Chic African Culture Africa Factbook

Did you know?

1. No African country names begin with the letters F, H, I, J, O, P, Q, V, W, X, or Y.

2. Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent.

3. The Republic of the Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa.

Cumin Makes the Best African Herb Sauce Recipes

Cumin Makes the Best African Herb Sauce Recipes

Make the best North African cumin herb sauce for dinner tonight.


Cumin is a low-growing annual herb of the Nile valley, but cultivated in the Mediterranean region, Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, India, China, and Palestine from very early times and is a strong tasting herb. Cumin plants mature in about two months when the stems are cut and dried in the shade; one of the main ingredients in green chermoula is cumin. 

Green plants plus cumin make the best African herb sauce recipes.


Green Chermoula North African Herb Sauce

One of the main ingredients in North African green chermoula sauce is cumin. Cumin has a nutty peppery flavor and chermoula is a green plant-based North African herb sauce traditionally served with seafood. 

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min


North African Green Herb Sauce

Ingredients
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
5 parsley sprigs minced
5 cilantro sprigs minced
½ teaspoon lemon extract
2 teaspoons ground paprika
2 teaspoons ground habanero powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin powder
½ teaspoon salt

Directions
Combine all ingredients and blend on low speed to a rough paste, while the blender is still running slowly add oil and blend until thick paste forms. Store in a container in the refrigerator. 

More info on cumin

Cumin seeds are one of the world's most popular spices. Cumin is the seeds or fruit of the plant and is a slender annual plant. Cumin is native to Egypt, India, and the Mediterranean regions but spontaneously grows in many parts of Africa. Being an earliest known minor seed spice used by humankind, the characteristic pleasant aroma of this seed is due to high oil content.

Much of the crop in the North African regions are hand-harvested. The crop is ready to harvest when the plant withers and the seed loses its dark green color. Cumin is produced and traded worldwide and the major producing and trading countries are Egypt, India, Pakistan, and the Middle East.

Cumin is an herb or spice that is used to flavor foods of various kinds, curries, bread, cheeses, sausages, and as a flavoring in such dishes as chili and other similar dishes in both whole and ground form.

Black cumin is native to Southern Europe, West Asia, India, and North Africa. The small triangular seeds are velvety black in color. Its initial place of origin is most probably West Asia. Black cumin has been in use in the Orient since presumably more than 3,000 years. 

Now that you know about cumin spice, make homemade North African curry powder recipe with ground cumin seeds quick, easy, no additives or fillers and it tastes better than your store-bought curry powder.

Cumin seeds
Cumin seeds


North African Curry Powder Recipe

Ingredients
7 oz. Cumin seeds
2 oz. Coriander seeds
1 dried chili pepper
7 oz. Mustard seeds
1 dried Bay Leave
8 oz. Cardamom seeds
2 oz. Saffron

Directions
Accurately weigh all ingredients. Add all ingredients to a spice or coffee grinder and grind into a powder. Store in an airtight container. 

African chicken curry powder recipe with ground cumin seeds
African chicken curry powder recipe with ground cumin seeds

More easy breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes to make right now so you never have to eat or prepare a boring meal again.

  1. Curried Tanzanian Coconut Okra Recipe
  2. Ethiopian Scrambled Egg Breakfast
  3. Senegalese Chicken Vermicelli
  4. Chadian Steamed Honey Cassava Buns
  5. Nigerian Breakfast Fried Akara and Ogi

Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet=

Africa is surrounded by water but is not an island, here are a few African Island facts.

Madagascar is the 4th large island in the world and is located in the Indian Ocean supporting a unique biology, about 90% of its plants and animals are found nowhere else on earth.

Composed of 155 islands, Seychelles is Africa's smallest country. By far the largest island is Mahe, home to about 90% of the population and the site of its capital city of Victoria.

Cabo Verde has a strategic location 310 miles or 500 km from the west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site.

Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent. Continents can not be considered islands because of their size and also by historic definition since many people who study geography define islands and continents as two different things.

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Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My father and mother are historians of African culture and history and their influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.

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