Interested in food from Africa and need some inspiration for your next meal? These are 13 of the most-common foods in African life and culture just for you!
Food is an essential part of African life and culture.
In this article you will see and learn about African life and culture through its most-common foods. It is set in 5 sections with a main dish, two side dishes, a dessert and a drink (like a menu from a restaurant).
Because food is such a great part of African life and culture, you will also learn about the culture and the history related to the dishes and just how similar people are, especially when it comes to food!
This article is all about African life and culture.
Most-Common Food in African Life and Culture
…to inspire your next meal
- Stew
- Dried Food
- Roasted Food
- Doughmeal
- Rice
- Plantain
- Pulses, Cereals and Grains
- Greens
- Milk
- Coffee and Tea
- Sweets
- Fried dough
- Fruit
ULIJUA?
Ulijua means did you know? in Swahili so be on the look out for the 10 facts about African culture in the purple text!
THE MAIN DISH
In Africa, the main dish in a meal is most commonly a meat or a plant-based food like beans, cereal or grains made into a stew, dried or roasted over a fire.
1. Stew
Stew is a saucy dish usually made of a meat and vegetables generally eaten with rice, fufu or bread. The stew pictured above is a Deukhine which is a sauce with rice, meat, peanut butter and tamarind and it is a traditional senegalese dish.
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ULIJUA? – 10 facts about African culture (1)
This Deukhine dish is served in a communal plate. Many African cultures eat with their hands and from the same dish.
© T.K. Naliaka / CC-BY-SA-4.0
2. Dried food
Dried meats and vegetables are often eaten as main dishes all over Africa. Meats are generally dried on a line like in the picture above or, simply, in the oven.
Drying food is a practical way of preserving foodstuff while creating wonderful flavours.
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© Ossewa / CC-BY-SA-4.0
3. Roasted food
Roasted meat and vegetables are often eaten as a main dish throughout the continent of Africa.
Cooked a certain way, roasted meat and vegetables can be one of the simplest ways to prepare a meal which makes them one of the best dishes!
ULIJUA? – 10 facts about African culture (2)
The Grand Marché de Bamako in Mali has loads of roasted foods like Dibi Sogo which is lamb roasted over a fire for hours.
© Medsile on Iwaria / Free to use. No attribution required.
THE STARCHY SIDE DISH
4. Doughmeal
Doughmeal is a term used to describe any dough-like meal usually eaten with stew. Variations of doughmeal are found throughout Africa. There is fufu from West Africa, ugali from East Africa and and pap from Southern Africa, many more exist.
It can be made of by pounding yams or cassava or by boiling cornmeal until a desired consistency is reached.
ULIJUA? – 10 facts about African culture (3)
It is said that fufu originated in modern-day Ghana, among the Akan people.
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© Kwameghana / CC-BY-SA-4.0
5. Rice
Ahhh rice, everybody’s favourite dish! Rice is a universal meal in Africa mainly because of the multitude meals that can be made with rice. Some of those include West African Thieboudienne and jollof rice and East African pilau.
ULIJUA? – 10 facts about African culture (4)
Rice has been a staple dish in (West) Africa for thousands of years, even in the time of the Songhai Empire.
Pilau, on the other hand, has been massively influenced by the diverse cultures surrounding the East African coast such as Bantu, South Asian and Arab for thousands of years!
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THE VEGETABLE SIDE DISH
6. Plantain
Plantains, or cooking bananas, can be enjoyed roasted, fried, boiled, dried and the list continues. Fried plantains are a common street food in many African countries, while plantain chips make an excellent snack. Plantains are also boiled in soups and stews.
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© Edithobayaa1 / CC-BY-SA-4.0
7. Pulses, Grains and Cereals
Pulses, Grains and Cereals are eaten throughout the continent of Africa and they include lentils, beans and maize (among others). Some pulses, grains and cereals are dried so that people can store and cook them easily.
ULIJUA? – 10 facts about African culture (5)
Teff is ancient grain from Ethiopia that has been eaten by people for ages.
For more on Ancient Ethiopia see the Rock-Hewn Church of Lalibela ቤት ጊዮርጊስ , a 6th Century Monastery and a 15th century triptych painting from Ancient Ethiopia.
Credits to Dina Said / Wikimedia Commons
8. Greens
Greens are a much loved and nutritious side dish enjoyed around Africa, especially in the super green regions of Africa.
Sukuma Wiki (pictured above) is a staple dish in the East African country of Kenya.
ULIJUA? – 10 facts about African culture (6)
Sukuma Wiki is “to push the week” in Swahili; it is a low-cost dish for many.
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© Paresh Jai / CC-BY-2.0
THE DRINK
9. Milk
Milk is a nutritional drink especially enjoyed by herders and farmers that get to frequently drink fresh milk. Across many African cultures milk is enjoyed as is, or made into yogurts and butters.
ULIJUA? – 10 facts about African culture (7)
The country of Rwanda has milk bars where milk is served to customers.
© UWIMPUHWE Va / CC-BY-SA-4.0
10. Coffee and Tea
Tea and coffee are important drink in Africa. People across the continent enjoy tea and coffee on a daily basis.
Today African countries such as Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania are top coffee exporters while Kenya is one of the world’s top tea exporting countries. Both crops became massively exploited in Africa with the arrival of Europe’s colonialization of Africa.
ULIJUA? – 10 facts about African culture (8)
Coffee originated in Africa in modern-day Ethiopia.
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© ProtoplasmaKid / CC-BY-SA-4.0
THE DESSERT
A sweet dish following a meal.
11. Sweets
Sweets, and desserts are very important part of North African cuisine. Africans have been making sweets like the ones above for centuries.
ULIJUA? – 10 facts about African culture (9)
Biscuits like these are sold in gigantic markets, or Souks across North Africa.
© La Chimère / CC-BY-SA-4.0
12. Fried dough
Fried dough is a dessert, and sometimes side dish, found throughout the continent of Africa with sooo many different names.
Above is a bowl of mandazis from East Africa, also known as puff-puffs in West Africa and as legemat and mikate in Sudan and Congo, respectively.
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21 Riveting Images EXPOSING the African Culture Aesthetic of Everyday Life
© ChildofMidnight at English Wikipedia / CC-BY-2.0
13. Fruit
Fruits are a wonderful to be able to eat!
In Africa, people generally eat fruit locally grown which are mangos, bananas, oranges, avocados, papayas and way much much more!
ULIJUA? – 10 facts about African culture (10)
Figs and dates are some of the only fruit grown in the Sahara desert!
© Shafiq Kayondo / CC-BY-SA-4.0
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