What Goes With…
…Ndole?
Ndole (Cameroon)
INGREDIENTS
• Ndole Vegetable Leaves (equivalent of three balls)
• 2 Cups fresh Prawns/fish/par-boiled beef
• 400gr peanuts
• 3 medium sized onions (chopped)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Beef seasoning (Stock or cubes)
• Palm oil
• Salt, pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare the Ndole leaves by washing the vegetables and chopping them finely. Par-boil with pinch of salt to soften. Strain from water. Repeat 3 to four times to reduce bitterness of leaves.
2. Blend boiled and skinned peanuts with some onions and garlic.
3. Saute remaining onions and garlic in a little palm oil, then add the peanut paste and dilute to taste. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
4. Add vegetables and beef seasoning to peanut paste. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil and simmer for 25 minutes.
5. Add the prawns/fish or par-boiled meat.
SERVING SUGGESTION
Serve with Rice and fried plantains, or preferred starch meal.
(Recipe adapted from Cameroon-Discovery)
Fresh Okra Soup (West Africa and the Americas)
INGREDIENTS
1. 200g (6oz) Okra
2. 20g (1oz) ground fresh pepper
3. 1 Medium-sized Onion
4. 50ml (2floz) Palm Oil
5. 500g (160z) , eat
6. 1 Medium-sized dry fish
7. 1 tbsp (15 mg) locust bean
8. 1 large bunch ugwu
9. 1 medium-sized stockfish head
10. 3 tbsp (45mg) ground crawfish
11. Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Rinse and grate or finely chop the fresh okra
2. Wash and cut meat into bite-size and rinse
3. Wash dry fish and stock fish and de-bone
4. Slice onions and add with seasonings to palm oil.
5. Combine fresh pepper, crayfish. Locust bean and dry fish and cook for 15 minutes
6. Add ugwu and cook for 4-6 minutes
7. Add okra last and simmer.
8. Leave uncovered to prevent vegetables from darkening.
SERVING SUGGESTION: Serve with staple of choice
(Recipe: African Pot recipe book)
Peppered Snails (Coastal West Africa)
INGREDIENTS:
1. 600g of snails
2. 200g freshly ground pepper
3. 150ml groundnut oil
4. 1 tbsp (15mg) fresh coriander
5. 1 tbsp (15mg) thyme
6. 1 garlic clove
7. 1 tbsp crushed Ginger powder
8. Seasoning
9. 1 liter of water
10. Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 177°C/350°F degrees
2. Remove the snails from the shells
3. Wash thoroughly with alum or salt till it’s no longer slimy
4. Boil snails with sliced onions, salt, seasoning and a little pepper for 10-15 minutes
5. Sauté with sliced fresh pepper, vegetable oil and a little salt and seasoning
6. Put in hot oven and roast for 10 minutes.
SERVING SUGGESTION
Serve as an Appetizer
Mchicha (Tanzania)
INGREDIENTS
• 2 lbs spinach (collards may be substituted)
• 1½ oz peanut butter
• 1 tomato
• 1 onion
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Wash the spinach, roll the leaves together and chop.
2. Pop the tomato in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute. peel and chop Tomato and Onion
3. Mix the peanut butter with the coconut milk.
4. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the onion, tomato, salt and curry powder and sauté for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
5. Add the spinach, and continue cooking for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the spinach is cooked.
6. Add the peanut butter and coconut milk mixture.
Simmer, for another 5 minutes, stirring constantly, to ensure that the mixture does not stick to the pot
SERVING SUGGESTION
The spinach and peanut butter can be served as a side dish with Rice, Ugali or Beans.
Dodo – Fried Plantain (Nigeria, Latin America & Caribbean Islands)
INGREDIENTS
• 2 ripe plantains (dark-skinned with yellow patches)
• Oil
• Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Remove plantain from skin by cutting off top and bottom ends.
2. Run knife down the length careful not to cut beneath the skin
3. Remove skin from plantain.
4. Slice diagonally (for angular pieces) or vertically (for round pieces) into 1/4-inch thick slices
5. Heat oil just in pan.
6. Add plantain slices to sizzling oil, a few slices at a time
7. Fry each side till brown
8. Drain on paper towels.
SERVING SUGGESTION
Serve hot with rice, beans, or vegetable side dish,
OR
Eat cold as a dessert
Seswaa (Botswana)
Seswaa is a traditional Batswana dish prepared by pounding and seasoning boiled meat.
INGREDIENTS
• 1 kg brisket (beef)
• Water
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• Garlic, chopped
• 1 Tbsp oil
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Put beef in pot and cover with water and put on stove.
Cook covered in high heat until it starts to boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered until the meat is tender, about 2 hours
2. Drain the meat, let cool, and then shred.
3. Mix with salt and return to the pot.
4. Heat the oil in a small frying pan, add the onions and garlic, and fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes.
5. Add the onion mixture to the meat, mix well, and cook over low heat until the beef is hot and caramelizes, stirring occasionally.
