Tag: African Recipes

Categories
Ghanaian Food plantain

Waakye Rice & Beans

Waakye – a delicious dish from Ghanawaakye rice beans and spaghetti from ghana

Waakye or Wache is one of the most famous dishes in the West African country of Ghana. it’s a platter served anytime of the day and is available in most Ghanaian restaurants throughout the world. Of course the best way to taste this famous  african rice and beans dish is making it yourself. The dish is know as either Waakye or Wache in some parts of Ghana and comes in many different varieties, but the main ingredients are always rice and beans. The type of beans depend on the cook, but in this recipe we haven chosen to use kidney beans since these are the most common. The rice and beans can be served with either meat or fish and vegetables like fried plantain. The following recipe is waakye with beef and plantain.

Ingredients for Ghanaian Wache – 4 persons

  • 400 gr rice
  • 400 gr canned kidney beans
  • 150 gr brokken Spaghetti or any other pasta (Macaroni etc)
  • 2 tomatoes
  • hot black peper sauce / chili sauce
  • magi cube
  • salt
  • 200 gr beef
  • 2 plantains
  • water
  • cooking oil (peanut or palm oil)

How to make Waakye with beef and plantain?

  • step 1) cut the beef and tomatoes in very small cubes and fry it shortly in a cooking pan with some peanut oil add some salt, peper sauce and magi cube after beef and tomatoes have simmered for a bit.
  • step 2) add the rice and mix it in well before adding water until rice is  fully covered and bring to boil while sturing the pot once every while, add water when necessary. you can also add the pasta now (depending on difference in cooking time of rice and pasta)
  • step 3) cut the plantain in thin slices and fry in a frying pan using peanut oil.
  • step 4) after 10 minutes you add the canned beans with their fluit to the rice and warm it up again while mixing it in. taste and at more spice to taste.
  • step 5) serve the waakye on a plate with the fried plantain on top of it. enjoy 😛

 

 

 

Categories
Moroccan food

Moroccan Chickpeas Tajine

Moroccan Vegetarian Chickpea Taginemoroccan vegetarian chickpea tajine recipe

Moroccan dishes do not need necessarily need any meat to be delicious. Many typical Moroccan recipes can be completely vegetarian. One of the favorite Moroccan vegetarian dishes is a tajine with as a main ingredient chickpeas. This Moroccan chickpeas recipe is one of the easiest to make and has a delicious authentic Moroccan taste.

Ingredients for vegetarian Tajine with Chickpeas

  • 400 gram canned Chickpeas
  • 1 toe of garlic
  • 1 large onion
  • 3 large tomatoes
  • 3 tbs. Olive Oil
  • parsley leaves
  • 1/8 tsp. cayenne powder
  • ¼ tsp. paprika powder
  • ¼ tsp. Cumin
  • salt and pepper

How to prepare Moroccan Chickpeas Tagine

  • step 1) soak the chickpeas in hot water and remove the skin
  • step 2) grate the onion and fry it slightly (1-2 minutes) in a deep pan (or tajine) using 2 tablespoon olive oil before mixing it with 1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder, ¼ teaspoon paprika powder and ¼ teaspoon cumin.
  • Step 3) add the 3 tomatoes cut in small cubes, a sniff of salt and pepper, a couple of cut parsley leaves and eventually also the skinned chickpeas.
  • Step 4) let it is simmer for 30-35 minutes on a low fire with the lid closed.
  • Step 5) serve with either couscous or Turkish bread. BisaHa!

Tip: the next day leftovers will taste even better!

Categories
Moroccan food

Lamb chops, Chermoula and Rice

Moroccan Lamb Chops with Chermoulamoroccan lamb chermoula rice recipe

lamb is one of the favourite ingredients in Moroccan cuisine. It’s meat is used in many different dishes from slow cooked tajines to bbq fried lambchops. This recipe is for Moroccan lambchops served with Chermoula. Chermoula is a sauce typical for north-africa and used in many different dishes from fish to beef. However this koriander based sauce also brings out the best when served with Lamb Chops and yellow rice.

