At first glance, Calalu seems like Gumbo: an African-style recipe with an African name, but found only in the Americas. The main difference is that Calalu always includes greens, while […]
Various Egusi soups are favorites in Western Africa. The soup is thickened with flour ground from seeds of a species of Cucurbitaceae (which includes gourds, melons, pumpkins, and squashes, […]
Molokhia (Melokiyah, etc.) is a traditional dish in Egypt and Sudan — some people believe it originated among Egyptians during the time of the Pharaohs. Others […]
Ndolé (or N’Dolé, or Ndole) is a hearty soup from Cameroon. It is made from a variety of ingredients that, for the non-African, might seem to be an […]
This recipe, which is popular in Nigeria and its neighbors, uses ogbono (sometimes spelled agbono, and also called apon) as the soup thickener. Ogbono is the kernels (whole or […]
Palaver “Sauce” is a good example of the English word “sauce” used to describe something that is more like a soup or stew. Platto, bologie, and bitterleaf all appear […]
“The Negroes cook uniformly very well, and at moments are inspired in the direction of palm-oil chop and fish cooking.” wrote Mary Henrietta Kingsley in 1896 (in Travels […]
Various peanut soups are common throughout Africa. Some are very simple, others more elaborate. They are often eaten as a main course along with Rice, or […]
Plasas is a “sauce” always made with some sort of greens, meat and dried fish, thickened with egusi or peanut butter, and served with a starchy side-dish. An […]
Benachin is a “one-pot” dish — the word literally means “one-pot” — related to Jollof Rice and Ceebu Jën. They are all “rice and . . . ” dishes, i.e., […]