SERVING SUGGESTION
Serve hot with ugali and a savoury vegetable stew.
Carne Gizado (Cape Verde)
INGREDIENTS
3 lb cubed meat, pork or beef
4 to 5 white potatoes
3 lb Mandioca root
3 medium white yams
3 green Bananas
DIRECTIONS
1. Trim off excess fat
2. Season and marinate meat overnight with salt, garlic, vinegar, bayleaf and pepper
3. Peel and cut up potatoes, mandioca (cassava) and green bananas
4. Cook in pot meat with marinade and 3 onion with ½ cup cooking oil with low heat until medium done
5. Add all vegetables to meat and cover with water. Cook on low heat until vegetables cook
6. Season with salt, garlic, bay leaf, paprika and pepper
SERVING SUGGESTION
Garnish with fresh herbs and serve on a bed of hot cooked rice
Banana and Coconut Beef Stew (Gambia)
INGREDIENTS
• 5 firm Bananas (ensure that they are not ripe)
• 2lb Lean Beef
• 2 Cups of Coconut Milk
• 2 Large Onion
• 1 Large Tomatoes
• 2tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Cup water
• ½ lb Cow Peas (Washed)
• salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Peel the bananas and cut into 1 to 1 ½ inch pieces.
2. Dice the beef into approximately ½ inch pieces.
3. Place the meat in a saucepan, cover with water, add salt.
4. Bring to boil and simmer until tender.
5. Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions until translucent but not browned.
6. Add the tomato and the meat mixture.
7. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
8. Continue cooking until the tomatoes soften.
9. Add the coconut milk, stirring continuously and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the banana pieces and snow peas.
10. Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 10-15 minutes, or until the bananas are cooked, soft but not mushy.
SERVING SUGGESTION
The banana and coconut beef stew is best served hot over rice or Ugali
Ugali (Kenya and Tanzania)
Ugali is an African staple made from the flour of corn/maize, cassava, yams or plantains. It is also known as nsima or nshima (Malawi and Zambia),pap or Mealie Pap (South Africa), sadza (Zimbabwe), fufu or foufou (Ghana, Nigeria) eba, garri, okele (Nigeria), posho (Uganda) luku, moteke or bugari (Democratic Republic of the Congo), fungi, mangú and mofongo (Caribbeans, Antigua, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico), Grits (Southern USA), funchi or funjie (Curaçao and Aruba in the Virgin Islands) and mayi moulin (Haiti).
INGREDIENTS
• 4 cups of Water
• White cornmeal — 2 cups
• Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan and slowly stir in the cornmeal
2. Reduce heat and continue to stir regularly, mashing any lumps with a spoon or a ladle, until the porridge mush pulls away from the sides of the pot and becomes as thick as you want it.
3. Remove from heat
4. Lightly oil the inside of a small bowl and spoon the ugali into it to form a ball and set aside to cool.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Turn the bowl upside down into a plate to remove the ugali. Serve with your choice of vegetable stew
Variations: You can make ugali with plantain flour, wheat flour, yam flour, sorghum, millet, cassava flour or grits. It can also be prepared by pounding boiled yam or plantain with a mortar and pestle
Akaraje (Brazil); Akara (Nigeria)
INGREDIENTS
• 1/2 pound dried black-eyed peas
• 1 large onion
• 2 red peppers
• Salt to taste
• Palm oil (or olive oil)
• Chicken Stock
DIRECTIONS
Cover peas with water and leave to stand overnight. Drain and rub together to remove skin.
Blend the onions and red pepper with peeled peas to make a thick paste. Transfer to a bowl and using a whisk, whisk the mixture adding salt and a little chicken stock. Using a ladle, drop balls of mixture into hot oil frying both sides until golden brown. Remove and place on paper towels to drain off excess oil
SERVING SUGGESTION
Split in half, pouring vatapá and/or caruru, a salad made out of green and red tomatoes, okra, fried shrimps and home made hot sauce. A vegetarian version is typically served with hot peppers and green tomatoes. In Nigeria, it is commonly eaten for breakfast with gruel made from millet or corn.
Batata Merhiya (ALGERIA)
INGREDIENT
• 1 lb potato (peeled, boiled until tender)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 medium egg (beaten)
• 2 ounces gruyere cheese (grated)
DIRECTIONS
1. Mash potatoes with butter and salt.
2. Heat oil in skillet; add onion, beef and pepper.
3. Saute for 5 minutes.
4. Drain beef mixture.
5. Butter a 1 quart casserole.
6. Put half of the potatoes in the bottom of the dish.
7. Add the meat mixture and cover with the remaining mashed potatoes.
8. Smooth the surface.
9. Cover with the beaten egg and sprinkle with cheese.
10. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until the surface is golden
SERVING SUGGESTION
Eat as a side dish or as a main dish with a salad
Meni Meniyong (MALI)
INGREDIENTS
• Sesame seeds — 1 cup
• Honey — 1 cup
• Butter, unsalted — 4 tablespoons
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Spread the sesame seeds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and cool.
