African Recipes

[Sandyj]

It's interesting because a few days ago, I went to an African cultural night and they had a similar 'pap' thing from Nigeria.I am curious how many countries in Africa have the same sort of thing all in a different name.

I'd bet just about all of them. Interesting how so many cultures seem to make use of corn meal as a staple. I know it is probably because it isn't as expensive as other types of food, and is nutritious and filling.

Have you ever heard of Bobotie? I make this fairly often, and it's an interesting dish with an interesting history (blend of Malaysian, Dutch, African styles) - there are lots of recipes for it on the web. I have a very old one from a friend, and we like to soak the fruit in sherry before adding to the curry. I don't have the recipe with me know, but I can look it up at home.

 

[Jikoni]

^No never heard of Bobotie, Would happily try it if you can find the recipe.

 

[urmaniac13]

^No never heard of Bobotie, Would happily try it if you can find the recipe.

Hey Hya!! How are you? I found the recipe, sounds really good!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobotie

 

[Jikoni]

Hiya Licia,Urmaniac13 (I know you laugh every time you type, Hi, Hiya!)thanks a lot, I have looked at the recipe over and over again, sounds interesting, but on the web page it mentions Kenya. I have never come across it ever, the name doesn't even ring a bell, but knowing me, I am willing to try it out and find out exactly it's origin.It had to have started from somewhere right?!

 

[Yakuta]

Hi Sizzles, Sandy, I just came back from staying at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando Florida.

I had a fabulous time. The entire resort has an African theme. They even employ exchange students from Africa - lots of them from Botswana, Pretoria, Capetown and Kenya.

The lodge has giraffes, zebras and other African animals and birds that you can watch from your room. It was a trip I will not forget soon and nor will my boys.

I ate twice at a restaurant called BOMA's. It's modeled like an African marketplace and the food is a buffet with a lot of African delicacies. I ate Boboti there made with Lamb and it was really good. I also tried a corn mash (like grits) with a vegetable stew. A lot of dishes used sweet and savory (sultanas are used in salads, breads, stews etc). I also liked the chicken which was seasoned with cumin, chilli powder and strong spices almost similar to Indian cuisine.

Anyway the mention of Boboti brought back my vacation memories. I can't wait to go back there. I will have to start working hard again so that I can make the money because the place is not cheap but it was well worth it. My boys learned so much about Africa. Now they want me to bring them there .

 

[Jikoni]

Wow Yakuta!glad you had a great time. I am envious, it's cold here, and more so as you got to eat boboti. I ksaw the recipe and wonder how I have lived all these years without it. trust me, next week, Boboti.You ate all those lovely dishes...mmmhhhh. Doggy bag for me?

 

[Jikoni]

I ate twice at a restaurant called BOMA's. It's modeled like an African marketplace and the food is a buffet with a lot of African delicacies. I ate Boboti there made with Lamb and it was really good. I also tried a corn mash (like grits) with a vegetable stew. A lot of dishes used sweet and savory (sultanas are used in salads, breads, stews etc). I also liked the chicken which was seasoned with cumin, chilli powder and strong spices almost similar to Indian cuisine.
.

Btw Yakuta, 'Boma' is a swahili word for 'homestead'

 

[Jikoni]

Doro Wat

Ingredients :

Chicken pieces(fleshy) 2 pieces per person
Vegetable oil for frying
About 2 onions per person coarsely chopped(this dish requires lots of onions)
2 cloves garlic chopped per person
tomato paste
I tsp per person Berbere seasoning
1 Hard-boiled eggs, peeled (optional) per person

Method :

Heat oil in a sauce pan, then add the onions. Cook over medium heat until somewhat soft, then add garlic. When onions are translucent, stir in tomato paste and about 1/4 cup of water. add berbere to the mixture. add chicken and coat with the sauce, and cover. Simmer, stirring often to make sure the sauce doesn't stick or burn, add water as necessary to keep the sauce the consistency of thick ketchup. If you're using eggs (traditional in doro wat), add them whole to the mixture after 30 minutes to boil together( i usually soft boil the eggs separately, shell them and add to the meal half an hour before serving
Simmer on the stove top about one hour. The sauce should be a rich, deep red. When the dish is done, hold in a warm oven until ready to serve.Serve with enjera bread.

 

[Jikoni]

Vitumbua

Ingredients:
2 cups maizemeal
2 cups homebaking flour
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 tbsp dry yeast
1 egg, beaten (optional)
vegetable oil for deep frying

Method:
Dissolve the yeast in a little warm water (about a tablespoon) and set aside. Mix the 2 flours in a bowl, then add the sugar and salt. Mix them up with your hand. Mix in enough warm water to make a runny but stiff paste. Add in the yeast and mix well with your hands. Set aside and cover to rise to double in size for 2 hours. After rising, mix in the beaten egg and deep fry the mixture in balls that you’ll drop by hand into the hot oil.Enjoy with a cup of tea.

