Staple Dish Recipes

These African staples are simple preparations, usually made from a single main ingredient, and always served with a soup or stew or sauce.

The most common staple foods in Africa are cassava (manioc), corn (maize), millet, plantains, rice, sorgum, and yams. Cassava is predominate in the tropical equatorial region of Central Africa. Grains and yams are more common in the temperate regions of Southern, Eastern, and Western Africa. In many areas, the local staple, plus a simple vegetable soup, stew or sauce is what most people have most of the time.

African Proverb

Nea vode enkokonte se vobedi semmina, wongye n’akingye. (Oji) : If the eaters of enkokonte say they eat soap, you do not doubt it. N.B. — “Enkokonte” is a food resembling native soap : sometimes a man eating it, says waggishly, that he is eating soap. If the person addressed took the assertion in good earnest, he would appear a fool. Hence the meaning seems to be, “A joke must be understood as such, not as a serious matter.”
(from: Wit and Wisdom from West Africa, Richard Francis Burton)