Togolese cuisine

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Street food in Lome. Lunch vendor.jpg
Street food in Lomé.

Togolese cuisine is the cuisine of the Togolese Republic, a country in Western Africa. Staple foods in Togolese cuisine include maize, rice, millet, cassava, yam, plantain and beans. [1] [2] Maize is the most commonly consumed food in the Togolese Republic. [1] Fish is a significant source of protein. People in Togo tend to eat at home, but there are also restaurants and food stalls. [3]

Contents

Foods and dishes

Fufu (left) and palm nut soup (right). Fufu-palmnutsoup.jpg
Fufu (left) and palm nut soup (right).
Ablo, a maize-based food Ablo.jpg
Ablo, a maize-based food

Togolese style is often a combination of African, French, and German influences. [2] [4] The cuisine has many sauces and different types of pâté , many of which are made from eggplant, tomato, spinach, and fish. [2] The cuisine combines these foods with various types of meat and vegetables to create flavorful dishes. [2] Roadside food stands sell foods such as groundnuts, omelettes, brochettes, corn-on-the-cob, and cooked prawns. [3]

Additional foods and dishes include:

Beverages

See also

Related Research Articles

Fufu Cassava-based staple food from West Africa

Fufu is a dough-like food made from fresh or fermented cassava, 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.

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

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.

Garri

In West Africa, garri is the creamy granular flour obtained by processing the starchy tuberous roots of freshly harvested cassava.

Ugandan cuisine

Ugandan cuisine consists of traditional and modern cooking styles, practices, foods and dishes in Uganda, with English, Arab, and Asian influences.

Congolese cuisine Food and drink of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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

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.

Peanut stew Stew in West African cuisine

Peanut stew or groundnut stew, also called as maafe, sauce d'arachide (French), tigadèguèna or domoda, is a stew that is a staple food in Western Africa. It originates from the Mandinka and Bambara people of Mali.

Sierra Leonean cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from Sierra Leone. It follows the traditions of other West African cuisines.

West African cuisine Overview of the cuisine of West Africa

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 Culinary traditions of Nigeria

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.

Burkinabe cuisine

Burkinabé cuisine, the cuisine of Burkina Faso, is similar to the cuisines in many parts of West Africa, and is based on staple foods of sorghum, millet, rice, fonio, maize, peanuts, potatoes, beans, yams and okra. Rice, maize and millet are the most commonly eaten grains. Grilled meat is common, particularly mutton, goat, beef and fish.

Benin cuisine

Beninese cuisine is known in Africa for its exotic ingredients and flavorful dishes. Beninese cuisine involves many fresh meals served with a variety of sauces. Meat is usually quite expensive, and meals are generally light on meat and generous on vegetable fat.

Ivorian cuisine

Ivorian cuisine is the traditional cuisine of Côte d'Ivoire, or the Ivory Coast, and is based on tubers, grains, pig, chicken, seafood, fish, fresh fruits, vegetables and spices. It is very similar to that of neighboring countries in West Africa. Common staple foods include grains and tubers. Côte d'Ivoire is one of the largest cocoa producers in the world and also produces palm oil and coffee.

Cuisine of Niger

The cuisine of Niger draws on traditional African cuisines. Various spices are used and meals include grilled meat, seasonal vegetables, salads, and various sauces are some of the foods consumed. Meals in Niger usually start with colorful salads made from seasonal vegetables. Moringa leaves are a favorite for a salad.

Chadian cuisine

Chadian cuisine is the cooking traditions, practices, foods and dishes associated with the Republic of Chad. Chadians use a medium variety of grains, vegetables, fruits and meats. Commonly consumed grains include millet, sorghum, and rice as staple foods. Commonly eaten vegetables include okra and cassava. A variety of fruits are also eaten. Meats include mutton, chicken, pork, goat, fish, lamb and beef. The day's main meal is typically consumed in the evening on a large communal plate, with men and women usually eating in separate areas. This meal is typically served on the ground upon a mat, with people sitting and eating around it.

Cuisine of the Central African Republic

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.

Liberian cuisine Cultural aspect of Liberia

Liberian cuisine is centered on the consumption of rice, cassava, plantain, yam, tropical fruits and vegetables, as well as fish, meat, and more.

Cuisine of São Tomé and Príncipe Culinary traditions of São Tomé and Príncipe

Santomean cuisine comprises the cuisine, dishes and foods of São Tomé and Príncipe, a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. The country consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about 140 kilometres (87 mi) apart and about 250 and 225 kilometres, respectively, off the northwestern coast of Gabon.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Evans, Dyfed Lloyd The Recipes of Africa. Dyfed Lloyd Evans. p. 138.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Togo (Togolese Recipes)." Healthy-life.narod.ru. Accessed July 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Togolese cuisine". Oxfam. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Sharing the Secrets of Togo's Cuisine." Madison.com. Accessed July 2011.
  5. "L'akpan le yaourt végétal béninois qui a du potentiel". archive.wikiwix.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-29. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
External video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Ablotò: Preparing Ablo in Assahoun, Togo. (Cuisine togolaise)