, coriander, or cinnamon. Side dishes can include rice, couscous, fufu, or sweet potatoes.

Senegal

Yassa is also known as chicken yassa, and is the national dish of Senegal. For at least eight hours, the chicken is marinated in lemon, lots of onions, and vinegar. Then the chicken pieces are cooked over medium heat until the marinade becomes a sauce. The tender chicken is served with fluffy rice.

Thieboudienne is the national dish of Senegal. It is prepared with fish, vegetables, and rice in a tomato sauce flavored with garlic and chili. The vegetables and rice are served separately with a few lime wedges on the side.

Ivory Coast

Attieke is a traditional dish that consists of fermented and ground cassava roots. The dish is accompanied by sliced onions, tomatoes, grilled chicken, or fried fish.

Cape Verdi

Cachupa is a slow-cooked corn (hominy) and bean stew with vegetables like plantains, sweet potatoes, squash, and yams, meat like marinated pork, chorizo sausages, or tuna, and spices like bay leaves, garlic, and pimento.

The Gambia

Domoda is the national dish of The Gambia. It is a peanut stew prepared with or without meat and served over rice. The meat used is usually beef, bushmeat, or chicken. Vegetables include sweet potatoes and pumpkins. A vegetarian version is made with a flavorful peanut sauce with ground peanuts, tomato paste, and fresh tomatoes mixed with onions or chili peppers.

Nigeria

Afang is a traditional soup that is made with a combination of afang leaves, water leaves, dried fish, beef, onions, red palm oil, ground crayfish, and seasoning. The afang leaves are ground, and the onions are chopped before they are boiled with the beef. Once done, the dried fish are added with palm oil, ground pepper, afang leaves, and water leaves. When the leaves are tender and some of the liquid has evaporated, the soup is ready to be served.

Southern Africa

South Africa

Hoenderpastei is a dish that consists of a shortcrust pastry shell filled with chicken pieces, vegetables like onions, carrots, celery, hard-boiled eggs, and seasonings such as pepper, lemon juice, salt, and bay leaves.

Gatsby is the signature sandwich of Cape Town. It consists of a toasted roll stuffed with bologna slices, French fries, ketchup, lettuce, and hot piri-piri sauce. It was named after the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Potjiekos is a dish that is prepared by layering meat, vegetables, starches like potatoes, rice, or pasta, and sauce in a pot. This dish is never stirred while cooking to let the steam build up. The dish cooks from three to six hours and is prepared in small pots.

Bunny chow is a dish that is made with a half or quarter loaf of bread hollowed out and stuffed with a curry consisting of kidney beans or meat like mutton, chicken, and lamb. It is usually consumed without utensils.