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Blog / Category_Recipes

Homowo – The African Festival of the Rains - Another Lovely Way to Show Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a celebration that is observed in a select few countries around the world. However, while it is not a universal celebration, many other countries and regions do share similar festivals and celebrations. In Africa, it is known as Festival of the Rains or the Homowo Festival. 

About the Homowo Festival

The Homowo Festival is a traditional harvest celebration that is celebrated by the Ga people of Ghana in West Africa. It is the largest cultural festival of its kind in the country. The word Homowo means “hooting at hunger,” and the origins of the festival are directly tied to the migration of the Ga people to Ghana. As the story goes, the Ga people travelled nomadically for many years before settling on the west coast – a place they still reside to this day. Along their journey, the Ga people experienced famine; however, rather than giving in, they supported each other through the difficult times and survived. It said that the people were inspired by the famine, which led to large food production processes eventually creating a bumper harvest. Once they settled and their harvest became plentiful, they held a huge feast where they reflected upon and laughed at the hunger and difficult times they overcame. This is known as the first Homowo celebration. With the Ga people’s hunger ended, it’s said they “hooted at hunger.”

Today the festival includes a procession of priests sprinkling kpokpoi in the streets, along with drumming, singing, dancing and horn blowing. At home, families share the traditional kpokpoi in a common bowl, with everyone joining in a festival dance called “oshi joo.” The festival traditionally ends on a Sunday with a closing ceremony known as “Noowala Hamo,” where friends and family visit, exchange the Homowo greeting and settle disputes and misunderstandings.

Other Cultural Celebrations: The First Fruits Ceremony

Other Africans also have similar festivals during harvest season. One of the most common is called “first fruits.” This involves several days of planning to bless the newly harvested crop and purify the people prior to eating the food from the harvest.

A Recipe for Traditional Homowo Meal

As with other festivals and celebrations around the world, Homowo has a traditional meal, known as Kpokpoi.

The meal is made using steamed corn dough that is mixed with palm oil. It’s traditionally served with fish and palm soup. Sticking with tradition, when the meal is prepared, the head of the family sprinkles some of the kpokpoi on the doorstep of the home. This is symbolic of feeding the spirts of past family members of the home.

Here is a recipe to make this traditional dish:

Kpokpoi

Ingredients
  • 6 okra
  • 6 cups of dry corn
  • Salt
  • Corn husks
  • 1 pint of palm oil
Meal Preparation
  • Soak corn for 2 days prior to cooking
  • Wash and grind the corn
  • Sprinkle water on top of corn meal and cover overnight
  • Once corn meal has sat overnight, rub through a sieve.
  • Place a steamer over a pot of boiling water and seal edges with a little corn dough
  • Cover bottom of steamer with clean corn husks
  • Put sifted corn meal into the steamer and allow it to cook over the steam for about half an hour until the kpokpoi gives out a yeasty aroma
  • Slice okra and cook in little water until tender
  • Mash okra and add salt
  • Take kpokpoi out of steamer
  • Sprinkle with salted cool water, using a wooden spoon to break all the lumps
  • Mix with mashed okra
  • If palm oil is used heat and mix with kpokpoi evenly
  • Serve with palm nut soup and fish
We hope you enjoyed exploring a different way of expressing thanks. We are committed to "provoking humanity" by learning about how others observe and celebrate.
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A Taste of Africa: Ngege (Tilapia) in Groundnut Sauce

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

We love Tilapia and this simple, straightforward version is easy to make. African cuisine uses peanuts in a variety of different ways to create tasty culinary treats. This one will become a favourite, we're sure!

There are lots of online recipes for this dish. This recipe is a basic recipe showing how we make it in our family. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. Tons of great recipes in an easy-to-prepare format.

Bon Appetit has a fabulous recipe for Red Curry Peanut Sauce that you can make ahead and use in a variety of recipes. They call for cilantro which we don't personally like. You can substitute broad leaf parsley.

Ingredients

  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 cup of cooking oil (we used a blend of canola and olive oil that we use all the time)
  • 1 entire Tilapia per person (suggest 1 to 2 pounds each), filets
  • 1 to 2 onions (we like 2 medium size sweet onions)
  • ½ cup peanut butter (we use natural, unsweetened peanut butter)
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder (use your own judgement - to taste)

Like with any recipe, the first time you make this you'll determine whether you want more (or less) onions or seasonings. For example, we use a heaping teaspoon of curry powder.