Ingredients for Chermoula Lamb Chops

  • 12 lambchops
  • Yellow rice

marinade for lamb chops:

  • 1 tsp. Gingerpowder
  • ½ tsp. Paprika powder
  • ½ tsp. Cumin
  • 1 toe of garlic
  • 1/8 tsp. Cayenne powder
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper

for the chermoula:

  • 1 red onion
  • 2 toes of garlic
  • 1 tsp. Cuminpowder
  • ¼ tsp. Salt
  • ¼ tsp. Pepper
  • bundle of fresh koriander
  • 1 tbs of lemon juice
  • 2 tbs of olive oil
  • 1 tsp. Lemon zest (lemon-skin)

How to prepare moroccan lamb chops with chermoula and yellow rice

  • step 1) Marinade the Lambchops

mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 teaspoon of ginger powder, ½ teaspoon of paprika powder, ½ teaspoon, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne powder and some salt and pepper and add a crushed toe of garlic. Use this marinade to rub in the 12 lamb chops and let it marinade for at least 20 minutes.

  • Step 2) make the chermoula

get a bowl and crush 2 garlic toes and grate one red onion. Cut the fresh koriander in small pieces. grate a bit of lemonskin and add all of the other ingredients (1 teaspoon of cumin powder, ¼ teaspoon of both salt and pepper, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and finely 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well and put aside.

  • Step 3) boil yellow rice (basmati rice with some safran)
  • step 4) fry or grill the marinated lamb chops for about 2 minutes on both sides.
  • Step 5) you can heat up the chermoula a bit in the microwave, but not necessary.
  • Step 6) serve the lambchops on the yellow rice and add some chermoula on top.
Categories
african chicken Moroccan food

Sweet stuffed Moroccan Chicken

Recipe for Moroccan stuffed chicken with raisins and almondsMoroccan recipe for stuffed couscous chicken with almonds and raisins

Morocco is known for it’s special North African flavours which are mix of both very sweet and spicy. This typical moroccan recipe for sweet almond and raisins stuffed chicken is in that sense the best of Moroccan cuisine. The recipe here under is meant for 3-6 people and brings out the delicious mix of sweet and spicy and is one of the country’s favourite dishes. The stuffing of the chicken consists predominantly out of raisins, almonds and couscous, but the ginger and safraan also bring an oriental kick to the dish.

Ingredients for stuffed Moroccan Chicken:

  • 3 small chickens (each around 600gr)
  • 120 gr almonds
  • 120 gr raisins
  • 400 gr instant couscous
  • 1 onion
  • 2 toes of garlic
  • boter
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon powdermoroccan cinnamon chicken recipe
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • ¼ tsp ginger powder
  • ¼ tsp safran powder
  • 2 tbs of honey
  • 1 ½ tbs of powdered sugar
  • 750 ml water

how to make Moroccan chicken stuffed with Couscous, Raisins and Almonds?

  • Step 1) fry the almonds in butter until golden brown
  • step 2) clean the chickens inside and outside
  • step 3) make the instant couscous following the instructions
  • step 4) mix the couscous with the raisins, almonds, 1 ½ tablespoon powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder.
  • Step 5) fill up the 3 chickens with the mixed couscous. Close the chicken with toothpicks and rub the chicken with butter. The rest of the stuffing you will use later to serve it with.
  • Step 6) grate the onion in a frying pan with butter and add 2 finely cut garlic toes, 2 cinnamon sticks, ¼ teaspoon of ginger powder, ¼ teaspoon of safran powder and finally 750ml water. cook it for a few minutes.
  • Step 7) transfuse the sauce into a deep oven dish and put the stuffed chickens on top. Cover the oven dish with tinfoil and cook it in a preheated oven at 180c (360 fahrenheit) for 50 minutes while basting the chickens once in awhile.
  • step 8) take out the chicken and put it on a heated plate. Transfuse the sauce into a small frying pan and cook it on high fire to make it thicker while adding 2 tablespoons of honey.
  • Step 9) heat the leftover stuffing and serve it on the plate next to the chicken and pour the thickened sauce over stuffing and chicken.
  • Step 10) enjoy 🙂
Categories
Ethiopian food

Injera recipe

Injera or “the Ethiopian pancake”