 

[Jikoni]

Mchicha wa Nazi na Karanga

Spinach with coconut and peanuts

1 lb spinach
1 cup coconut milk
half cup finely crushed peanuts
2 medium onions chopped
2 medium tomatoes chopped
2 fresh green chillies
1 tbs oil
and salt to taste

Chop spinach finely, saute the chopped onions in the oil until soft, add spinach and cook for 3 to 5 mins. Add tomatoes, green chillies, chopped peanuts and coconut milk and cook for a further 10 mins. I like it served with rice, chapati or ugali.

 

[Jikoni]

Traditional Mombasa Meat 'Kalio' curry(Heavy and rich)

Kalio
one kg of lamb (or beef) cut into cubes
half a kg onions, chopped
one cup peeled tomatoes, chopped
half a kilogramme of potatoes, peeled, cut into pieces and fried
two tea spoons ginger paste
one and a half tea spoons of garlic paste
two table spoons of tomato puree
two table spoons of coriander/ cumin powder
one tea spoon of garam masala powder
half a tea spoon of turmeric
half a tea spoon of red chilli powder
three quarters of a cup of (vegetable/ olive) oil
one table spoon of chopped dania
salt to taste
lemon juice to taste

WHOLE GARAM MASALA:

(lightly grind ingredients below into a loose powder
and store ready for use in the refrigerator)

half a cup of yoghurt
half a tea spoon of saffron
four pods of cardamom
two sticks of cinnamon
six cloves



Method

1. Wash the meat pieces and add yoghurt, saffrongarlic, ginger, and half the quantity of whole garam masala and marinate for one hour minimum.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the remaining whole garam masala.
3. Add the onions and fry until golden brown.
4. Add the marinade, tomatoes, and all the powdered spices (except garam masala) and fry.
5. When well blended and thick, add the tomato puree and lemon juice and cook on low heat.
6. Add one and a half cups of water, bring to boil and cook over low heat until meat is tender. Alternatively can be cooked in an oven for one hour at
7. Add fried potatoes and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and garam masala powder and simmer until oil floats to the surface.


(N.B. Chicken Kalio can be made in the same way )

 

[Chopstix]

Wow Jikoni. First time I'm reading this thread. Thanks for being so generous with your recipes. I've never tried African food but I'll begin with your very first recipe on the Chicken in Coconut Sauce. I have all the ingredients except for lemon which I'll sub with either lime (cheap and plentiful here) or Philippine lemon called kalamansi (I have a plant.) Thanks again!

 

[kulikuli]

Hi Jikoni. This thread was one of the main reasons for me to join this board. Know a bit about West African food. Saw hte mention of Gari above. Gari is made from Cassava. They are peeled and then finely grated. Most of the moisture is pressed out then then the grated cassava is left to ferment. After fermentation, the cassava is roasted over a low fire. The result is Gari.

Gari is not cooked. It is kind of West African instant food. All you have to do is pour boiling water over it and knead it through a little bit with a strong wooden spoon.

It is served as a lump, you use your hands to take portion sized little lumps from it, dip it in sauce and eat. It is eaten with soup, stew in West Africa is called soup, not stew.

BTW. Semolina is also prepared by simply adding boiling water, eaten without further cooking.

 

[urmaniac13]

Hi Jikoni. This thread was one of the main reasons for me to join this board. Know a bit about West African food. Saw hte mention of Gari above. Gari is made from Cassava. They are peeled and then finely grated. Most of the moisture is pressed out then then the grated cassava is left to ferment. After fermentation, the cassava is roasted over a low fire. The result is Gari.

Gari is not cooked. It is kind of West African instant food. All you have to do is pour boiling water over it and knead it through a little bit with a strong wooden spoon.

It is served as a lump, you use your hands to take portion sized little lumps from it, dip it in sauce and eat. It is eaten with soup, stew in West Africa is called soup, not stew.

BTW. Semolina is also prepared by simply adding boiling water, eaten without further cooking.

Thanks for input on Gari, kulix2!! (I am the one who mentioned about gari!!) Do you have any recommendation for sauces/condiments to go with that?

 

[kulikuli]

urmaniac. I have typed up a "classic" West African recipe for you to try with your gari (incidentally, gari is the name for the meal, once you prepare it as described it is called Eba)

Egusi Soup is one of the traditional soups (stew, really) being prepared in West Africa. The following is an original recipe, though you may not be able to get some of the ingredients. I have tried to indicate possible substitutes.

