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 In days of old, African food was cooked over an open fire or in a three-legged pot, so today, meat tends to arrive in either stewed or grilled form. Beetroot, carrots, cabbage, potatoes and all manner of maize products dominate the vegetable choices. Restaurants like the Africa Café in Cape Town and Moyos in Johannesburg are doing an excellent job of serving wonderful modern African food that appeals to all comers. For example Moyo serves a Palava chicken, which is cooked in palm oil and coconut milk, complemented by peanuts and green chilies before being topped with lovely fresh, chopped coriander.
Traditional African fare includes :
- Tripe: Or offal (called ‘variety meats’ in the UK), which refers to the stomach, lungs and feet of an animal – a traditional treat favoured by most Africans. Afrikaners from a farming background are also converts. In the Cape it is considered a regional delicacy and is often served lightly curried with small new potatoes and fried onions.
- Morogo: This is a type of wild spinach. Combined with butter-braised onions and tomato or mixed into maize porridge, it is a rural ingredient now given the thumbs up in more and more gourmet establishments.
- Pap: Finely ground corn or maize kernels yield maize flour, which is a Southern African starch staple. For breakfast it is enjoyed with milk, butter and sugar (cream and Moscovado sugar if you’re a gourmet). Come lunch or dinnertime it is dressed in either an onion and tomato sauce or the rich juices of a stew. When prepared with a good salt and plenty of butter it even becomes the base of a savoury tart in many Free State homes. This combines layers of cooked maize porridge with anything from avocado to cheese, tomato and minced meat.
- Chakalaka: This is a spicy relish served alongside a main course and consists of grated carrots, green peppers, sliced onion, vinegar, chili and whatever the housewife feels will distinguish hers from anyone else’s.
- Tagine: These famous North-African stews that include dates and nuts are a hot favourite with local diners, thanks to their wonderful aroma, hinting of cumin and cardamom. Tagine is the name of a special North-African earthenware container in which these stews are traditionally prepared.
- Dombolo: It’s a big, round dumpling bread used to mop up all the good juices left over from your favourite chicken or meat casserole.
- Amadumbe or sweet potato and peanut mash: Amadumbe are the African equivalent of potatoes and can be fried for chips, used to make mash or cooked in their skin in the fire. A very tasty restaurant variation on the theme is to cook sweet potatoes, mash them with butter and sprinkle them with roasted peanuts and top it all off with a drizzle of honey.
- The famous T-bone steak: It is said that the very best example of a good African barbeque is the T-bone steaks that are served up with gusto. Not for those with small appetites.
- The boerewors roll: This is South Africa’s answer to New York’s hot dogs. At a roadside stand farmer’s sausage is char-grilled, then placed into a hot dog bun and covered in mustard and tomato sauce. Lunch on the move.
- Desserts: When it comes to dessert North African specialties do the honours – nut and dried fruit pastries and caramelised pumpkin slices with a cardamom syrup are typical examples.
Notable African Eateries to look out for:
Cape Town’s Africa Café has an excellent Pan African menu, complimented by gorgeous local wines. Visitors and locals just love the place.
Khaya-Nyama in Long Street, Cape Town, is the place for game specialities – how about honey and mustard warthog or crocodile or springbok steaks?
Marco’s African Place in Bo-Kaap is unpretentious and popular. Live music just adds to the very African atmosphere.
KwaMazakee is a must for Zulu fare, when you are visiting Durban. The Zulu buffet is out of the world including wild spinach, tripe, samp, curries, braised cabbage and much more.
Durban’s TransAfrica Express sits on the Victoria Embankment looking out at the harbour. Menu inspiration comes from Morocco, Tunisia and of course Zululand.
The wonderful Moyo restaurants can be found in the Western Cape and Johannesburg. Fare is from all over Africa accompanied by face-painting, African dancing and drumming sessions. Fantastically African!
Soweto has some of the best African restaurants around – pop into the famous Wandies or hang out at Sakhumzi’s not too far from Nelson Mandela’s old homestead.
Links:
Use the search facility to find specialist eateries countrywide. |
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