African Cuisine is colorful and bold, with very rich textures and strong spicy undertones. The continent of Africa is the second largest landmass on the earth and is home to hundreds of tribes, ethnic and social groups. This diversity is also reflected in African cuisine, in the use of basic ingredients as well as in the style of preparation and cooking techniques. African cuisines reflect indigenous traditions, as also influences of Arab merchants, European colonialists and inducted labor from Malay and the subcontinent of India.

Basics

Basically, African cuisine is a combination of locally available fruits and vegetables, milk and meat products, and a traditional African diet has a predominance of milk, curd and whey – naturally, the Bible has described Ethiopia as the land of milk and honey. Yet, differences, sometimes significant, are noticeable in the eating and drinking habits across the continent of Africa. Naturally, African cuisine widely differs in different parts of Africa, and East Africa, North Africa, West Africa, South Africa and Central Africa have distinctive cuisine.

East Africa

East African cuisine is distinctive in the sense that sometimes in traditional cuisine meat products are generally absent. Cattle, Sheep and goat s were regarded as a form of currency, and are not generally consumed as food. Around 1000 years before, the Arabs settled in the coastal areas of East Africa, and Arabic influences are especially reflected in East African cuisine – steamed cooked rice with spices in Persian style, use of saffron, cloves, cinnamons and several other spices, and pomegranate juice.

Several centuries later, the British and the Indians came, and both brought with them their foods, like Indian spiced vegetable curries, lentil soups, chapattis and a variety of pickles. Just before the British and the Indians, the Portuguese had introduced techniques of roasting and marinating, as also use of spices turning the bland diet into aromatic stewed dishes. Portuguese also brought from their Asian colonies fruits like the orange, lemon and lime. From their colonies in the New World, Portuguese also brought exotic items like chilies, peppers, corn, tomato, pineapples, bananas and the domestic pig – now, all are the part of East Africa and the Africa.

North Africa

North Africa lies along the Mediterranean Sea and encompasses within its fold several nations, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt. This is region marked by geographic, political, social, economic and cultural diversity, and the cuisine and the culinary style and art of North Africa are also as diverse as the land, its people and its history. The roots to North African cuisine can be traced back to over 2000 years. Over several centuries - traders, travelers, invaders, migrants and immigrants - all have influenced the cuisine of North Africa. The Phoenicians of the 1st century brought sausages, the Carthaginians introduced wheat and it’s by product, semolina. The Berbers, a Christian nomadic people, adapted this into couscous, one of the main staple diet. From the 7th century onwards, the Arabs introduced a variety of spices, like saffron, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, which contributed and influenced the culinary culture of North Africa. Olives and olive oils were introduced by the Spanish Moors. The Ottoman Turks brought sweet pastries and other bakery products, and from the New World, North Africa got potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini and chilies.

Presently, most of the North African countries have several similar dishes, sometimes almost the same dish with a different name, with a slight change in ingredients and cooking style. Sometimes, differences are noticeable – Moroccans relish full-bodied flavors, whereas Tunisians savor fiery dishes.

West Africa

A typical West African meal is heavy with starchy items, light on meat and generous on fat. Another character is the hot spices, including peppers and chilies. Centuries before the influence of Europeans, West African people have been trading with the Arab world and spices like cinnamon, cloves, mint were not unknown and became part of the local flavorings. Centuries later, the Portuguese, French and British influenced the regional cuisines, but only to a limited extent.

Thus, in essence, the local cuisine and recipes of West Africa continue remain deeply entrenched in the local customs and traditions, with ingredients like rice, peanuts, yams, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, cassava, and root vegetables. Cooking is done in multiple ways: roasted, baked, boiled, mashed, and spiced. A range of sweets and savories are also prepared. Use of items introduced by colonizers are also not uncommon – like okra, plantains, peppers and green peas, citrus fruits, and pineapples, which are legacy of slave ship traffic between Africa and the New World.

Cooking techniques of West Africa often combine fish and meat, including dried fish. Flaked and dried fish is often fried in oil, and sometimes cooked with chicken, yam, onions, various spices and water to prepare a highly flavored stew. In some areas, beef, and mutton are not preferred due to poor quality of the meat, particularly toughness. It is common to have a preponderance of seafood and the seafood, as earlier stated, is sometimes also mixed with other meat products. Eggs and chickens are preferred.

Southern Africa

Cuisine of South Africa and the neighboring countries is sometimes called rainbow cuisine and rightly so as the cuisine of South Africa and the countries around them have largely become polyglot cuisines, having influences of several immigrants which include Indians and Malaya, as also the European colonizers. Thus, the food here is a blend of many cultures – European, Asian and African.

The Malay influence has brought spicy curries, chutneys, and pickled fish and curry-marinated pork or lamb kebabs, and variety of fish stews. The Indians have introduced a different line of culinary practices, including a variety of sweets and savories. The Afrikaaners have their scuulent potjies or stew of maize with tomato and onion sauce, with or without rice. There are several European contributions like Dutch fried crueler or koek sister and milk pies. The basic ingredients include seafood, meat products, and wild games, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits like grapes, mangoes, bananas and papayas, avocado. Meat products include lamb, and game meats like venison, ostrich, and impala. Seafood offer a variety like crayfish, prawns, tuna, mussels, oysters, mackerel, lobsters. Last but not the least, there are also several types of traditional and modern alcoholic beverages.

Central Africa

Central Africa stretches from the Tibesti mountains in the north to vast rainforest basin of the Congo River , and has remained largely free of influence of the outside world, until the late 19th century. This has an affect on the local cuisine which has remained mostly traditional. Nevertheless, like other parts of Africa, Central African cuisine also presents an array of exotic dishes. The basic ingredients are rice and foutou (massed plantain and cassava) and fufu (fermented cassava), with servings of grilled meat and sauce. A variety of local ingredients are used while preparing other dishes like spinach stew, cooked with tomato, peepers, chilies, onions and peanut butter. Cassava (Manioc) plants are also consumed as green salad. Groundnut (peanuts) stew is also prepared, containing chicken, okra and ginger. Another favorite is Bambara, a porridge of rice, peanut butter and sugar. Beef and chicken are favorite meat dishes, but meat preparations, containing crocodile, monkey, antelope and warthog, are also served occasionally.