You can also grind your own peanuts rather than use a prepared peanut butter. We really like the sauce, so we tend to increase the peanut butter a bit.

Preparation

Fish

  1. Pre-heat oven to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Rub salt and pepper (to taste) into each fish fillet.
  3. Heat your oil in a deep frying pan until hot enough to fry. Remember, if you use the canola and olive oil blend, to watch your oil carefully. Don't let it "burn" as this will ruin the flavour.
  4. Fry the fish until browned and crispy on both sides.
  5. Reduce the heat and cover the pot. Let the fish cook for about 2 minutes more.
  6. Remove the fish fillets from the oil, drain on some paper towels for a minute.
  7. Place the fish in a lightly greased casserole dish.
  8. Shut the oven off.
  9. Place the covered casserole dish in the oven. This is only done to keep the fish warm while you are preparing the sauce.

Sauce

  1. Using the same pan you used to fry your fish fillets, saute your onions (we chop ours roughly) until caramelized. We like the crunchy bits!
  2. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and use them to cover the fish in your warm casserole dish.
  3. Now add the peanut butter and curry powder and mix well with the oil remaining in the pan.
  4. On very low heat slowly stir in about a cup of water and blend thoroughly. We usually whisk our sauce until blended, but a friend of ours uses an immersion blender.
  5. Pour your well-blended sauce over the fish and onions.

We like this dish over rice but you can also serve it with Ugali (which we consider to be the polenta of Africa!). There are plenty of recipes for Ugali available online.

Variations

There are plenty of variations we've seen. Some people like to add garlic (we often do), peppers, hot chili peppers and tomatoes. Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.

A great way to show off your African culinary skills is to present this dish at a table set with our hand-beaded table mat set. Each package consists of table mats, table runner, colour coordinated napkins and beautiful hand-beaded napkin rings.

Currently on sale and available in a variety of gorgeous colours to match your decor. Bring Africa into Your Home!

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A Taste of Africa: We're Coocoo for Kuku Paka

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

We're (as the headline suggests) absolutely coocoo for Kuku Paka. What's that you say? Simple - Coconut Chicken Curry.

Originating from the East African coastal area, this is a lovely dish for hot summer days. The word "kuku" means chicken in Swahili. Most believe that "paka" means the dish is made with coconut milk, although "paka" is also a Punjabi word meaning delicious. And, it is! Although we particularly enjoy this family recipe, remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. Their recipe is the closest we could find to the way we prepare this dish. The trick is to find a good, basic recipe and then tweak it to your taste!

INGREDIENTS

Marinade Ingredients
  • 1 Hot Chili Pepper, chopped
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon of Ginger, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons of natural Yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon (or to taste) of Salt

You can add some dried hot chili flakes if you want to. Combine all the marinade ingredients. Now, add the chicken! Add approximately 3 pounds of chicken to a large plastic bag. We use boneless breast, but chicken thighs work equally well. Cut the chicken into "bite-sized" pieces and pour the marinade over the chicken. You can marinate the chicken for as little as one hour but we prefer overnight for the best juicy flavour!

Curry Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 medium size onions, chopped
  • 1 Star Anise (this is optional but we like to use it)
  • 1 small stick of cinnamon
  • Half a can of plum tomatoes, chopped (Hint: We just use already diced, canned tomatoes)
  • 1 teaspoon of tomato purée
  • A handful of chopped coriander
  • 50 grams creamed coconut OR half a tin of coconut milk

PREPARATION

  1. Head up about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (we use a canola/olive oil blend) in a frying pan.
  2. Add the chopped onions and the star anise, along with the cinnamon stick and fry until the onions are caramelized.
  3. Add the marinated chicken and sauté until the chicken is browned.
  4. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée and cook over medium heat for about ten minutes. Make sure you stir occasionally to avoid sticking and burning. You can add a little water if need be.
  5. Add the coconut (creamed or milk) and cook another 5 minutes.

You're done. We usually serve this dish with rice or a side salad. 

Variations

Some people add potatoes or hard-boiled eggs to this curry. Potatoes can be pre-cooked and then cut into bite sized chunks. Add toward the end. Allow enough time for potatoes to absorb the heat and flavours. Hard-boiled eggs should be added to each plate (sort of as a "garnish"). If you like a milder version, we suggest not adding the optional chili flakes. If you really like a mild curry, then don't use the hot chili peppers. Substitute a chopped sweet bell pepper instead. A friend of our recently recommended that we reserve some of the coconut milk that gathers at the top of the can (the really creamy stuff) and add it at the very end. We tried it and found it makes the curry very "silky" - delicious! They also sometimes add some lime leaves as a garnish. Equally delicious is to just provide some lime quarters and let people choose how much (or if) to add. Sometimes, we grill the chicken on the bbq, instead of pan frying. Also just yummy!

Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.

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A Taste of Africa: No We're Not Ftat. We just like to eat 'em!

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

Actually, this summer our bike riding has pretty much eliminated the winter love handles! That said, we simply love "ftat", which is a simple flat bread. Easy to make, can be stored for up to a week and pairs well with lots of different meals. Ftat is a tasty addition to pretty much any summer meal and is often served with salad. Usually this "cooked on the stove top" flatbread is just roughly torn up and either covered with soups, stews or salad, or is used as a "dipper" for a variety of foods. Many cultures have similar recipes.

This particular recipe originates from Libya and is the best one we've found to make the flatbread as thin as possible. As usual, while there are a variety of recipes available on the internet, the trick is to find a good basic recipe and then tweak it to add your own personal touch and taste! Although we particularly enjoy this family recipe, remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. Another website we really like is Libyan Food - step by step recipes and photos of food from the modern Libyan kitchen. Their recipe for ftat is the closest to the way we make ours at home.

INGREDIENTS

Dough
  • 1/2 litre of water (sometimes you need a little bit more)
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons of olive oil (or olive oil/canola blend)
  • 3 - 1/3 cups flour

Keep your olive oil handy as you will need it to "brush" the dough and coat your hands when kneading.

Paste

This paste is what helps make the flatbread so thin. Stay with us - you'll see. It's almost magical!

  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 5 or 6 tablespoons of corn flour

The above amounts are approximate. What you are looking to achieve is a thick but smooth paste.

PREPARATION

Start with the dough. Don't be alarmed at the number of steps. We broke it down into easy descriptive chunks to make it simple to follow.
  1. Combine the flour, olive oil and salt and gradually stir in water until your dough is no longer sticky. It should be soft to the touch.
  2. Knead the dough really well.
  3. Place dough in a bowl, cover with a light brushing of olive oil.
  4. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and leave it along to rest for about an hour.
  5. After the dough has rested for an hour, knead it again. We suggest you oil your hands so it doesn't stick.
  6. Then, pinch of pieces of dough and form into balls. They should be around the size of a ping pong ball but you can make them the size you like. Experimentation is a good thing!
  7. Flatten the dough balls.
  8. Spread approximately a teaspoon of your corn flour paste onto half your flattened dough balls.
  9. Take the other half of the flattened dough balls and place them on top of the pieces you've just spread with the corn flour paste. See, this makes your "sandwich".
  10. Now, cover the dough balls with saran wrap again and leave them to rest for another hour.
  11. Pinch/crimp the edges of each dough "sandwich". They should now look like little "hats".
  12. Get to work flattening each sandwich. Libyan Food's recipe suggests using a dinner plate and, in fact, that's the way we've always done it. They say it helps to keep the round shape consistent. The way we do it is to oil a large dinner plate and then use our fingers and the heel of our palm to gradually flatten and stretch the dough sandwich to the size of the dinner plate.
  13. Now to cook them! You can use a griddle or any large frying pan over medium heat.
  14. Make sure they don't burn. Turn after about 8 to 10 seconds.
  15. Brush the upturned side with a little olive oil.
  16. Here comes the magic! Once each dinner plate sized piece of ftat is cooked, it will separate into two pieces. The corn flour in the middle of the sandwich has done the job.
  17. Once that happens, just flip them over and cook the interiors for a few seconds each.

We like ours "done" a little more than most recipes call for. We like to get some char marks on each side and crisp the edges. Just a suggestion! If serving right away, wrap them up in a clean tea towel to keep them warm. They tend to harden a bit when cool, so this also helps to keep the ftat lovely and soft. You can make a big batch ahead and refrigerate for up to a week. Some people wrap them in foil but we keep ours in a large, airtight plastic container and just take out what we need and warm them up. Ftat are often filled (sort of like dumplings or calzone) with all sorts of ingredients. Omelet-like egg mixtures, herbs and potatoes, mushrooms and tomatoes, etc. Just experiment with any filling you enjoy! We like to use our like a "wrap", placing the filling in and rolling them up into a tight little sandwich. A friend of ours came to our house and we served her some filled Ftat. She said they were very similar to a Cornish Pasty her Nana used to make. Much flatter thinner bread rather than a pastry shell, but the fillings reminded her of her childhood. We have taught our children to cook as soon as they were old enough to participate. Flatbreads are a great way to get them involved, especially with the kneading. Jamie Oliver has a terrific recipe for what he calls Easy Flatbreads - and says they are a fun way to start kids learning about food preparation.

