African Food, Art, and History Blog

Homemade North African Baklava is filled with walnuts, honey and orange blossom water layered with light phyllo pastry. For this North African baklava recipe please make sure the phyllo pastry is thawed before you begin the recipe. Culture and food of North Africa would not be complete without including Baklava. North African Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers light airy filo dough filled with chopped nuts, sweetened, with honey. Sweet Easy North African Baklava Recipe Serves 10 Baklava  Ingredients One 16 ounce package phyllo dough 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 cups chopped walnuts 1 cup melted butter Baklava Syrup  1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup water ½ cup orange blossom honey ¼ teaspoon orange blossom water Directions Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix cinnamon and walnuts in a medium bowl set aside. Unroll phyllo cut into two equal halves. Cover phyllo with a slightly moist cloth while assembling to keep from d

From Africa to America, the world is one big flavorful kitchen African, and American kitchens If you look below the surface you will discover people of all races, ethnic origins and religious backgrounds have more in common than what is seen at first glance. From Africa to America, the world is one big flavorful kitchen. Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture 3-30-2009 Both fufu and mashed potatoes have very similar qualities Starchy foods are the body human main source of carbohydrates and play an important role in our diet.  Starchy foods have fiber, calcium, iron and B vitamins. The world over the emphasis is on starch and one main starchy side dish in Africa is fufu. What is fufu you may ask?  Well, fufu is to West Africa as mashed potatoes are to North America.  1. Prepared in similar ways 2. Filling 3. Versatile 4. Easy to make 5. Kitchen staple   Fufu is made from either boiled green plantains

Curried Tanzanian Coconut Okra Recipe Tanzanian curried coconut okra recipe is a simple African food recipe to make for a vegetarian weeknight dinner. Tanzanian curried coconut okra recipe is the favorite of Tanzania . Curried Tanzanian Coconut Okra Recipe Ingredients 2 pounds fresh okra 1  teaspoon  apple cider  vinegar 2 tablespoons good-quality curry powder 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 onion, chopped finely 2 tablespoons of butter 1/2 teaspoon paprika 2 cups of coconut milk Directions In a large saucepan brown over medium, heat the butter, curry, onions, garlic, and paprika. Cut the tips off the okra pods. Add okra and remaining ingredients to the saucepan cover tightly, and simmer 15 minutes. Serve over white rice.  How to choose good okra. Hibiscus esculentus or okra is of African origin originating from Ethiopia. Okra grows wild along the White Nile and the upper Nile country as well as in Ethiopia . Begin with good-qual

Make your own African Indian curry spice There are more exciting spices in your food life than just salt and pepper. Make your own spices to sell or use at home. South African Indian Fiery Curry Powder Recipe Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture Curry comes from the Tamil word kari, or spiced sauce, which was originally a thin, soup-like, spiced dressing served in South Africa where many Indians live and work. By Chic African Culture African food recipe     The discovery of curry was dated between 2500BC and 2200BC, making this the earliest recorded use of either spice to be identified in India. Curry may be the oldest continuously prepared cuisine known in human history Yields 4 ounce jar African spice Total time from start to finish 10 minutes South African Indian Fiery Curry Powder Recipe Ingredients: 1 tablespoon ground coriander 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground turmeric 1 tablespoon red pepper flake

African Facts African Middle Class Growth In the Past 40 Years Africa’s middle class population and Kantanka African car manufacturer entrepreneur. Many attributes set apart Africa’s middle class from the poor. One factor is the vast majority of Africa’s middle class is not likely to develop its income from agricultural activities such as the case with Ghana's first family of car manufacturers, Kantanka. Ghana's Kantanka Omama Luxury Pickup North African countries have a much higher concentration of the African middle class with Tunisia having the highest at 89 percent, Morocco 84 percent and Egypt 79 percent. Numerous economic news outlets report sub-Saharan African countries are expected to prosper in the next 40 years reflecting an improving quality of life . High growth rates viewed in context as the United Nations defines middle class as someone living on $10-$100 a day however, and the African Development Bank Group defines middle class as someone living

South African woman grinding corn into cornmeal Explanation of the difference between corn and maize. The United States grows over 90 million acres of corn a year, and 99 percent of it is not the kind that humans eat on the cob. That is right, corn is not just corn there are many different types and uses.  The kind people eat on the cob is known as sweet corn, and it makes up only one percent of the corn grown in the U.S. each year. Moreover, if you are looking for popcorn, that is a completely different kind of corn, too.  The other 99 percent of corn that dominates our American farms is known as field corn used to make food products like cornmeal, corn chips, and corn syrup, but it is primarily grown for animal feed. The word maize derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Taíno word for the plant, mahiz. The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn.  High sugar varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for us humans

Tatale Fried Plantain Fritters Recipe Love and African Food Tatale fried plantains are golden crispy fried deliciousness and is a favorite street food of Ghana Africa. Plantain is a staple food throughout Africa that is eaten when green or unripe, yellow or ripe and yellowish brown or over ripe. Ghanian Tatale are made from overripe plantains. Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture 3-24-2009 When mashed and fried into crisp savory fritters called Tatale, it is tasty proof that there are so many ways to cook plantains. By Chic African Culture African food recipe Plantains are popular and plentiful in Ghana as they are one of the top producer in West Africa. All you need is seven ingredients, oil for frying and 5 minutes to make the ultimate crispy Tatale fried plantains. Tatale Fried Plantain Recipe Serves 4 African food Total time from start to finish 30 minutes Fried Plantain Recipe Ingredients:    2   rip

Listing of the countries of Africa Countries in Africa are unlike any other. Africa rests on both sides of the equator the range of climate and soil conditions on the continent Africa has created a diverse continent which any map of Africa cannot sufficiently document. Listing of 54 countries and 5 regions in Africa The five regions in Africa are; North Africa, South Africa, West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa. Africa’s geography is as diverse as its food from the Sahara and Kalahari deserts, tropical regions, subarctic snow-capped volcanic Mount Kilimanjaro, to savannas, plains, and rain forests. The range of climate and soil conditions in Africa has created a diversity of vegetables, fruits, wild and domesticated animals. Africa rests on both sides of the equator and is the only continent to extend from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the

Head Shaving Ceremony in East Africa Maasai People Time Honored Traditions. Learn about African Maasai Emanyatta Head Shaving Ceremony. Maasai Words of Wisdom. It takes one day to destroy a house; to build a new house will take months and perhaps years. If we abandon our way of life to construct a new one, it will take thousands of years. - Maasai People Proverb. Head Shaving Ceremony in Africa like many other Maasai cultural customs, the traditional ending ceremony of the emanyatta warrior's camp head shaving is disappearing because of the controversy of circumcision, which is very painful yet deeply rooted in Maasai culture. Maasai men. Maasai Emanyatta Ceremony African Tradition and Ritual. After circumcision, the next step is to form the Emanyatta or warrior's camp. Emanyatta contains twenty to forty houses randomly selected by warriors. Warriors will choose certain mothers to relocate at the emanyatta for the duration of its existence. Each Maasai