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The cuisines of Sub-Saharan Africa are strongly influenced by those of
India and to a somewhat lesser extent Southeast Asia. These regions have
been trading partners for thousands of years with influences and ingredients
flowing both ways. The tamarind tree was taken to India so long ago
few there have any idea it is of Africa origin and the Indian mango is
very popular in Africa
Many more recent imports from South and Central America are now completely
integrated into African cooking, especially chilis, bell peppers and
tomatoes without which African cooking would be very different.
Sub-Saharan Africa is not a vegetarian region. Meat will be used to the
extent it is available and affordable. Even vegetable dishes will commonly
include some meat as a flavoring element.
Service
Despite the strong influence from India and other parts of Asia, the
generall service is quite different. While in Asia rice or bread is the
main dish and is accompanied by a number of side dishes and condiments,
in Sub-Saharan Africa rice, bread, plantain or a root starch (casava,
taro, sweet potato, yam) is generally accompanied by just one main dish,
Meat is served if available, most often in the form of a stew, but the
proportions are different from in Europe and America. Meat is a smaller part
of the dish and vegetables a larger part.
Ingredients
General Combnations: Ginger root, garlic, onions, tomatoes,
bell peppers and chilis appear together in a great many dishes and sauces.
It's noteworthy that none of these is endemic to Africa. Onions
came from Western Asia, ginger root from Southeast Asia and the rest from
Central and South America.
Grains
Rice is the main course in much of Sub-Saharan Africa though bread
and other starches are also used. Traditional African rice ("upland rice")
is a completely different species from Asian, Oryza glaberrima rather
than Oryza sativa). African rice is more tolerant of dry conditions
but provides a much lower yield. Because of the low yield much of the
rice now grown in Africa is Asian. While the two species are too far apart
to hypridize naturally, unnatural hybrids called NERICA (New Rice for Africa)
have finally been produced and are now widely planted.
Meat
Dishes that contain meat almost always contain less meat and more
vegetables than is common in the US. Various internal organs, feet and
other parts often disregarded here are prized ingredients in
Africa and well worth learning to use.
Chicken is te most popular meat in most of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Actually it's often guinea hen which is darker, and the chickens are really
free range and often older than commonly sold in the US. For these reasons
I recommend using thigh meat rather than breast - supermarket breast
meat is pale and tastes like cardboard.
Fish is also very popular, and other seafood where available near
the coast. Talapia a very popular African river fish is now heavily farmed
in the US and Mexico and widely available in the US.
Beef is used fairly extensively in the grassland regions where it
is available.
Lamb, Mutton and Goat/b> are very popular, particularly
among the Muslim minority and for recipes originating in Muslim North Africa.
Lamb is widely available in the US, but mutton is almost unknown and goat
can be found only in specialty markets, particularly those serving a
Philippine community.
Pigs, both wild and domestic, are available and eaten by the
Christian majority and Animist miniorities, Most African cookbooks in
English do not even mention the possibility of pigs or pork because they
are written from the perspective of Muslim North Africa.
Vegetables
Spinach - called for in many African cookbooks is actually a
substitute. In Africa this would be young colocasia (taro) leaves, not
our spinach. Colocasia leaves are not sold in the U.S. - their high oxalate
content would probably make the FDA real nervous. Personally I more often
use white stem Swiss Chard since spinach is harder to handle and pretty
ratty most of the year around here. I slice the white stems thin on a
diagonal and start them cooking at least 5 minutes before the leaves
go in.
Asparagus is little seen in Sub-Saharan Africa but is often called
for in African recipes written for Western cooks - as a stand-in for an
unrelated plant shoot of similar appearance (called "gbuhen" in some regions).
The real thing is said to be somewhat bitter.
Okara: An African member of the mallow family held in
disdain in the US, mainly because people don't know how to cook it. Okra is
very popular in all parts of Africa and if you follow recipe instructions
carefully you'll probably like it too.
Eggplant [aubergine, brinjal] a nightshade native to India, is
another vegetable very popular in all parts of Africa but much less popular
in the US, again mostly because of improper cooking. Long thin versions such
as Japanese, Chinese or Italian are best in African recipes and do not need
to be peeled. The big blimp varieties and some white eggplants have tough
skins and need to be peeled.
Onions are an essential. Most recipes call for white onions, but
there is effectively little difference between them and slightly sweeter
brown onions. Do not use sweet onions (Maui, Vidalia).
Seasonings and Flavorings
Herbs
- Basil (fresh) is much used in Sub-Saharan Africa. African basil
is, of course, somewhat different from our Italian basil. I suggest using
Thai purple or green basil (not Thai lemon or holy basil) which is now
readily available in parts of the US. Regular purple basil could also be
used. African Blue basil is not African, it's from Ohio, and is inferior
for cooking.
- Cilantro is an essential, used in many dishes.
- Mint (fresh) is frequently used as a garnish.
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Parsley (flat leaf) is used both as a garnish and as an
ingredient, sometimes as lavishly as in Turkish cooking.
Spices & Flavorings
Chilis
Cumin
Pepper, Black
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