Staple – The Congo Cookbook

Banku and Kenkey

Banku and Kenkey are two more Fufu-like staples from Western Africa, served with a soup or stew or sauce. They are particularly popular in Ghana. Both are usually made from […]

Baton de Manioc and Chikwangue

The cassava plant (Manihot esculenta, also called manioc, yuca, and yucca) is native to the American tropics and was brought by Europeans to Africa during the sixteenth century. All over […]

Cassava Tuber

Native to the American tropics, the cassava plant (Manihot esculenta, also called manioc, yuca, and yucca) was introduced to Africa by Europeans in the sixteenth century. It was used as […]

Chapatis or Chappatis (singular Chapati or Chappati) are round, flat, unleavened bread common in West Asia, particularly India. They are also popular in Eastern Africa, especially among the Swahili people and […]

Couscous

Couscous (Cous-cous or Cous cous) is a traditional staple food in North Africa; it is also common in Western Africa whence it has spread into Central Africa. Couscous […]

Fufu

Fufu (Foo-foo, Foufou, Foutou, fu fu) is to Western and Central Africa cooking what mashed potatoes are to traditional European-American cooking. There are Fufu-like staples all over Sub-Saharan Africa: i.e., Eastern Africa’s Ugali and […]

Nshima

Nshima (Nsima, Shima, Sima) is Zambia’s Fufu-like staple, very similar to the Sadza of Zimbabwe and the Ugali of Kenya. It is usually made from maize (corn), but can also be prepared from flour […]

Rice

Asian Rice (Oryza sativa) is truly an ancient food crop, known to have been cultivated and consumed over 7,000 years ago. Both Malayo-Polynesian colonizers from […]

Sadza

Sadza is Zimbabwe’s version of the stiff porridge or dumpling common all over sub-Saharan Africa; a Fufu-like staple usually made from ground maize (corn), as is Zambia’s Nshima or Eastern […]

Tô

Tô (also spelled Toh, rhymes with dough) is the basic foundation of meals in the Sahel region of Western Africa, particularly Mali and Burkina Faso and nearby areas. […]

Category: Staple