Lifestyle

5 African dishes to celebrate Africa Day

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African cuisines have unique ingredients and techniques that make them distinctive, attractive, and delicious.


Generally, all African cuisines created are a combination of vegetables, fruits, beef/meat, cereals, and locally made spices.

Varying from West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, North Africa, and Southern Africa, they all have unique ingredients and recipes that make tasty and brain-busting dishes.

In the season of celebrating Africa Day, I have compiled five easy dishes which you can pick from, including their ingredients and procedures for you and your family to experience your Motherland cuisine that will leave your taste bud yearning for more!

These are some of the most popular African dishes that you should try

Chakalaka and pap is a South African vegetable spicy dish. If you set foot on South African soil, don’t leave without eating this amazing dish. It’s easy to prepare and the best option to serve at a get-together party.

Chakalaka ingredients

  • 1 bulb of onion (chopped)
  • 2 carrots (grated)
  • 3 tomatoes (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon of curry powder
  • ¼ cabbage (sliced)
  • Salt, seasoning, and freshly ground black pepper
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 x 410g of tin red beans or baked beans
  • 1 or 1/2 spoon of sugar, to taste

Pap ingredients

  • 2 cups of water
  • 480g maize meal
  • Salt, to taste
  • Knob of butter, to serve

Let’s get started:

Chakalaka

  1. Get a saucepan, and fry the onion, carrots, tomatoes, and curry powder together for five minutes (medium heat)
  2. Add the cabbage, seasoning to taste, ground black pepper, and some cayenne pepper to make it spicier.
  3. Stir in the beans, cover the saucepan and cook over low heat, for 30 minutes.
  4. Taste at the end and adjust with a bit of sugar if it is too acidic.

Pap

  1. Boil water in a saucepan, and add the maize meal and some salt.
  2. Stir until combined, cover, and cook for 45 minutes, stirring now and then (low heat)
  3. Stir in the knob of butter when the pap is ready.

Nkate nkwan is one of the most popular soups in Ghana. It is made from peanuts which is why most people refer to it as groundnut soup or peanut butter soup. This soup is made up of peanuts, onions, tomatoes, and pepper.

It’s served with ‘Omo tuo and fufu.

Ingredients

  • 3 lb chicken (with bone)
  • 6 kpakpo shito peppers (petite belles)
  • 2 onions
  • 3 cloves of garlic (optional)
  • 1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger
  • 3 large ripe tomatoes
  • 4 cups of chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Scotch bonnet pepper or chili powder (according to taste)
  • ½ cup unsweetened peanut butter
  • 2 cups of water (plus extra as needed)
  • 10 whole okra pods

Let’s get started:

  1. Get a pot, and place the chicken pieces into a pot. Cut off the top and bottom edges of the onions and add them whole into the pot.
  2. Add the tomatoes whole into the pot, removing the core tips. Add the garlic and ginger into the pot. They may be grated or added whole, then processed afterward.
  3. Add the bay leaves, kpakpo shito, and chicken stock then bring to a boil and simmer until tender.
  4. Prepare the peanut sauce while the soup is simmering by placing the peanut butter into a pot and mixing it with ½ a cup of water. This will allow the peanut butter to meld well with the water before adding the rest.
  5. Place the peanut sauce on high heat and add the remaining water. Simmer for about 20 minutes until peanut oil rises to the surface.
  6. When the onions and tomatoes are soft, remove them from the broth and place them into a blender. If you want the soup to be very spicy, you may add some of the kpakpo shito now.
  7. Process them in the blender, then pour them back into the soup and stir. Simmer for five minutes.
  8. Pour the peanut sauce into the soup and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
  9. Cut off the head and tail of the okra and boil them briefly before adding them to the soup. It’s used as a garnish.

Sukuma wiki is a very tasty and nutritious vegetable dish. This dish consists different vegetables like kale or collard greens, onions, tomatoes, and spices. It’s mostly served with ugali/sadza (cooked white cornmeal), roasted meat, or fish.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of palm oil
  • Chopped tomatoes
  • Fresh kale or collard greens
  • Salt
  • Seasoning cubes
  • 2-3 bulbs of onion
  • 1-2 clove of garlic
  • Beef
  • Chili pepper

Let’s get started:

  1. To prepare the collard greens wash, pat dry, cut out the thick stems, remove ribs and chop the leaves.
  2. Pour sukuma wiki in a pot, add onions finely sliced, and add salt and black pepper.
  3. Cook beef/meat till done.
  4. Fry the diced tomatoes or paste well, for the mixture to dry before adding the collard greens or kale.
  5. Add collard greens or kale, when you do this, cook to your desired preference either soft or crunchy.

Egusi is one of the most popular soups and is generally accepted and eaten by all tribes in Nigeria.

Grounded melon seed, beef, fish, and other kinds of protein and vegetables are used to create this beautiful dish.

Egusi soup can be eaten with any kind of swallow like eba (garri), Semovita, fufu, etc.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of ground melon seeds (depends on the number of servings)

NB: To make Egusi paste, pour water according to the quantity and mix to form balls.

  • Boiled beef and fish (protein options are personal preference)
  • 1 bulb onion
  • 3 – 5 fresh pepper or ground pepper
  • Half cup of palm oil
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Ground crayfish
  • Sliced pumpkin leaves
  • Sliced waterleaf
  • A small quantity of sliced bitter leaf (washed)

Let’s get started:

  1. Get a pot, pour in the palm oil, and heat on medium heat for a minute.
  2. Scoop ball sizes of egusi paste mixture into the heated palm oil.
  3. Pour in the meat stock or broth.
  4. Leave to simmer for 20 – 30 minutes to allow the balls to cook properly.
  5. Add the beef and fish and other protein.
  6. Add sliced pumpkin leaves and waterleaf.
  7. Stir, cover the pot and allow to cook for 7 – 10 minutes.
  8. Add the bitter leaf, check seasoning and salt for taste.
  9. Leave the pot open while it cooks for 5 – 10 minutes.

Domoda is a delicious dish majorly made from peanuts and it’s also called “groundnut stew.” This is a Senegalese dish that consists of veal, lamb, beef, balls of fish, tomato paste, onions, vegetables, and a lot of lemons.

The stew is thickened with flour and water paste when the sauce is cooked.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb beef steak or 1 lb chicken breast,

Note: Cut into ½ inch chunks (or use bone-in chicken pieces and simmer them in the sauce; once cooked leave the pieces whole or remove the meat from the bones and add it back to the stew.)

  • 1 large bulb of onion (diced)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic (grated)
  • 3 Roma tomatoes (diced)
  • ½ can (3 oz) tomato paste
  • ¾ cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter
  • 4 seasoning cubes
  • 3 cups water
  • Scotch bonnet chilies (diced)
  • 4 cups pumpkin or sweet potato (diced)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Let’s get started;

  1. Heat the oil in a big pot, add onions and saute the onions until golden.
  2. Add the beef, veal, lamb, and fish, then add garlic and continue to sauté until the beef is no longer pink.
  3. Add the tomatoes and cook for three minutes.
  4. Add the tomato paste, chilies, and peanut butter and stir to combine.
  5. Add water and seasoning cubes.
  6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  7. Add pumpkin, cover, and continue to cook for 35 – 40, until the pumpkin is tender.
  8.  Stir occasionally, season with salt and pepper.
  9. Serve hot with rice.

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