10 most popular indigenous African food
Africa is a continent that has numerous attractions. Visitors and tourists are drawn to the many positive features of the continent which include friendly and energetic people, an inviting climate, and also natural wonders among other things. As a result, Africa remains a top tourist destination for millions every year.
Perhaps the most interesting feature about Africa has to do with what the people eat. African cuisine is diverse and very delicious. You are spoiled, not only with variety; tasting the sumptuous dishes also open your eyes to the gateways to the very cultural essence of the tribes/races on the continent
1. Pap en vleis/Shisa nyama, South Africa
Barbecued meat and maize porridge is a combination dearly beloved across many cultures in Southern Africa, and particularly in South Africa, where the braaivleis is a treasured institution and practically a national sport.
“Pap en vleis” (literally, “maize porridge and meat”) is a colorful umbrella of a term that encompasses virtually any combination of starch and braaied or stewed meat, with an obligatory side-serving of spicy gravy, relish or chakalaka.
Chops, steak, chicken, kebabs and boerewors — a spicy farmer’s sausage — are accompanied by maize porridges in many different forms including phuthu and stywe pap, krummelpap (crumbly porridge), and suurpap (soured pap).
2. Piri piri chicken, Mozambique
Mozambique’s cuisine is a heady blend of African, Portuguese, oriental, and Arab flavors — think fragrant spices, hot Piri Piri, and creamy coconut sauces, with hints of cashews and peanuts. It’s generally known simply as grilled chicken Piri Piri by tourists and is traditionally served with matapa, a dish of cassava leaves cooked in a peanut sauce.
3 Egusi soup, Nigeria
It’s not easy pinning down a national favorite dish for Nigeria, because this is a vast country with many distinct regional cuisines. Egusi is made with grounded melon and can be taken with pounded yam or pounded cassava.
Other dishes to try in Nigeria include thick, spicy broths made with okra and flavored with chicken or meat, and suya, which are spicy Nigerian shish kebabs (similar to Ghana’s chichinga) cooked over braziers by street vendors.
4.Kapenta with sadza, Zimbabwe
A heap of crisp-fried Kapenta is the culinary highlight for many visitors to Zimbabwe. Kapenta, comprising two species of small freshwater fish native to Lake Tanganyika, were introduced to Lake Kariba and now are a much-loved source of protein for lakeside populations of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Like many African dishes, kapenta is often accompanied by a mountain of delicious maize porridge, known in Zimbabwe as sadza. Kapenta is available both dried and fresh, and is also stewed with tomatoes, onions, and groundnut powder, and served with fresh greens.
Don’t pick up a knife and fork to devour your kapenta: the traditional way to eat this dish is to scoop up the sadza with your hand and to dip it or roll it in the accompanying fish and relishes.
5.Chambo with nsima, Malawi
The eyes of Malawians away from home may well fill with tears when you say the word “chambo” to them — it’s the most popular and best-known fish found in Lake Malawi, and a great national favorite.
It’s served grilled along the lake shore, usually with nsima (a stiff porridge very similar to South Africa’s pap and Zimbabwe’s sadza) or with chips.
A plate of chambo is not complete without ndiwo, a delicious relish made of pumpkin or cassava leaves, tomatoes and groundnut powder. Both nsima and ndiwo are revered staple foods in neighboring Zambia, along with Ifisashi, a dish of greens in a peanut sauce.
6. Namibian venison, Namibia
Good venison can be sampled all over Southern Africa, but Namibians will insist that the very best gemsbok, kudu, zebra, warthog, ostrich, and springbok are to be found at restaurants and game lodges across their country.
Namibian cuisine shows strong German and South African influences, with traditional German delicacies such as sausages, cured meats, sauerkraut, and Eisbein rubbing shoulders with South-African style potjiekos, biltong, and braaivleis.
7. Muamba de Galinha, Angola
Also known as chicken muamba, this is a spicy, somewhat oily stew made with with palm oil or palm butter, garlic, chilis and okra. Variations of chicken muamba, such as poulet moambé, are to be found all over the Congo River region, where it’s often served with cassava leaves and white rice.
Another variation, nyembwe chicken, is the national dish of Gabon, where it is made with palm or macadamia nuts. Being so rich and spicy, chicken muamba is a good accompaniment to central African starchy porridges considered bland by western palates: funge, fufu and ugali.
8. Zanzibari biryanis and pilaus, Zanzibar
There are all sorts of variations on biryani, ranging from humble vegetable assemblages to more complex ones incorporating meat and seafood; pilau tends to be a one-pot dish generously spiced with cardamom, cumin, and pepper.
Both are delicious accompanied by kachumbari, a fresh onion and tomato salad popular across East Africa. Another quintessential dish of Zanzibar is urojo, a yellowish broth bought from street vendors and made with many different ingredients including pieces of meat, chili, mango, ginger, tamarind and lime.
9.Nyama na irio, Kenya
This well-loved dish, originally a Kikuyu staple that has spread through Kenya, is made of mashed-up potatoes, peas, beans, corn, and onion and often served with spiced roasted meat to make a delicious dish called nyama na irio.
Kenya is famous for its long-distance runners, and many a Kenyan will attribute their stamina to the health-giving effects of another treasured staple, sukuma wiki. This means “push for the week” in Swahili, indicating that this dish can be used to feed the family for a week.
Sukuma wiki is made with collard greens and/or kale cooked with onions and spices to make a piquant relish for ugali (maize porridge).
10. Pastilla au pigeon/b’stilla, Morocco
A complex and many-faceted feast dish, pastilla au pigeou (also known as b’stilla) is sweet and savory; substantial and delicate.
It’s a pie comprising shredded cooked squab (or, more often, chicken, when pigeon is hard to find) thickened with egg sauce and interspersed with paper-thin pastry and layers of nutty, spicy filling. No grand celebration in Morocco would be considered complete without b’stilla, and it is usually reserved for feasts because it’s so labor-intensive to make.
Have you tasted any food on the list? Which of the food on the list is your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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