2. Heat the honey and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until it bubbles and darkens somewhat, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the toasted sesame seeds into honey mixture. Spread the mass onto a buttered baking sheet to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Cool until it is just warm and cut into finger-sized pieces.
SERVING SUGGESTION
• Roll the candy in more toasted sesame seeds to coat after cutting it into pieces and serve as dessert
Kushari (Egypt)
Kushari is a popular traditional Egyptian national dish. It consists of a base of rice, brown lentils, chickpeas, macaroni.
INGREDIENTS
2 large chopped onions
4 cloves of minced garlic
¾ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup uncooked long grain rice
¼ tsp red pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 can of tomato sauce
¾ cup brown lentils
4 cups water
1 cup elbow macaroni
½ cup white vinegar
1 cup of boiled chickpeas
DIRECTIONS
1- In a large saucepan, put the lentils in water and bring it to a boil.
2- Simmer over medium heat for 25 minutes then drain.
3- Add new water to the lentils and then add the rice.
4- Continue to simmer for 20 minutes more or until rice gets tender.
5- Fill a separate saucepan with water, add a little bit of salt and bring to a boil.
6- Add the macaroni to the boiling water and cook until it gets tender, then drain.
7- In a skillet, put some of the vegetable oil and heat it up then add the garlic and simmer until its color starts fading.
8- Add the vinegar to garlic and bring it to boil.
9- After the vinegar boils with garlic, add the tomato sauce and some salt and pepper to taste, then add the cumin. Bring the mix to boil on high heat, then lower heat after it boils.
10- Put the rest of the oil, should be plenty, in another skillet and heat it up, then add the chopped onions and stir until it is brownish. Take it out of the oil and leave it aside.
11- Take a little bit of the oil used with the onions and out it on the macaroni and stir it until the macaroni gets the onions flavor.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Serve with a topping of Egyptian garlic, vinegar and tomato and hot chili pepper sauce.
Kelewele (Ghana)
Kelewele is a popular Ghanaian snack dish made from plantains.
INGREDIENTS
• 6 large ripe plantains
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 3 cups oil or shortening
DIRECTIONS
1. Peel the plantain and cut crosswise into ½-inch slices
2. Mix ginger, salt, and red pepper with water in a mixing bowl.
3. Coat plantain slices with seasonings
4. Heat oil or shortening in a large skillet and fry the mixture-coated slices until golden brown.
5. Drain on cooling rack laid over absorbent paper
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
As snack: serve hot with roasted peanuts
As meal accompaniment: serve with a variety of savory foods (for a sweet and savory meal)
Mafe Stew (Senegal) or Dovi (Zimbabwe)
INGREDIENTS
• One cup peanut butter (make your own peanut paste by grinding roasted peanuts, then simmer them gently with a half a cup of water)
• one or two sweet potatoes cut into cubes
• peanut oil (or other cooking oil)
• one chicken, cut into large bite-sized pieces
• Equal parts stew meat
• one-quarter cup dried shrimp or dried prawns
• one medium eggplant (aubergine, or guinea squash) or a dozen okra, or canned beans, or canned corn
• sweet green pepper (or bell pepper), chopped
• squash, chopped
• two or three tomatoes, chopped (or canned tomato chunks)
• one or two onions, chopped very fine
• one clove garlic, minced
• one or two hot chilli peppers, chopped
• salt (to taste)
• black pepper (to taste)
• chicken broth or stock
• one-half teaspoon ground ginger or coriander
• pinch of thyme or a bay leaf
DIRECTIONS
• Boil sweet potatoes until they soften
• Sautee the meat in hot oil, until browned. Add salt and pepper. Reduce heat, add a cup of chicken broth and simmer.
• Fry the tomatoes, onions, garlic, chilli peppers over high heat. Add spices. Add the sweet potatoes, dried shrimp or prawns and other vegetables. Reduce heat and stir in peanut butter and a bit more broth. Stir until smooth.
• Add the tomato-onion-peanut mixture to the simmering meat. Stir and continue to simmer until the meat is cooked and the vegetables are tender.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Serve with boiled rice or fufu
Lamb Stew with Pineapple (CARIBBEAN)
INGREDIENTS
12 oz. boneless lamb/pork loin
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small chili pepper, seeded and minced
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 can (8 oz.) sliced pineapple in juice
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Trim all visible fat from meat. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Toss with flour to coat.
2. Generously coat deep, medium skillet with cooking spray. Set over medium-high heat. Brown meat, turning it to color on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer meat to plate.
3. Heat oil in pan. Sauté onion, green pepper, garlic and chili pepper until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Return meat to pan. Add 1 cup water, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, salt and pepper. Drain liquid from pineapple into pan. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
4. Stack pineapple slices and cut into 8 sections. Add fruit, tomato and cucumber to stew. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Serve with Rice and Caribbean-style black beans
-courtesy: SparkPeople
