African Cuisine

ingredients

Brown Cardamom Pod Seeds

Larger and more ‘hairy’ than their green cousins, the aroma is camphor-like and the flavour is smoky. Excellent in stews and used in many spice mixes.

Timiz

Long pepper. (Also known as Balinese Pepper, Bengal Pepper & Jaborandi Pepper). Used in Berbere spice mix. Hot and warm, with sweet overtones.

Tikur Azmud / Nigella Seeds

Kown as “Black Cumin” it has a slightly bitter taste. Common in stews.

Berbere

For Ethiopians and Eritreans, it’s Red Gold! A hot chilli spice mix used widely in stews and sprinkled on top of many dishes for a garnish and extra chilli kick. It usually includes; red chillis, cardamom, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, coriander, allspice, rue berries, and ajowan (known as Bishop’s Weed). Freshly ground and sun dried, its best stored in air-tight containers.

Nit’r Qibe

Sometimes known as Niter Kibbeh. Spiced clarified butter usually made in large quantities and kept for daily use. Ingredients include; brown cardamom pods, korseret (native to Ethiopia, it has a minty thyme flavour) and fennel. Some recipes for Nit’r Qibe also include; garlic, ginger, finely chopped onion, turmeric, nutmeg, fenugreek, a whole clove and a cinnamon stick.

African Basil

With a warm, sweet, camphor scent a taste that’s more like a soft clove, this easy to grow, drought resistant herb is used in many recipes from the Horn of Africa.

Popcorn

A common snack food by itself or, in West Africa mixed with nuts. Always part of an Ethiopian coffee ceremony.

Coffee

Native to Ethiopia, coffee is an integral part of any Ethiopian’s social and cultural life. The Coffee Ceremony is a daily ritual for many Ethiopians.

Chilli

Popular all over Africa for spicy stews and used in complex spice mixes.

Red Palm Fruit Oil

Oil extracted from the fruit of the African oil palm. Not to be confused with Palm kernel oil. Native to Africa, red palm fruit oil has long been appreciated as an excellent base for cooking. Not only does it give a distinctive red colour and taste to soups and stews, it is also high in carotenoids (hence the red colour), is a good supply of Vitamin A and is high in antioxidants.

Rice

Used extensively throughout Africa. In West Africa – it is the key ingredient of Jollof Rice or Chebu Jen. Many cooks prefer to use the parboiled variety.

Smoked Fish

Flaked into stews, ground into powder or used whole, smoked fish is popular in most West African countries. It is a sensible way to preserve fish for a longer shelf life. It is also used in ceremonies and is sometimes offered as a dowry!

Plantain

Belonging to the banana family, plantains are firmer and lower in sugar content than regular bananas. Plantains usually require cooking or other processing, and are used either when green or under-ripe (and therefore starchy) or overripe (and therefore sweet). In most dishes, they are deep fried and eaten as a side.

Sorghum Flour

Native to Africa and gluten free. The sorghum grain ranges in color from white to red depending on the variety of sorghum grown. The white grain is generally used as a food source and the red grain is used for brewing beer. Sorghum grain has a sweet, nutty flavor that is delicious when steamed or added to soups and casseroles (as in fufu or ugali sides).

Peanuts

Roasted and eaten as a snack – ground (to make a peanut butter paste) – cooked with palm fruit oil – forms the base for many dishes especially in West Africa.

Cassava

These tubers are used from Senegal to the Congo. They can be cooked and eaten (as you would a potato) or, they can be processed into flour (for the beloved ‘fu fu’). And even the leaves (shoot of the cassava) are used in sauce / stews.

Black Eyed Beans

Protein rich and widely available, black eyed beans are a popular ingredient throughout Africa and in USA due to the many African slaves sent there. Used in ‘hotpot’ type stews or processed and mashed to make fritters, Akara - they are a perfect, healthy snack.