Given the possibility that the first “barbecue” took place in Africa, the continent might have originated cooking.
However, African foods, particularly those from the South of the Sahara, remain underrepresented in the global culinary scene.
Africa’s favorite foods offer something for everyone’s palate, from simple maize/grain porridges and root vegetables that form the base of many diets to great feasting delicacies like breyanis, tagines, stews, and aromatic curries.
This article focuses on regional delicacies that you may find in some of the most well-known tourist attractions.
1. South Africa’s Pap en Vleis/Shisa nyama
Barbecued meat and maize porridge are popular in many Southern African cultures, particularly in South Africa, where the braaivleis is a revered institution and a national sport.
“Pap en vleis” (literally, “maize porridge with meat”) is a broad word that refers to almost any combination of starch and braaied or stewed meat served with a side of spicy gravy, relish, or chakalaka.
Shisa nyama, which means “burn the meat” in Zulu, has come to refer to a joyful “bring-and-braai” get-together; Shisa nyama restaurants are frequently placed adjacent to butcher shops, allowing clients to select their meats and have them cooked to order over extremely hot wood fires.
Chops, steak, chicken, kebabs, and boerewors (a spicy farmer’s sausage) are served with a variety of maize porridges, including phutthu and stywe pap krummelpap (crumbly porridge), and suurpap (sugar porridge) (soured pap).
With a local beer, you’ve got South Africa on a plate.
2. Mozambique’s piri piri chicken
Mozambique’s cuisine is a fusion of African, Portuguese, Oriental, and Arab flavors, with hints of cashews and peanuts. Think fragrant spices, fiery Piri Piri, and creamy coconut sauces with hints of cashews and peanuts.
Visitors visiting Maputo frequently order sizzling, spicy prawns, and seafood. Still, they don’t overlook the renowned Mozambican dish Galinha à Zambeziana, a sumptuous feast of chicken cooked with lime, pepper, garlic, coconut milk, and Piri Piri sauce.
Tourists just call it grilled chicken Piri Piri, and it’s traditionally served with matapa, a cassava-leaf delicacy baked in a peanut sauce.
3. Nigerian jollof rice and egusi soup
Nigeria has many diverse regional cuisines, so identifying a favorite national meal is difficult.
But one delicacy you must try before leaving Nigeria is jollof rice, a popular dish throughout West Africa that is claimed to be the origin of the Cajun dish jambalaya.
It’s a simple, spicy one-pot dish prepared with rice, tomatoes, onions, and pepper, and it’s frequently served at parties and other celebratory events alongside other Nigerian classics like egusi soup (made from pulverized melon seeds and bitter leaf), fried plantains, and pounded yam (iyan or fufu).
Thick, spicy broths made with okra and spiced with chicken or beef and suya, which are spicy Nigerian shish kebabs (similar to Ghana’s chichinga) cooked over braziers by street vendors, are other meals to try in Nigeria.
4. South African bunny chow
Nobody knows how rabbit chow got its name, but one thing is certain: this hollowed-out half- or quarter-loaf of white bread stuffed with a scorching-hot curry is one of South Africa’s most beloved street meals.
Indian indentured immigrants who arrived in South Africa in the 19th century to work on the sugar cane fields bought the meat and vegetable curries that go into bunny chows.
Takeaways are available in all major cities, but Durban produces the best bunnies.
5. Zimbabwe, Kapenta with Sadza
For many tourists visiting Zimbabwe, a stack of crisp-fried kapenta is the culinary highlight.
Kapenta, a two-species tiny freshwater fish endemic to Lake Tanganyika, was introduced to Lake Kariba and is now a popular source of protein for Zambian and Zimbabwean lakefront residents.
Kapenta is frequently served with a mountain of wonderful maize porridge known in Zimbabwe as sadza, as with many African cuisines. Kapenta comes in dried and fresh forms, and can be cooked with tomatoes, onions, and groundnut powder and served with fresh greens.
To consume your kapenta, don’t use a knife and fork; the traditional method is to scoop up the sadza with your hand and dip or roll it in the accompanying fish and relishes.
Fresh bream or tilapia from Lake Kariba, grilled or fried with plenty of lemon butter, is another must-try dish for visitors to Zimbabwe.
6. Malawi, Chambo with nsima
When you utter the term “chambo” to a Malawian who isn’t from the country, their eyes may well fill with tears; it’s the most popular and well-known fish in Lake Malawi and a wonderful national favorite.
It’s commonly served grilled by the lakeshore with nsima (a stiff porridge comparable to pap in South Africa and sadza in Zimbabwe) or fries.
Ndiwo, a delightful relish consisting of pumpkin or cassava leaves, tomatoes, and groundnut powder, is a must-have accompaniment to chambo. In Zambia, nsima, and ndiwo, and Ifisashi, a dish of greens in a peanut sauce, are revered staple foods.
7. Namibian venison, Namibian venison, Namibian venison, Namibian veni
Although good venison may be found throughout Southern Africa, Namibians will say that the best gemsbok, kudu, zebra, warthog, ostrich, and springbok can be found in restaurants and game lodges around the country.
Namibian cuisine is influenced by both German and South African cuisines, with classic German specialties like sausages, cured meats, sauerkraut, and Eisbein coexisting with South African-style potjiekos biltong and braaivleis.
Serve your venison with oshifima (maize porridge) or mahangu (pearl millet), as well as a hearty stein or two of superb Namibian beer.
