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Main Specialities
Appears in
By Anto Cocagne and Aline Princet
Published 2022
There is an African diet (a food base that’s common to all African countries) and then there are African diets, which differ depending on the country, ethnicity, specific food cultures and geographical resources.
Some of the most common dishes that you will find in most countries include:
- peanut sauce in a meat or fish stew, most commonly known as ‘mafé’ in Senegal, ‘tiguadégué’ in Mali, ‘azindessi’ in Togo and ‘nfoug owono’ in Gabon;
- cassava leaf stew, called ‘saka saka’ or ‘pondu’ in the Congo Basin, ‘ravitoto’ in Madagascar, ‘matapa’ in Mozambique, ‘mataba’ in Comoros, ‘etodjey’ in Senegal, or ‘sauce feuilles’ in other West African countries;
- red palm oil sauce in a meat or fish stew, called ‘sauce graine’ in the Ivory Coast, ‘nyembwè’ in Gabon, ‘moambe’ in the Congo Basin and ‘dekou dessi’ in Togo;
- ‘pepper soup’ or ‘pèpè soupe’, which is simply a meat-based stock or one made with offal and/or fish and crustaceans;
- oily rice, originally from Senegal, and called ‘wolof rice’ or ‘jollof rice’, can also be found in several West African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria. It becomes ‘thiep bou dien’ when served with vegetables and fish, and ‘thiep bou yapp’ when served with vegetables and meat. In Kenya, this dish is called ‘riz pilau’ and is cooked with meat and Indian spices;
- okra sauce, called ‘supu kandj’ (or ‘soupou kandja’) in Senegal, ‘lalo’ in Mauritius, ‘okra soup’ in Ghana and Nigeria, and ‘fetri dessi’ in Togo, is also eaten everywhere in eastern, central and western Africa;
- meat and fish are selected according to availability and religion. In coastal areas, a lot of fresh, dried and smoked fish is eaten, along with shellfish and crustaceans. Inland, poultry and bovine meat are preferred. More meat is consumed in cities than rural areas as it is more expensive. It is not unusual for families to eat vegetarian meals several times a week and to reserve meat dishes for special occasions.