Fufu is a dough-like food found in West African cuisine. In addition to Ghana, it is also found in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Angola and Gabon. It is often made in the traditional Ghanaian, Ivorian, Liberian, and Cuban method of separately mixing and pounding equal portions of boiled cassava with green plantain or cocoyam, or by mixing cassava/plantains or cocoyam flour with water and stirring it on a stove. The viscosity is then adjusted based on personal preference and eaten with broth-like soups. Some countries, particularly Nigeria, have a version of fufu made from fermented Cassava dough that is eaten with thick textured stews. Other flours, such as semolina, maize flour, or mashed plantains may take the place of cassava flour. Fufu is eaten with the fingers, and a small ball of it can be dipped into an accompanying soup or sauce.
Ẹ̀bà is a staple food mainly eaten in the West African sub-region, particularly in Nigeria and parts of Ghana. It is specifically called Eba by the Yoruba people. It is a cooked starchy vegetable food made from dried grated cassava (manioc) flour, commonly known as garri.
Traditionally, the various cuisines of Africa use a combination of plant and seed based, and do not usually have food imported. In some parts of the continent, the traditional diet features an abundance of root tuber products.
Ugali, or sima, is a type of stiff maize flour porridge made in Africa. It is also known as vuswa, bogobe, fufu, gauli, gima, isitshwala, kimnyet, kuon, mieliepap, ngima, nshima, obokima, ovuchima, (o)busuma, oshifima, oruhere, pap, phutu, posho, sadza, ubugali, and umutsima, among other names. Sima is sometimes made from other flours, such as millet or sorghum flour, and is sometimes mixed with cassava flour. It is cooked in boiling water or milk until it reaches a stiff or firm dough-like consistency. In 2017, the dish was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, one of a few foods in the list.
In West Africa, garri is the creamy granular flour obtained by processing the starchy tuberous roots of freshly harvested cassava.
Cameroonian cuisine is one of the most varied in Africa due to Cameroon's location on the crossroads between the north, west, and center of the continent; the diversity in ethnicity with mixture ranging from Bantus, Semi-bantus and Shuwa Arabs, as well as the influence of German, French and English colonialization.
Sopa de mondongo is a soup made from diced tripe slow-cooked with vegetables such as bell peppers, onions, carrots, cabbage, celery, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic or root vegetables. The dish is generally prepared in former Spanish colonies in Latin America, Caribbean, and in the Philippines.
Àmàlà is a local indigenous Nigerian food, native to the Yoruba ethnic group in the western states of the country. It is made out of yam and/or cassava flour, or unripe plantain flour. Yams are peeled, sliced, cleaned, dried and then blended into flour, also called èlùbọ́. Yams are white in colour but turn brown when dried. This gives àmàlà its colour. Àmàlà is mostly consumed by the Yoruba people in Nigeria. Amala is native to indigenous people of the Southwestern part of Nigeria. It could be served with a variety of ọbẹ (soups), such as ẹ̀fọ́, ilá, ewédú, ogbono, and or gbẹ̀gìrì.
The cuisine of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo varies widely, representing the food of indigenous people. Cassava, fufu, rice, plantain and potatoes are generally the staple foods eaten with other side dishes.
Ghanaian cuisine is the cuisine of the Ghanaian people. Ghanaian main dishes are organized around a starchy staple food, which goes with a sauce or soup containing a protein source. The main ingredients for the vast majority of soups and stews are tomatoes, hot peppers and onions. As a result, most of the Ghanaian soups and stews are red or orange in appearance.
West African cuisine encompasses a diverse range of foods that are split between its 16 countries. In West Africa, many families grow and raise their own food, and within each there is a division of labor. Indigenous foods consist of a number of plant species and animals, and are important to those whose lifestyle depends on farming and hunting.
Nigerian cuisine consists of dishes or food items from the hundreds of ethnic groups that comprise Nigeria. Like other West African cuisines, it uses spices and herbs with palm or groundnut oil to create deeply flavored sauces and soups.
A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions where cassava is cultivated, and they include many national or ethnic specialities.
Batibo is a name that refers to a town and a subdivision in Cameroon, Africa. It is located along the Trans-African Highway, 27 miles west of Bamenda and about 100 miles east of Nigeria. Batibo is the economic, social, political and cultural heartbeat of the Moghamo speaking people as well as the Greater Widikum tribe. Batibo, formerly referred to as Aghwi, is home to a people including farmers, traders, and craftsmen.
Sundanese cuisine is the cuisine of the Sundanese people of Western Java, and Banten, Indonesia. It is one of the most popular foods in Indonesia. Sundanese food is characterised by its freshness; the famous lalab eaten with sambal and also karedok demonstrate the Sundanese fondness for fresh raw vegetables. Unlike the rich and spicy taste, infused with coconut milk and curry of Minangkabau cuisine, the Sundanese cuisine displays the simple and clear taste; ranged from savoury salty, fresh sourness, mild sweetness, to hot and spicy.
Central African cuisine includes the cuisines, cooking traditions, practices, ingredients and foods of the Central African Republic (CAR). Indigenous agriculture in the country includes millet, sorgum, banana, yam, okra, yellow onion, garlic, spinach, rice and palm oil. Imported crops of American origin include maize, manioc (cassava), peanuts, chili peppers, sweet potato and tomato. Additional foods include onions garlic, chiles and peanuts.
Palm nut soup is a soup made from palm fruit and it is common in the African community. It originated from the Urhobo tribe in Delta State, Nigeria. Palm nut soup has become a continental soup.
Kokonte is a staple food, eaten in some parts of Africa including Togo, Ghana and others. In Ghana, Kokonte is eaten by most of the ethnic groups like the Ga, Akan, Hausa. Kokonte is also known as "Face The Wall" because it was initially associated with the low class. It is also a popular term used by the Ghanaian locals. Kokonte usually is brown, grey and deep green depending on the type of ethnic group that prepares the dish. Kokonte is usually prepared out of dried cassava or yam.
Edikang ikong is a vegetable soup that originated among the Efik people of Cross River State and Akwa Ibom State in Southeastern Nigeria. It is considered to be a delicacy among some Nigerians, and is sometimes served during occasions of importance. Edikang ikong is a nutritious soup and expensive to prepare, and has been described as being mostly eaten by rich people in Nigeria. Ingredients used in edikang ikong include beef and dried fish, bush meat, crayfish, shaki, kanda, pumpkin leaves, water leaves, ugu, onion, periwinkle, palm oil, salt and pepper.
A woman slicing Eru leaves
Cooking process
Eru leaves for sale
Crayfish used for cooking Eru soup
White fermented cassava flour locally called "water Fufu"
Cassava flour is eaten with Eru soup
Cow skin locally called "canda"
Lunch is ready! water fufu and Eru soup
Cow skin in Eru soup
Cassava Tubers
