We love to share recipes of various Afro multicultural cuisines, to celebrate the rich and delicious variety of food and drinks from the motherland and the motherland diaspora. This article highlights 7 African food recipes that you should try out, so your family and friends can experience a taste of the “motherland” cuisine. With the African food recipes below, you will be able to make wonderful motherland dishes.
A huge number of African food recipes are known and shared from generation to generation in Africa. The wide variety of African recipes come from the cultural diversity across the countries in the continent, with each tribe having has its own unique culinary heritage and traditions.
Here are some of the most common African food recipes and dishes, you should definitely try.
African cuisine is very diverse, with regional differences in the preparation and use of spices, flavors, and cooking techniques. This African food recipe collection will introduce you to the rich food culture of African people.
1. Oshifima
Oshifima is a Namibian staple food prepared daily in order to provide the people with sufficient energy for the day. The porridge is typically made with a combination of mahangu flour and cornmeal boiled in water until the concoction develops a thick texture.
Ingredients
- 1 1⁄4 cups white cornmeal
- Milk to taste
- 1 cup water
(Some Oshifima versions use Pearl millet flour and salt.)
DIRECTIONS
- Heat a cup of water to boiling in a medium-sized saucepan.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl gradually add 3/4 cup of the cornmeal to the milk, stirring briskly to make a smooth paste.
- Add this mixture to the boiling water, stirring constantly.
- Cook for 4 or 5 minutes while adding the remaining cornmeal.
- When mixture begins to pull away from the sides of the pot and stick together, remove from heat.
- Dump oshifima into a lightly greased bowl.
- With damp hands, shape it into a smooth ball, turning in the bowl to help smooth it.
- Serve immediately.
- To eat in the traditional manner, tear off a piece of oshifima and make an indentation in it with your thumb. Use this hollow to scoop up stew or sauce from a communal bowl.
2. Etor
The traditional Ghana dish Etor/Otor is from the Akan and Ga regions. It is a simple concoction made of mashed yams or sometimes plantains; which is compulsorily served along with hard-boiled eggs. Cooked yam or plantain is mashed in traditional earthenware called asanka or ayewa, similar to a mortar and pestle.
Etor is also considered a sacred and celebratory dish in Ghana and it forms an integral part of the Ghanaian culture. The two main components in this dish, yam and eggs play a key role in the Ghanaian traditions and practices.
Ingredients
- 4 yams
- 2 onions , thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons roasted peanuts
- Four tablespoons palm oil
- 4 hard-boiled eggs , halved
- 1 avocado (ripe)
- Salt
- Pepper
Preparation
- Peel and boil the yams in salt water.
- Drain the yams and crush them roughly with the potato masher.
- Add the palm oil into a saucepan and heat.
- Sauté the onions until they are golden brown (caramelized).
- Pour ¾ of the onions back and the warm palm oil into the yam purée and mix to obtain a homogeneous mixture.
- Serve by garnishing with peanuts, the rest of the onions, the hard-boiled eggs and the avocado.
3. Molokhia
Also on our African food recipes, is Molokhia—a sumptuous and nutritious meal of the people of Sudan/South Sudan.
The healthy meal made of Molokhia leaves which are cooked in a meat-based soup. The scientific name of the plant is Corchorus Olitorus. It is known as Jews mallow or Tossa Jute pant. The word Molokhia is translated from Arabic, which is a language spoken in Sudan. Therefore other spellings of the meal are; Mulukhiya or molohiya.
The meal is classically eaten with Kisra(origin Sudan) or Injera(origin Eritrea) as shown above. Both are a type of thin, flat unleavened bread.
A lot of food scholars are of the opinion that the leaf’s, origins lie in Ancient Egypt. It is also a well-known dish in the Medieval Arab world.
Ingredients
1. 2 packs of frozen Molokhia
2. 1 red onion
3. 1 tsp blended Garlic cloves
4. 2 lbs lamb meat, cubed, bones included
5. 1 tsp Baking soda
6. 2 tsp Salt
7. ¼ tsp coriander, ground
8. ¼ tsp black pepper, ground
9. 1 tbsp Dill, fresh, finely chopped
Preparation
1. In a large pot, put some lamb meat, and onion, and add cups of water. Cook on medium heat for 45 minutes.
2. Add 2 packs of unfrozen Molokhia into the pot.
3. Add salt, fresh dill, black pepper, coriander, and baking powder.
4. In a small saute pan, heat up a tablespoon of olive or vegetable oil on medium heat. Add in crushed cloves of garlic and fry until golden brown.
5. Once the garlic is properly fried, bring the pan over the pot with the Molokhia in it, and then ladle some of the mixture over the garlic.
Serve with Kisra or Injera.
4. Benachin
Benachin is a popular Gambian dish that is prepared in one pot alone. It consists of rice, vegetables and meat that is cooked together.
Ingredients
- chicken (cut into pieces) ½
- boneless beef (diced) ½ lb.
- rice 3 cups
- onions (peeled and diced) 4
- tomatoes (chopped) 2 large
- bay leaves 2
- cloves garlic (minced) 3
- hot peppers (minced) 2
- tomato puree 3 tsp.
- vegetable oil 1 ½ cups
- bell peppers (sliced) 2
- eggplant (chopped) 1 large
- small cabbage (chopped) ½
- water 6 cups
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Vinegar
Preparation
- Put the chicken and beef pieces into a bowl.