Egusi Soup

1 chicken, jointed
1 large onion, diced or sliced
4 cups water
salt

4-5 large red peppers, substitute any hot peppers you like, qty to your taste
2 medium sized tomatoes
1/2 cup dried crayfish, substitute 1 Tsp crayfish paste available from Asian stores

1 cup red palm oil, most unlikely to be available near you, personally I do not like it anyway

1 lb fresh or dried fish, cut into pieces
2 cups washed bitter leaves, cut into thin strips, substitute spinach

1/2 cup egusi, that is melon seeds. You might try sunflower seeds as a substitute

preparation

Boil the chicken pieces with the onion until almost tender, add the palm oil (you can leave out the palm oil, although that gives it most of the "original" taste).

Blend the peppers, tomatoes and crayfish to a paste and add to the boiling chicken. Boil for a further 10 mins. Add the palm oil (you can leave out the palm oil, although that gives it most of the "original" taste) and cook for another ten minutes. Add the fish. Mill the egusi seed to a coarse meal and add to the stew. Cook for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally, or until you have a fairly thick sauce. Serve with pounded yam, gari or semolina (polenta).

Personally, I only use chicken or beef, no fish. I also use spices like for an Indian food recipe. Turmeric gives the same coloring as red palm oil. Red palm oil is non-refined oil and personally I do not appreciate the taste.

 

[Jikoni]

Wow Jikoni. First time I'm reading this thread. Thanks for being so generous with your recipes. I've never tried African food but I'll begin with your very first recipe on the Chicken in Coconut Sauce. I have all the ingredients except for lemon which I'll sub with either lime (cheap and plentiful here) or Philippine lemon called kalamansi (I have a plant.) Thanks again!

I use powdered kalamansi sometimes when I forget to buy limes for some recipes, I also love licking the stuff. I am sure it will work great.

 

[Yakuta]

Jikoni, I was reading your Kalio recipe and I must say it sounds really really good. It is very close to the authentic Indian curries I cook. I have to give it a try.

I thought you may find this interesting but we make dry beef at home sometimes that can be stored in your pantry and it can be cooked anytime you want (it's more like cooked dry meat) and we call it Kalio.

It's a task to make but once you have it you can store in an airtight container for months or years and you can fry some up with a little oil and eggs or with some onions and jalapenos. It's really good so I wanted to share the recipe.

10 pounds of a nice cut of beef. I like to buy prime and then cut into big chunks.

Wash and cook the beef in a pressure cooker with 4 heaping tbsps of ginger, 2 tbsp of red chilli powder, cumin powder and some salt. Add only a cup or two of water because a lot of water will be released during cooking.

Let it cook until the beef is tender and it almost falls apart. Open the cooker and keep cooking until all the water evaporates.

Let the mushed up meat cool down a bit. Now seperate it with your hands into thin strands and discard any fat or tissues. Let it air dry in a sheet pan for several hours.

Next dry roast it slowly in a large fry pan (on low) until it's golden and crisp. Cool and store in containers. It is a great addition to eggs or anything else that you can think of. My kids like it just fried up with a little olive oil and roti bread. It's very lean since you seperate it with your hands.

 

[Jikoni]

Yakuta, that's really interesting because when making Kalio, the idea is to cook lots of it and save lots of it for further use. I have never known anyone who made Kalio for one sitting.

 

[Jikoni]

Yassa Chicken

This is a delicious Senegalese Dish.
-5 lbs chicken pieces, skinned and washed
-1 1/4 cup of lemon juice
-1/2 cup white wine vinegar
-1/2 cup peanut oil
-3 onions, sliced
-2 sprigs of thyme
-red pepper, to taste
-2 cups water
-4 bay leaves.

Mix the lemon juice, the vinegar, half the oil, the onions and pour on
the chicken pieces in a bowl. Marinate overnight, or longer. Remove the
chicken and the onions from the marinade. Brown the chicken on both
sides. Fry the onions in the remaining oil for a few minutes. Add the
marinade, thyme, hot pepper, water and bay leaves. Simmer on medium heat
for about 10'. Return the chicken to the sauce and cook until done, about
half an hour.

 

[velochic]

Jikoni, my family very much loves this well-known African dish I've been making for decades, Doro Wat. I have changed it to use chicken breasts instead of chicken pieces, but I try to keep ethnic recipes as authentic as I can. The source for my recipe was in a cookbook I discovered many long years ago and is now lost. I have yet to find two recipes online that are the same. Some use cardamom or fenugreek (neither of which are in my berbere spice mixture). I was wondering if you know this Ethiopian dish. If you do, do you have any tips about it, stories or suggestions?