African Food Ideas

Apart from the addition of certain foods from the New World, African dishes have remained largely untouched by outside influences. Among the newer foods that have made an impact are the peanut and the chili pepper, both of which were brought to Africa during the slave trade. While Africans do consume these things, it is thought that they have been added on to previous dishes so that cooking methods remain largely the same.

Ghanaian cuisine

Fufu is a traditional dish throughout much of Africa, Ghana included. It consists of a starchy tuber or other starchy produce crushed with a mortar and pestle until it becomes dense and glutinous. Cassava, plantains and sweet potatoes can be used to make fufu. In the western world it is possible to obtain fufu flour at some grocery stores which makes an instant version of the dish. Jollof rice is another popular Ghanaian dish in which the rice is cooked with chicken, onions and tomatoes.

Congolese cuisine

Groundnut stew is popular throughout central Africa and is a main dish of the Congolese people. It is a stew that incorporates peanuts, chicken or beef, okra and tomatoes. The ingredients, which include sweet potatoes and dried shrimp depending on the region and what is available, are cooked together and served garnished with hardboiled eggs.

Ethiopian cuisine

One item of Ethiopian food that is fairly well-known among foodies in the western world is injera, which is an Ethiopian flatbread that is made with teff flour, leavened with yeast and is used to accompany many traditional dishes. Injera is similar to the Indian naan in appearance. Wot is another Ethiopian dish. It is a spicy stew made with chicken and a lot of butter. It is usually served garnished with hardboiled eggs.

Somali cuisine

Spaghetti is a staple of Somalian food and is referred to as "baasto", though it is usually served with a thick stew rather than the marinara or bolognese sauces with which westerners are familiar. Somali cooking has several shared dishes and condiments with Indian cuisine, like ghee, which is clarified butter and samosas, which are small, deep fried pockets of dough filled with spiced vegetables.