Injera, is an Ethiopian flatbread, also known as the “Ethiopian pancake”,  which is served with almost all traditional recipes and dishes from Ethiopia. It is considered the number one staple food of ethiopian Injera recipe traditional food from EthiopiaEthiopia and is used to both serve the delicious Ethiopian dishes on as well as the cutlery to pick up the Ethiopian stews. Next to Ethiopia is this food also very popular in Eritrea and Somalia and some other East African countries. One can buy premade Injera in the freezers of some stores, but the best taste you will get by making this delicious Ethiopian food yourself.  Injera is traditionally made from teff flour which is a finely ground flour made from the grains of Teff, a tiny species of grains which grows in the Ethiopian Highlands. However very fine millet flour, which might be easier to get in your local may also be used to make this delicious Ethiopian pancake, the Injera flatbread. When making Injera take into account that the best results for a homemade injera is to let the dough ferment for at least a day or two. If you can’t wait this long you can add warm water instead of cold to fasten up the process.

Ingredients for Ethiopian Injera

  • 500g  of teff flour (or very fine Millet flour)
  • 1 small packet of dry yeast
  • Water
  • Utensil: A very large frying pan or griddle

How to cook your own Ethiopian Injera

Here is the recipe for a traditional ethiopian Injera pancake in 10 very easy steps:

1st Step: Mix the yeast together with 2 tbs of hot water in a glass

2nd Step: Put  375 gram of the flour in a bowl and the glass of water and yeast to it.

3rd Step: Add 500ml of cold water to the flour and mix the dough until very smooth

4th Step: Let the dough rest for at least one day ( or in case of hot water: 3hrs)

(the following day)

5th step: Pour the remaining flour (125 gram) in another bowl.

6th step: Boil 150ml of water and pour over the flour. Mix and let it stand 5 minutes.

7th step: Now mix the dough of the previous day (which has fermented) together with 165ml of cold water with the dough of today.

8th step: Let it rest for about one hour

9th step: Heat a nonstick griddle or large frying pan and pour a ladle of batter to form a very thin layer in the pan or on the griddle.

10th step: Cover the pan or griddle when the first bubbles start to appear and cook for about 5 minutes.

Now your Injera is ready and you can serve your delicious Ethiopian, Eritrean or Somalian food on your own homemade Injera.

መልካም ምግብ (melkam megeb) or Bonne Appetit

Categories
Nigerian food Okra

Ogbono Soup Stew

Ogbono soup recipe from Nigeria

Ogbono soup is a nigerian stew which consists mainly out of the stew made from Ogbono seeds. Ogbono is the local name for a Mango-like tree which produces fruits similar to the common Mango. The tree is also known as african Mango or Wild Mango. There are many different varieties of the Ogbono soup recipe found in Nigeria, but most of these recipes consist of some type of meat, okra and ground ogbono seeds. It is really popular in the whole of Nigeria and neighbouring countries like Benin and Cameroon. The dried ogbono seeds are sold whole or already ground in many local african stores. If you can not find Ogbono seeds you can try to replace them by pumpkin seeds. You can serve your delicious Ogbono stew with either fufu or rice.

Ingredients for Nigerian Ogbono soup recipe

  • Beef ( 1 pound / 600 Gr)
  • half a cup of dried & ground ogbono seeds
  • Okra (300 gram)
  • Cabbage or Fresh spinach leaves
  • 1 or 2 red chili peppers
  • 1 Onion
  • 6 tomatoes
  • Palm oil
  • Maggi cube
  • Salt & Peper

How to cook Ogbono soup recipe?

  1. Chop your onions, tomatoes, chilis and meat into tiny cubes.
  2. Grind your Ogbono seeds (or pumpkin) if you bought whole seeds and heat a little bit of palm oil in a pan to fry your ground ogbono seeds for around 1 minute and take of the fire.
  3. Heat around a quarter cup of palm oil in another big pot and fry your onions and chilis for 3 minutes. add the meat and tomatoes and fry for another 5 minutes.
  4. Now add water (3 cups) and 1 Maggi Cube to the pot and boil for 45 minutes with closed lit on low fire.
  5. after the meat is tender add the cabbage (cut into pieces) or fresh spinach leaves together with the fried ground ogbono seeds and stire it in well and let it cook for another 20 minutes.
  6. Your delicious Nigerian Ogbono Soup is ready to be served! 🙂
Categories
Ghanaian Food plantain

Tatale – Ghanaian Plantain Cake

The Recipe for Plantain cake from Ghana (Tatale)

Tatale is a delicious Ghanaian plantain cake made from very ripe plantains. Plantain, also know as cooking banana is a very common ghana tatale plantain cakeingredient in Western Africa. In Ghana they use plantain in many different ways, but one of the favourite ghanaian foods is Tatale. This delicious snack from ghana has a really easy recipe and is therefore also easy for you to make at home to taste the rich flavours of West Africa.