- Season the meats with salt, black pepper, garlic and a dash of vinegar, then leave undisturbed for thirty (0:30) minutes.
- Heat a large pot, add the vegetable oil and fry the chicken until golden brown on all sides.
- When the chicken is done, remove and set aside, then brown the beef in the same pot.
- Add the onions to the beef and cook until brown.
- Add the tomatoes and the tomato puree together with the minced hot pepper.
- Stir these ingredients together and cook for fifteen (0:15) minutes.
- Pour in the water and bring to a boil.
- Add the chicken to the pot.
- Add the chopped cabbage, chopped eggplant and the bay leaves to the pot.
- Sprinkle salt to taste.
- Use a large spoon to dish out the vegetables and chicken pieces, then set these aside.
- Rinse the raw rice in cold water, then add to the pot.
- Add the sliced bell peppers and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and let the ingredients simmer.
- When the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, turn off the heat and place in a serving dish.
- Arrange the chicken and vegetables on top of the rice and beef.
- Serve hot
5. Dahomey fish stew
Also on our list of the African food recipes you should try out, is the Dahomey Fish Stew.
Dahomey fish stew is a Beninese dish consisting of fillets taken from low-fat firm fish that are rolled in flour and fried in oil until golden brown. They are then combined with cooked onions and tomatoes and left to simmer until the dish is served, preferably with rice. The dish is named after Dahomey, which is what Benin Republic was known as in the early 1970s; when the first recipe for this stew was published.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs porgies (or sea bream, scrup, tilapia, or any firm flesh, low-fat fish), cleaned
- flour to dredge fish
- salt and black pepper (to taste)
- ½ cup red palm oil (or cooking oil)
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup fish stock or water
- red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper or red pepper (to taste)
Preparation
1. Cut the fish crosswise, into two-inch sections. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Roll the fish in the flour mixture.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet. Cook the fish in the oil, turning it until it is golden brown all over. Remove the fish and set aside.
3. Fry the onions in the skillet for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes. Stir and cook for about ten minutes. Add the fish stock (or water). Reduce heat, cover and simmer for ten minutes more.
4. Return the fish to the skillet. Add red pepper if desired. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
6. Ful medames
Ful medames is a staple, comfort food served across the Middle East and North Africa, especially in Egypt. It is often eaten for breakfast. A blend of fava beans, onion, garlic, oil, and cumin.
However Multiple countries, and even some cities, have their own versions of ful. Sometimes a heavier spice mixture with turmeric, cardamom, and ginger is added and some folks serve it with lemon juice and fresh mint.
This delicious ful medames recipe (also called foul mudammas and foule mudammes) is filling, comforting, rich, and delicious. It is a fabulous dish of fava beans, onions, and spices that are simmered until tender and then blended. This recipe is a standard Egyptian recipe.
Ingredients
- Fava beans
- Chickpeas
- Water
- Garlic
- Salt
- Lemon
- Cumin
- Black pepper
- Tomato
- Onion
- Parsley
- Olive oil
Preparation
- Bring the fava beans (with liquid), chickpeas, and water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Turn off heat and mash some of the beans (about 1/2 cup) against the side of the pot.
- Stir in the garlic, lemon juice, cumin, and black pepper.
- Transfer the beans to 1 large or 4 small serving dishes; drizzle on the olive oil and arrange the tomato, onion, and parsley decoratively on top.
- Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze on top.
Variation
- You can skip the chickpeas and use double the amount of fava beans.
- Add some spicy heat with 1 or 2 minced jalapenos added at the same time as the garlic. Garnish with sliced jalapeno. Or add cayenne pepper instead!
- Make it smoky with up to 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika.
7. Nigerian Native Jollof Rice
The Nigerian native Jollof Rice is also known as Palm oil Rice. It is quite different from the popular Nigerian Jollof Rice.
Native jollof rice has palm oil as the chief ingredient; it is this palm oil that classifies it as native and gives it the traditional taste one derives from the food.
The Nigerian Native Jollof rice is a not peculiar to a particular tribe or region, but the in southern Nigeria, it is a celebrated meal.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of Rice
- Fresh pepper (blended)
- Palm Oil
- 1 whole Onion
- Smoked Fish/Dried Fish
- Cow skin
- Ground Crayfish
- Prawns
- locust bean
- Mint Vegetables (Scent Leaves)
- Seasoning cubes
- Salt
Preparation
- Wash and parboil the rice. Sieve the water, wash and set aside.
- Boil the cow skin, shred and set aside.
- Wash the smoked fish, dice the onion, blend or cut the pepper, was the prawns and set aside.
- Preheat the Palm Oil on a low heat until it’s hot (do not bleach)
- Add the diced Onion and stir fry till soft
- Stir in the locust bean and fry for about a few seconds to a minute
- Add the Ground crayfish, Prawns, Dry fish, diced cow skin, pepper and Salt to taste and seasoning powder/cubes
- Add the stock and water, cover it up and bring to boil for 5minutes.
- Pour in the Rice then cook, stir and bring to boil. Increase heat to medium, until done.
- Reduce heat. Add palm oil and scent vegetables and simmer for about 2 minutes. Turn appropriately with a wooden spatula.