10 African dishes you’ll want to try
Just as you don’t really speak of a ‘European cuisine’ (because hutspot, spaghetti vongole and pierogi are pretty far apart), African cuisine cannot be painted with the same brush either. Every part of the continent has different specialties to taste, but if we’re allowed to name 10 that you simply have to try at least once… here you go!
What they have in common is that they can leave you in a sunny mood, and we may be grateful that, thanks to the invention of the internet, many of these recipes and ingredients can be found online. So trying to make them yourself is certainly an option, and hopefully this list of 10 top African dishes will provide some inspiration:
Harira
One of the most delicious soups we know, this absolute comfort food from Morocco. North African cuisine is known for its ‘warm’ spices, and with cumin, coriander and legumes, this is a real winner to have in your repertoire.
Hawawshi
The ultimate Egyptian street food, but hawawshi is naturally fantastic served on a plate at home too. It’s a pita filled with seasoned minced meat, onions, pepper(s) and parsley, and just writing that down makes me dream about it until I have one in my hands.
Egusi soup
Egusi is the West African name for the seeds of certain pumpkin plants, which are dried and ground to form the base of a hearty, protein-rich soup. It usually also contains leafy greens, tomato, chili peppers and goat or beef, or fish or seafood.
Thiboudienne
In West Africa too—even in the far west—you can enjoy Senegalese thieboudienne. And at home, too! It is also called thieb, and is a rich rice-and-tomato stew full of vegetables and your choice of fish or meat.
Doro Wat
Let’s head east across the continent, to Ethiopia. The Netherlands has some excellent Ethiopian restaurants, but with a little patience and a good recipe, you can also make Doro Wat yourself. It is a spicy chicken stew to which boiled eggs are added before serving. The typical Ethiopian spice blend berbere is essential: deliciously spicy and available at well-stocked Turkish or Moroccan shops.
Injera
This light, pancake-like bread made from teff flour is also widely eaten in Ethiopia. It is delicious to tear off and eat like a roti flatbread (that’s what you call a roti ‘pancake’), using it to pick up all kinds of tasty vegetables and, optionally, meat preparations and eating them by hand.
Nyama choma
South of Ethiopia lies Kenya. Kenyans eat a lot of roasted meat, and nyama choma is a specialty made with grilled goat meat. It is also a popular dish in Tanzania. You can eat it very simply with just some salt and pepper, but it is also sometimes marinated before grilling in a mixture of onion, garlic, ginger, chili peppers and lemon juice. See the photo above this article; doesn’t that look colorful?!
Matoke
Matoke is eaten in several East African countries and is an affordable, filling dish made with plantains. They are stewed with onion, tomato and lemon juice, and sometimes also with ginger and mustard seeds. Another delicious example of comfort food!
Mandazi
Mandazi is popular in Tanzania, and we completely understand why—crispy fried dough triangles sprinkled with powdered sugar; I’d happily dip those into my coffee right now too. For an extra delicious twist, you can also add some ground cardamom.
Bobotie
We started the list with a familiar dish, and we’re ending it with one too. You don’t make bobotie from a Knorr packet, but a good recipe is easy to find online and the ingredients are readily available here. Spiced, savory and sweet, with minced meat, curry, chutney and raisins, among other things, this is truly a dish you can make in a large casserole and then be super happy about your leftovers.
Read also:
- You can now buy a roti panini at Lidl, and I have thoughts about that
- Shocking: ‘healthy snack’ raisins turn out to be heavily contaminated
- 7 reasons why you shouldn’t actually bring food home as a holiday souvenir
