The African Gourmet: African Cuisine, Folktales and Cultural Stories

The palm oil tree is also known as Elaeis Guineensis and is native to West and Southwest Africa. Nearly 85 percent of the world’s palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia; the other major growing countries are Thailand, Colombia, Nigeria, and Papua New Guinea. All About Palm Oil African palm oil aka macaw-fat is the world’s most popular and most purchased vegetable oil making up about 35 percent of the total international trade in cooking oils. The Palm oil tree has many uses and no part of the tree goes to waste. The tree is used to make world-famous palm wine and local medicines,. The leaves may also be used to make thatches, which are often used as roofing material in certain areas. In West Africa, palm oil is a major food item and it is typically used for making goods with its natural flavor and red color having a unique effect on a dish. Palm oil can be harvested 12 months of the year accounting for 35 percent of the world's vegetable oil market. ...

Easy Sierra Leone Fried Soup Recipe Sierra Leone Fried Soup Recipe is fast and easy to prepare, especially useful for families with busy schedules. Boiled yams, cassava tubers, bananas, rice and other starches can be eaten with the soup. Sierra Leone Fried Soup is a delicious and hearty dish that can be enjoyed anytime. It is made with chicken, vegetables, spices and palm oil, which gives it a rich and distinctive flavor.  Sierra Leone Fried Soup Ingredients 1 teaspoon palm oil  2 chicken breasts cut into strips  2 large onions sliced  3 garden eggs diced  1 tablespoon chili pepper  1 teaspoon salt 2 cups of water Directions Heat oil in a pot and fry the chicken. Add sliced onions, garden eggs, and ground chili pepper. Cover the ingredients with water and add salt. Cook for 20-25 minutes with a lid on the pot. Fried soup is served with boiled bananas. Boiling green bananas makes them easier to digest and releases their resistant starch, whic...

Simple Pumpkin and Vegetable Stew in 30-minutes Ingredients 1 cup of your favorite canned beans 1 cup mashed pumpkin 1 cup whole corn 1 large red tomato, chopped 1 large yam, diced 2 cups vegetable broth 1 diced hot pepper White pepper to taste Garnish with sour cream (optional) Directions Add all ingredients to a large bowl mix well and then add to a casserole dish, heat for 30 minutes. Serve from the casserole dish. Garnish with sour cream. Great with fish and rice. Did you know? Egusi seeds are the seeds of plants of squash, melon, gourd, pumpkin, etc which after being dried and ground is used as an ingredient in East and West African recipes. More recipes you will find yummy. African Mexican Salsa Learn how to cook buttermilk fried yams Recipe of peppered goat San Pedro African Seafood Recipe Nigerian Breakfast Fried Akara and Ogi

Off-Grid Challenge: How to Build a Fire Without Electricity Energy poverty is one of the toughest challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 600 million people across 49 countries live without access to electricity . In rural communities, over 85% remain completely off-grid. Without power, families depend on fire for cooking, heating, and basic survival. This lack of electricity limits healthcare, education, and economic growth. The number of Africans living without reliable power is nearly double the population of the United States. While the region has huge renewable energy potential — solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and natural gas — high costs and poor infrastructure slow progress. Programs like Power Africa support clean energy projects, but access is still decades behind demand. Until reliable electricity reaches every home, fire remains a life-saving skill . Knowing how to safely build and manage a cooking fire can mean warmth, hot meals, and survival in...

African spice recipe that makes full use of your pestle and mortar. Use a mortar and pestle to grind and mix spices, crush herbs and nuts. The mortar and pestle are one of the oldest most recognized pharmacy and kitchen tool used throughout the world. African spice recipe that makes full use of your pestle and mortar. The mortar and pestle is a kitchen gadget that was found in every urban and rural African kitchen . However, emerging technology in the African food culture is threatening the once commonplace mortars and pestles of old. Mortars and pestles were once used to husk and dehull grain but village electric grain mills are slowly replacing the hand labor intensive mortars and pestles. There are many recipes where hand mixing and grinding with a mortar and pestle put the consistency of the mixing and grinding in your hands. Place ingredients in the mortar or bowl portion, using the pestle end slowly move the rounded pestle end against the mortar to grind. In order to poun...