Ingredients for Ghanaian Tatale

  • 4 very ripe plantains (turning black on the outside)
  • 2 Onions
  • Ginger powder
  • 1 red pepper (select the one you can handle)
  • Maisflour (or other type of flour if not available)
  • Peanut oil
  • salt

How to cook Tatale from Ghana

  1. Mash the plantains into a soft consistency with a masher or hand mixer
  2. Cut the pepper and onions into very tiny parts
  3. Add the pepper and onions together with a sniff of ginger and salt (according to taste) into the mix
  4. Add around 3 cups of maisflour and mix all very well into a well bound texture
  5. Let the mix stand for about 30 minutes
  6. Fill a pot with peanut oil so it comes up around 2 inch from the bottom on the fire.
  7. When the oil is hot enough you can use a big spoon to make round scoops from the mix and fry these scoops on both sides until they turn golden brown.
  8. Let them leak out on plate with kitchen paper before serving them as delicious snacks or as a side dish to your African meal
Categories
Nigerian food

Egusi – Nigerian squash seeds soup stew

The seeds of the Egusi plant

Egusi is a certain type of squash/watermelon plant which has fruits

nigerian egusi soup recipe
the egusi fruit

with a quit bitter taste by itself and the flesh of it is not consumed. However the seeds of the Egusi are used in one of the most favourite Nigerian dishes in the world : Egusi soup or stew. Some also use the seeds of any other squash like plants to prepare the Egusi sauce, but to have the real authentic nigerian taste try to find the real Egusi seeds (whole or grounded) which are properly sold in your local African store. Egusi soup, which is more like a stew since is quit thick and most of the time served with beef is one of the most common dishes from the south of Nigeria and is eaten by the whole nigerian nation.

How to make Nigerian Egusi soup?

to make Nigerian Egusi one needs to find its main ingredient: the grounded Egusi seeds in your local ethnic store. Like said before one can also use the seeds of similar fruits like Squash or Melon. In this recipe we have chosen to make egusi soup with beef, but one can also change the beef for chicken or any other meat. Many Nigerians also like to have it with either oxtail or tripe. One can serve the Egusi soup best with pounded yam or fufu.

the ingredients for Egusi from Nigeria

  • (ground) Egusi seeds – 600 Gram
  • Beef (Oxtail or Tripe) – 500 Gram
  • Palm Oil (Red)
  • Pumpkin leaves (or cabage or fresh spinash if not available)
  • maggi cubes
  • Salt & Peper

nigerian egusi stew ingredients how to prepare egusi soup

how to cook the Egusi Soup?

  1. cut the beef in big cubes and boil in 1 liter of water with 3 cubes of Maggi untill it turns very tender.
  2. If you bought whole egusi seeds you should grind them first
  3. Wash the pumpkin leaves (or cabage/spinash)
  4. put 4 tablespoons of Red palm oil in a  different pot on low fire until the oil turns clear
  5. add the ground Egusi to the oil and fry it on low fire (make sure it doesn’t burn by sturing it around allot) until it turns dry
  6. now add the beef + stock (the water where the beef was boilt in) in the pot of Egusi and add more water if it seems too dry.
  7. Cook the beef + Egusi for about 30 minutes on low fire with closed lid
  8. Now add the pumpkin leaves and cook it for a bit and mix it well in.
  9. Serve your delicious Nigerian Egusi Soup with either Fufu or Pounded Yam. Enjoy!!!
Categories
Kenyan food

Githeri

Kenyan Githeri Recipe

Githeri is a traditional kenyan dish of which the name derives from the Kikuyu people of Kenya. It is however eaten all over Kenya and is also know as Mutheri among some Kenyans. This typical kenyan stapple food consists mainly of beans and mais, but can be served with some extras.  It is a very simple and basic dish to prepare, but it has the delicious flavours of Kenya. In most African families Githeri is eaten without any supplements. However it can also served with either chapati or rice which are both also very common throughout Kenya.

