African culinary experience that everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. Not only is it delicious and cooked with love, but it is also very healthy. Do not let the bold flavors intimidate you, tuck in and immerse yourself in the authentic African experience. Most African food goes down well when shared with friends, so next time you are in Africa, do not skip this experience.
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Chermoula
Chermoula. Photo/BBC
To make chermoula, combine coriander, cumin, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and oil. This is a relish or marinade. You can add pickled lemons, saffron, chili pepper, black pepper, and onion for variety. You will find chermoula mostly in Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, and Libyan cooking. It is usually a dip, salad dressing, and flavour fish, meat, or vegetable dishes. Due to the many ingredients employed in its preparation, the taste ranges from spicy to tart, earthy to aromatic.
Suya
Suya. Photo/YouTube
Suya is a meat dish from Nigeria. You skewer chicken, beef, or ram that you have marinated in peanut butter, vegetable oil, and spices before barbequing it. You can serve it with onion slices and seasoned dried pepper. It would fill your tongue with the juiciness of the meat, and spice and tanginess, with each bite. it adds to the African culinary experience.
Ugali: African culinary experience
Ugali in Kenya. Photo/Hivisasa
Ugali is also known as nshima or ugali pap. It is a porridge produced by boiling maize flour in milk or water until it forms a dough-like consistency. It’s light and fluffy, with a bland flavor. You usually serve it with a side dish with vegetable or meat curries or soups. It’s eaten all over Africa, and it goes by a variety of names, including fufu. The components and preparation methods are slightly different.
Kebda Eskandarani
Kebda Eskandarani. Photo/TasteAtlas
Kebda eskandarani is a fried beef liver platter with spicy ingredients. You can add cardamom, cumin, chili pepper, and garlic, and it is a delicacy of Alexandria, Egypt. You commonly use it as a sandwich filling, but you can also eat it on its own with pita bread or cooked rice. You will also find it in most fast-food restaurants and carts.
Wat
Beef, lamb, or chicken are the primary ingredients in an Ethiopian curry or stew wat. It also includes a variety of vegetables. You can heighten its flavor is by the use of spice blends like berbere and clarified butter. You traditionally serve wat with injera, a spongy millet flatbread. Wat comes in various flavors, including doro wat, which you make with hard-boiled eggs and poultry. Sanbat wat is a famous Jewish meal that you serve on Shabbat.
Shakshouka
Shakshuka. Photo/Calliopejen1
Shakshouka is also known as chakchouka and is definitely on top of the African culinary experience. It is a delicacy that involves poaching eggs in a spicy tomato sauce. Other seasonings you can use are onion, pepper, garlic, olive oil, paprika, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, and cumin. Its flavour varies according to the sauces used to serve it, ranging from sweet to sour. The presentation of the dish differs depending on the locale. They do not poach eggs in Egypt; instead, they scramble and use them as fillings in sandwiches. In Israel, they use feta cheese to top shakshouka.
Chicken Peri Peri
Peri Peri chicken. Photo/Hungry For Goodies
Peri-peri chicken is a mouthwatering chicken dish that uses peri-peri sauce as its main ingredient. You can use the entire chicken or only sections, such as the leg, breast, or wings. You can also use smoked paprika, garlic powder, red chilies, and other spices to season this soft, luscious meal.
Tagine de Poulet de Poulet
Chicken tajine is a Moroccan cuisine made by braising chicken with onion, garlic, olives, preserved lemons, and various spices. Pepper, salt, and lemon juice seasonings increase the flavour even more. You can serve it as a main course or as a side dish with couscous.
Ful Medames
Egypt’s staple cuisine is ful medames. It is a nourishing stew cooked with fava beans, garlic, onion, chopped parsley, and lemon juice. You can also add a variety of herbs and vegetables and spices. Apart from Africa, this dish is famous throughout the Middle East and Arab worlds. There are regional variations, such as in Somalia, where they serve with bread and eggs for breakfast.
Thieboudienne
Ful Madems. Photo/WorldKings
The national cuisine of Senegal is thieboudienne. They make it by combining rice and fish in a single pot and seasoning it with tomato sauce. Carrots, cassava, onions, cabbage, lemon wedges, and peanut oil are among the other ingredients. Traditionally they serve it as a communal dish. You share it with friends or families gathering around a huge plate and eating it with a spoon or a piece of bread. It’s a fragrant dish with various flavours ranging from spiciness to acidity, depending on the ingredients used.
Besides the general list of African foods provided, each continent region has its special platter, such as South Africa, the Republic of Congo, Botswana, or Namibia. Aside from the delectable array, don’t miss out on the delicious desserts like melktert and chebakia and the refreshing African beverages.
