African cuisine

The evolution of African cuisine is closely entwined with the lives of the native people, influenced by their religious practices, climate and local agriculture.

Early African societies were largely composed of hunter-gatherers who relied on foraging for wild fruits, vegetables, nuts, and hunting animals for sustenance.

In West Africa, for example, dishes often feature rice, millet, and beans complemented by spicy stews made with fish, meat, and leafy greens.

Central African cuisine on the other hand, tends to be simpler and relies heavily on starchy foods such as cassava and plantains, often served with sauces made with peanuts or vegetables.

The coastal areas of East Africa, particularly along the Swahili coast, feature seafood and curries seasoned with spices such as cardamom and cloves, a direct influence of Indian and Arab traders.

Dishes such as pap ( a maize-based porridge), biltong ( a type of sausage) are popular in countries like South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia.

while regional differences are pronounced, the use of local ingredients and traditional cooking techniques remains central to the continent's culinary identity.

[5][9] The roots of native African cuisine goes back to thousands of years before the Bronze Age in Northeast Africa, when early civilizations began cultivating grains such as barley and wheat.

[11] Arab explorers- Leo Africanus and Ibn Battuta- provided accounts of African food which they encountered on their travels through sub-Saharan Africa.

[13] Central Africa expands from the Tibesti Mountains in the north to the vast rainforest basin of the Congo River, the highlands of Kivu and the savannah of Katanga.

Swahili culinary influences can be found in dishes such as mandazi, pilaf rice, kachumbari, sambusa, and kuku paka.

In Central Africa, a variety of crops are grown, including yams, cassava, bananas and plantains, sweet potatoes, and cocoyams.

A variety of local ingredients are used while preparing other dishes, like spinach stew cooked with tomato, peppers, chilies, onions, and peanut butter.

Some common ingredients used in this region include oranges, lemons, limes, chilies, capsicum peppers, maize, tomatoes, and strawberries.

The best known Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine consists of various vegetable or meat side dishes and entrées, usually a wat, or thick stew, served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread made of teff flour.

Xalwo (halwo) or halva is a popular confection served during special occasions such as Eid celebrations or wedding receptions.

This would be achieved by increasing agricultural productivity by improving soil fertility and water management, which will help farmers grow more crops per year.

[29]North Africa lies along the Mediterranean Sea and encompasses within its fold several nations, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan.

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.

The Ottoman Turks brought sweet pastries and other bakery products, and from the New World, North Africa got potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini and chili peppers.

The largest group consisted of the Bantu-speakers, whose descendants today may identify themselves by various subgroup names such as Ndebele (northern and southern), Shona, Venda, Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Sotho, Tswana, Pedi and Tsonga.

The influence of their diet is reflected in the universal Southern African love of barbecue (generally called in South Africa by its Afrikaans name, a "braai") and biltong (dried preserved meat).

A married man was expected to provide a generous supply of milk to his wife and children, along with meat whenever he slaughtered cattle, sheep or goats.

A wide array of staples are eaten across the region, including fufu, banku, kenkey (originating from Ghana), foutou, couscous, tô, and garri, which are served alongside soups and stews.

Fufu is often made from starchy root vegetables such as yams, cocoyams, or cassava, and also from cereal grains like millet, sorghum or plantains.

The staple grain or starch varies between regions and ethnic groups, although corn has gained significant ground as it is cheap, swells to greater volumes and creates a beautiful white final product that is greatly desired.

Centuries before the influence of the Europeans, West Africans were trading with the Arab world and spices like cinnamon, cloves, and mint were not unknown, therefore becoming part of the local flavorings.

The local cuisine and recipes of West Africa continue to remain deeply entrenched in the local customs and traditions, with ingredients like native rice (Oryza glaberrima), rice, fonio, millet, sorghum, Bambara groundnuts and Hausa groundnuts, black-eyed peas, brown beans, and root vegetables such as yams, cocoyams, sweet potatoes, and cassava.

Flaked and dried fish is often fried in oil, and sometimes cooked in sauce made with hot peppers, onions, tomatoes, various spices (such as soumbala), and water to prepare a highly flavored stew.

Suya, a popular grilled spicy meat kebab flavored with peanuts and other spices, is sold by street vendors as a snack or evening meal and is typically made with beef or chicken.