traditional githeri kikuyu kenyan food

Ingredients for Githeri/Mutheri

This version of the Githeri recipe has a little bit of extra’s (meat) to give the dish even more flavour. However one can leave out the meat to make a delicious vegetarian dish. Kenyan Githeri contains the following ingredients:

  • 500 gram/1 pound of beef
  • 400 gram of beans (brown or white beans)  if bought fresh soak them overnight
  • 400 grams of fresh corn kernels
  • 2 tbs of peanut oil
  • 1 onion
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 2 potatoes
  • 1 fresh chili (add only if you can handle spicy food)
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
  • cumin powder
  • chili powder
  • tumeric powder
  • garlic powder
  • salt and peper
  • 1 lemon

How to prepare Githeri from Kenya

step 1: if you bought fresh beans and mais you will have to boil them first until tender. Make sure to save the water which you boilt your mais and beans in to save flavours. if you bought both from a can there is no need to boil the mais and beans.

step 2: Cut the beef into small cubes and boil them in water with a bit of salt, peper, tumeric and cumin powder. Make sure the beef is really tender and soft.

step 3: chop the vegetables into small cubes (onions, tomatoes, potatoes and chili)

step 4: boil the potatoes cubes for a short period

step 5: heat 2 tbs of peanut oil in the pan and fry the onions slightly before adding the tomate paste and a bit of garlic powder. Now add the tomatoes and cook them with some of the water from the boiled beans (or from the can of beans) on low heat until the tomatoes get really soft. now add the chili and add some of the other spices according to taste. also add the tender beef cubes and mix them well in.

step 6: add the boiled potatoes, beans and mais and mix them well in. add some of the stock from the beef to just cover the beans. now simmer the pan on a very low fire while stiring it slightly. add some extra salt and peper if needed.

Step 7: After simmering it on the fire for a bit it is ready to serve. half a lemon or two so your guests can squize the lemon juice according to taste to their delicious Githeri meal to intensify the taste.

 

Categories
Senegalese Food

Maafe recipe

The origins of the Maafe Recipe

Maafe is a dish found throughout the whole of Western Africa. Somepeanutsauce rice and beef from senegal claim the dish originates from Guinea, while other say it where the Mandinka people of Mali who first came up with recipe. However the name of the Dish ‘Maafe’ or ‘Mafé’ means sauce in the Fula language, which is spoken by the Fula or Peuhl people who live all across West Africa. The dish is really popular in countries like Senegal, Gambia, Guinee-Conakry, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. The recipe for Maafe has slightly regional differences, but it’s main ingredients are white rice, some kind of meat or poultry and peanut sauce.

Maafe, peanutsauce & rice from Senegal

The following recipe is based on a local variant from Senegal, which is really similar to the Maafe dish eaten in Gambia and other West African countries. This variant of the recipe for Maafe is served with beef, but one could also change the recipe for chicken.

main ingredients for Senegalese Maafe

  • One pound of beef (500gr)
  • White rice
  • Peanut butter
  • Tomato concentrate
  • 1 sweet potato
  • 2 normal potatoes
  • 1 eggplant
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 chili pepper
  • 1 Onion
  • 2 tomatoes
  • cooking oil (15 ml)
  • 1 laurel leaf
  • 2 Maggi cubs
  • 1,5 liter of water
  • Salt
  • pepper

easy recipe for Senegalese Maafe

1st step:
Cut the beef into smaller pieces and heat up the oil in a big deep pan.
Now fry the meat until it takes a slight brown color.

2nd step:
Chop the onions and tomatoes. Now add the onions first and fry them slightly before adding the chopped tomatoes.

3rd step:
Now add 2 tablespoons of tomato concentrate and cook for 2-3 minutes .

4th step:
Add around 1,5 liter of water so that the meat is completely covered.

5th step:
add 4 tablespoons of peanut butter to the water and stir slowly until there are no lumps left.

6th step:
Now chop all the vegetables left (1 sweet potato, 2 normal potatoes, 1 eggplant, 3 carrots, 1 chili pepper) in rather big pieces and add them together with the laurel leaf and the magi cubes to the pan. Let it simmer on low fire for about 50 minutes.
7th step:
Cook the white rice and serve it together on one big plate with the thickened maafe sauce. Now enjoy your Senegalese Maafe together with your friends or family. add a bit of salt and pepper if necessary.  Bonne Appetite!