What Are Africanized Bees What Are Africanized Bees Africanized Honey bees October 19, 1990, a honeybee swarm unlike never before took over a small south Texas town in the United States. Africanized honeybees dramatically labeled as "killer bees" are the result of honeybees brought from Africa to Brazil in the 1950s in hopes of breeding a bee better adapted to the South American tropical climate.  These honey bees reached the Brazilian wild in 1957 and then spread south and north until they officially reached the United States on October 19, 1990. Actually all honeybees are imports to the New World and are not native. Those that flourished here before the arrival of Africanized honeybees are considered European honeybees, because European colonists introduced them in the 1600s and 1700s. Africanized honeybees are so called because it was assumed that the African honey bees spreading out from Brazil would interbreed with existing feral Europ...

Fresh bonga fish is used in cooking stews and fried fish recipes. Some boil the fresh bonga fish and use it as a side dish for local recipes. Other African home chefs buy bonga fish roasted, salted and dried, or smoked bonga fish.  It is estimated that nearly 70 percent of the total fish supply in West Africa is marketed in the smoked or dried forms.  Bonga fish is caught in the coastal and estuarine waters, and lagoons along West Africa from Senegal to Cameroon. During the dry season it is caught far inland when salt water penetrates the rivers.   Making Cameroon Smoked Bonga Fish Stew  Cooking fish in Cameroon Africa. Cameroon in West Africa, bonga fish is a popular fish to use in recipes, bonga is usually smoked with lots of fresh vegetables.  Prep time: 15 min  Cook time: 20 min  Total time: 35 min  Ingredients  4 smoked bongas or any smoked fish  2 green plantains cut in q...

Make a quick, healthy, and protein-packed Chickpea Spinach Curry. This easy African healthy recipe is perfect for protein diets and is ready in just 15 minutes. Ideal for vegetarians, this flavorful dish is full of plant-based protein and essential nutrients. Chickpea curry breakfast Healthy African Food Recipe: Quick Chickpea Spinach Curry for Protein Diets Looking for a quick, healthy, and protein-packed meal ? Try making this Chickpea Spinach Curry ! This easy recipe blends African-inspired flavors with chickpeas , a great source of plant-based protein , and spinach , rich in vitamins and minerals. It’s the perfect dish for a protein diet and can be prepared in just 15 minutes , making it an ideal choice for busy individuals seeking a nutritious meal. Chickpea Spinach Curry: A Protein-Packed Breakfast Option Ingredients : 2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 4 cups fresh spinach 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon ground ...

Fried Black Eyed Beans Cakes are known by many different names in Western Africa. Below is a photo of Fried Black Eyed Beans Cakes For Sale In Nigeria in 1998. Here is the recipe for our Hausa Fried Black Eyed Beans Cakes which makes about 10 small bean cakes. Ingredients 1 can of black-eyed peas (liquid drained) 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 teaspoon red pepper Salt and pepper to taste Oil for frying Directions Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add all ingredients into a large bowl and mash well with your lightly oiled hands or a potato masher or add to a food processor and blend until smooth. Form the bean mixture into quarter-sized ball, flatten and fry until are a golden-brown in color. Hausa are the largest ethnic group in Sub-Saharan Africa found chiefly in northwestern Nigeria and adjacent southern Niger with 30% of Hausa people found in the north and northwest regions of Nigeria known as Hausaland. The Hausa culture is strongly linked to Islam with...

Tea Biscuits, known as cookies in The United States are eaten throughout the world and African food is a unique fusion of many different cultures. One influence over the centuries is that of European colonialists who colonized Africa from around the 1600’s to the 20th century. Anna Maria Russell, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, is said to have made afternoon teatime a fashionable trend when she complained of "having that sinking feeling" during the late afternoon. Hereafter, a pot of tea and a light snack in the middle of the afternoon became a part of European culture. One very popular light snack is that of the tea biscuit. Make in a hour Tea Biscuits Recipe Ingredients 2 cups bread flour 4 teaspoons baking powder  ½ teaspoon salt  1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening  ¾ cup milk   Directions Sift the dry ingredients together, mix in fat with the tips of fingers, then add the milk a little at a time or cut it in with a knife. The dough should be as soft as...

The Missing Education on African Hair When kinky or Afro-textured hair is washed and not styled, it naturally forms into the coiffeur that is known as the Afro, and it is beautiful. African Hair Art Just as the human body is outfitted and decorated to look sexy, professional or devout, the human hair is a reflection of a person’s outward identity. Hair is looked at as an accompaniment to an outfit; an essential accessory that glams up the whole look. African Hair identity Why Hair Is Important Pay attention to your hair because everyone else does. Hair is considered a person’s crowning glory and when a bad hair day happens upon them, some believe they are unattractive and ugly. For centuries, African hair was treated as an artist’s canvas.  Unique African hairstyles were a fashion and status statement for women and men. Hair's the thing that makes a person unique. Ancient African Hairstyle Art One of the most famous and talented photographers of Nigerian Hairstyles, Johnso...