8. Angola’s Muamba de Galinha is ranked number eight.
Like the traditional Caldeirada de Peixe (fish stew), this dish demonstrates the tremendous influence of Portuguese cuisine on this former colony’s cuisine. As a result, it is regarded as one of Angola’s national culinary treasures.
This spicy, slightly oily stew, also known as chicken muamba, is cooked with palm oil or palm butter, garlic, chilis, and okra. Chicken muamba in various forms, such as poulet moambé, may be found throughout the Congo River region, frequently served with cassava leaves and white rice.
Nyembwe chicken is a version of Gabon’s national cuisine and is prepared with palm or macadamia nuts. Chicken Muamba is a fantastic addition to central African starchy porridges, such as funge, fufu, and ugali, since it is so rich and spicy.
Another popular dish in Angola is Caldeirade de Cabrito, a goat or child stew made with potatoes, wine, and tomatoes that is commonly served on November 11th to commemorate the country’s independence.
9. South Africa’s Cape Breyani is number nine.
Breyani is a fragrant dish made of layers of marinated beef, rice, lentils, and spices, topped with crisp-fried onions and hard-boiled eggs. It is a revered classic of Cape Malay cuisine.
This one-pot, slow-cooked dish, popular for feeding large audiences at special events and festivities, was brought to the Cape from the East alongside other “Malay” foods such bredies, pickled fish, denningvleis, and bobotie during the early days of the slave trade.
10. Biryanis and pilaus from Zanzibar
As you savor these fantastic celebratory meals, both based on rice and the unusual assortment of spices typical with Zanzibar, you can almost feel the warm breath of the trade winds in your face.
There are many different types of biryani, ranging from simple vegetable assemblages to more complicated ones adding meat and seafood; pilau is typically a one-pot dish with a considerable amount of cardamom, cumin, and pepper.
Both are wonderful when served with kachumbari, an East African salad of fresh onions and tomatoes. Urojo is another iconic Zanzibar cuisine, a yellowish broth mixed with various ingredients such as beef, chili, mango, ginger, tamarind, and lime that may be purchased from street sellers.
11. Kenya’s Nyama na irio
If you ask any Kenyan about their favorite comfort dish, they will almost certainly answer “Irio!” without hesitation.
This popular dish originated in Kikuyu and has since spread throughout Kenya; it is made of mashed potatoes, peas, beans, maize, and onion and is frequently served with seasoned roasted meat to produce nyama na irio.
Long-distance runners are well-known in Kenya, and many Kenyans credit their endurance to the health-promoting properties of another beloved staple, sukuma wiki. This Swahili phrase means “push for the week,” implying that this dish can sustain a household for a week.
Sukuma wiki is a spicy condiment for ugali made from collard greens and/or kale sautéed with onions and spices (maize porridge).
12. Egypt’s Koshari is number twelve.
If you want a taste of what the average Egyptian families eat at home, koshari (also written koushari and koshary) is a filling vegetarian dish made of rice, lentils, macaroni, garlic, and chickpeas, all brought together by a spicy tomato sauce and topped with fried onion.
An excellent koshari may send an Egyptian into raptures, and it’s also a rib-sticking street food and takeaway favorite.
Mahshi, or stuffed vegetables like zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, and vine leaves with seasoned rice, is another famous home cooking staple.
13. Egypt’s Ful Medames
According to Claudia Roden, an Egyptian-born cookbook author, this meal is pre-Ottoman, pre-Islamic, and maybe as old as the Pharaohs.
Roden recounts an Arab saying in her classic work “A Book of Middle Eastern Food”: “Beans have satiated even the Pharoahs.”
They continue to satisfy Egyptians today. One of the country’s national foods is Ful Medames, consisting of fava beans cooked with spices and olive oil. The dry beans are frequently cooked overnight and eaten with eggs and pita bread for breakfast in the morning.
If you’re traveling on a budget and need to fill up on sustaining food to get you through the day, it’s excellent for a hearty breakfast.
14. South African stew with potjiekos
What defines an outstanding potjie is a source of passionate dispute among enthusiasts, who have all the time in the world to debate the merits of their rendition while the food cooks.
Potjiekos (“pot food”) is an Afrikaans phrase for food cooked in layers in a typical three-legged cast-iron pot. However, it’s a stew, similar to the slow-simmered beef, chicken, and mutton stews prevalent throughout Southern Africa.
If you’re feeling brave, try a curry prepared with sheep’s heads (dubbed “smileys” because of the evil grins the heads take on after shrinking in the heat) or a stew made with chicken feet (called “runaways” or “walkie-talkies”).
Stews are traditionally eaten with pap (see above) and other staples like umngqusho (samp and beans), Morongo (wild greens), amadombolo (dumplings), and ujeqe (steamed bread) or pot-baked bread (potbrood).
15. Morocco, Pastilla au pigeon/b’stilla
Moroccan tagines and couscous meals have risen to prominence in the international culinary arena in recent decades, but this is one dish that you won’t find in a typical cookbook.
Pastilla au pigeou (also known as b’stilla) is a sophisticated and multi-faceted feast dish that is sweet and savory, robust and delicate.
It’s a pie with shredded cooked squab (or, more commonly, chicken, when the pigeon is hard to come by) thickened with egg sauce and layers of nutty, spicy filling interspersed with paper-thin dough.
No major Moroccan event would be complete without b’stilla, traditionally reserved for feasts due to its labor-intensive preparation.
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