Popular in Central and West Africa, eggplant fruit and leaves can be fried, grilled, stuffed, roasted, and cooked in soups and stews. Eggplants and garden eggs in some regions of Africa are a vegetable grown in the subtropics and tropics. The name eggplant originates from the shape of the fruit. Eggplant has chemicals that can cause digestive upset if eaten raw, so is frequently cooked. The leaves and fruits of eggplants are eaten boiled, steamed, pickled, or in soups and stews with eggplant leaves, other vegetables or meats. The Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria traditionally welcome visitors into their homes by offering the fruits customarily along with kola-nuts and seeds of alligator pepper. Traditional Recipe for Eggplant Fritters Ingredients and Directions 1. Boil your desired amount of eggplants in salted water mixed with a little lemon juice. 2. When tender, skin, drain and mash the eggplant. 3. For every cup of pulp, add one-half cup full of flour, two well-beat...

Akara fried black eyed peas African recipe is popular street food in Nigeria. Nigeria is not only the cellular phone capital of Africa but also famous for rich, delicious Akara recipes. Easy-to-Follow Akara Fried Black Eyed Peas African Recipe Ingredients 1 15 ounce can black eyed peas with all liquid drained (press down on peas) 1 tablespoon self-rising flour 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes Oil for frying Directions In large bowl add all ingredients and with clean hands squeeze the mixture until smooth. Form into small balls, roll in flour and fry until brown about 2 minutes. Ten Akara Black-eyed peas facts 1. Cowpea is an important staple crop in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in arid Savannahs of West Africa and the Sahel. 2. Cowpeas are a valuable source of vegetable protein, vitamins as well as valuable income. 3. Western and Central Africa is the leading cowpea producing regions in the world pr...

Tea holds a vital place within the social tapestry of Malian society.  In Mali, the art of brewing and partaking in tea is woven intricately into daily routines and cherished cultural practices. The tea ceremony itself serves as a powerful emblem of warmth, hospitality, camaraderie, and the strengthening of communal ties.   In Mali Tea Culture, the tea ceremony is a cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation to honored guests and even strangers. Welcoming guests with tea is a sign of friendship in the African country of Mali. Mali tea ritual is common throughout North Africa. The custom in Mali is to welcome people with green tea simmering with mint leaves .  The hot, sweet tea is poured from a small teapot into shot-glass size glasses from a great height in order to get a good head of foam on the tea. The glasses are then offered to guests, who slurp the tea loudly, to indicate politeness and respect for their host. Welcoming guests with t...

Timbuktu is located close to the river Niger which soon became known as a place for business due to its location. Timbuktu Elite University in the Desert Founded by the Imagharen Tuareg, Timbuktu Mali was established in the 12th century, almost nine hundred years ago as a place where nomads could pasture and water their camels after traveling through the Sahara desert. Continue exploring literary history and cultural memory in the African Bookshelf Hub . Tuaregs in Timbuktu, Mali Three important mosques were constructed in Timbuktu, Djingareyber, Sankore, and Sidi Yahia. The Djingareyber Mosque, the initial construction in 1327, the Sankore Mosque or The University of Sankoré date it was constructed is unknown, but probably in the 14th century, between 1325 and 1433, not long after the Djingareyber was constructed, and the Sidi Yahia Mosque, was built around 1400. The three mosques compose the famous University of Timbuktu. Beginning in the 15th ce...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo Gungu Festival masks, dances and songs are seen as African art in America. African dances, songs and masks are sacramental, ritualistic, and an important piece of the traditional culture and art of the peoples of Africa. Festival culture of the Democratic Republic of Congo. African masks, dances and songs have spiritual significance at the DR Congo Festival of African dance. DR Congo Gungu Festival is African art. Masks and headdresses are used in dances, marriage ceremonies, funeral ceremonies, and other special events.  The National Gungu Festival, FESMAG, is an annual gathering that embraces the musical and dance cultures of the DR Congo. In the 1980s the Democratic Republic of the Congo became well known in the African music world known as Congolese music or rumba.  Masks have always been important to the peoples of Africa. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo  the Gungu Festival first took place 1925-1960 under the name Saga...