Enjoy! Please tell us what you pair your delicious flatbread with and share your recipe modifications or variations.

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A Taste of Africa: Peri Peri African Chicken - A Perfect Summer Dish

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

Spelled "peri peri" in Africa, Piri piri sauce (used as a seasoning or marinade) is Portuguese in origin. Peri Peri African Chicken is popular in Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa. We say you can't go wrong with this combination of ingredients! Yum Yum, indeed.

You can make a big batch of the sauce and store it in the fridge for future use. We always triple our batch and enjoy this delicious flavouring for many meals. Although we particularly enjoy this family recipe, remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. We found a good basic recipe at Allrecipes.com and tweaked it a bit to reflect the way we make our Peri Peri. We make it so often we do everything automatically, without thinking about how much of this or how much of that. Don't hesitate to experiment. A little more this, a little less that - is a great way to express your unique culinary talents and make things taste just the way you like them.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/4 cup of paprika
  • 2 tablespoons of hot chili powder
  • 1 cup of fresh lemon juice
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons of chopped fresh ginger (we use a little more - probably 2 teaspoons)
  • 4 cloves of garlic (AllRecipes.com calls for 3 cloves but we like more)
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt
  • fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 4 to 6 bone-in chicken breasts (or a similar quantity of chicken thighs)

We like our peri peri sauce quite spicy, so I add a little Sriracha to the mix. You can also add some hot chili pepper flakes. Simply combine all the ingredients (except chicken) in a bowl. We like to let it sit for at least an hour so the flavours meld. Rub or brush the chicken with the peri peri sauce. Place your chicken in a bowl, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to marinate. We often marinate ours for at least 6 hours for maximum flavour. It's up to you! Reserve the leftover peri peri sauce in the fridge. It is delicious "on the side" to dip your chicken in as you eat. Peri Peri Chicken has roots in both Africa and Portugal. The dish was created in Angola and Mozambique when Portuguese settlers arrived with chile peppers (known as piri-piri in Swahili).

PREPARATION

  1. When you're read, just heat up your grill (medium is good for chicken - not too hot or it will burn quickly).
  2. Cook your chicken as you usually would, turning occasionally. Make sure the juices run clear before taking off the grill for service.

A little tip for you. In the middle of winter (or if we just don't feel like firing up the BBQ), we use a FlavourWave convection oven to make our Peri Peri Chicken. We highly recommend this device. They are so handy, we've got FlavourWaves at home and at our cottage. They are inexpensive and save you having to heat up your kitchen with the oven on.

Variations

We like our Peri Peri Chicken with a variety of sides. Rice, chunky spicy oven roasted potatoes, salad - whatever your heart desires.

Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.

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A Taste of Africa: Chicken in Spicy Red Sauce

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

Spicy Ethiopian Red Sauce has long been a favourite in our family. You can prepare the spice blend ahead and use it on all sorts of things. We use it to flavour salmon, chicken breasts or thighs, steaks or even on shrimp.

We guarantee you'll love this dish. Some recipes we've seen suggest a dollop of yogurt on top just before serving. It is delicious! We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. As pretty much always, while most recipes specify chicken breasts, you can certainly substitute an equal amount of chicken thighs. Frankly, we find thighs more flavourful.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts or thighs
  • 4 lemon wedges
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro (We don't like cilantro so we use broad leaf parsley instead)
  • 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt (We prefer sea salt)
  • 1 small can of tomato paste
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine (Use something with a good strong flavour)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil (We use a canola/olive oil blend)
  • 2 medium size onions, chopped (rough chop)
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Berbere Spice Mix
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 tablespoons ground red pepper
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Remember, as with all our family recipes, these ingredients are approximate. Play to your taste by varying the spice amounts according to your family taste.

PREPARATION

  1. Combine all the Berbere Spice Mix Ingredients in a bowl
  2. Put your chicken into a shallow baking dish and sprinkle it with lemon and half the salt.
  3. Marinate your chicken (covered) for at least an hour in the fridge.
  4. In a large deep frying pan, saute your onion and garlic in olive oil. Don't burn it!
  5. Take about 2 teaspoons of the Berbere Spice Mix and add to your onion and garlic along with the rest of the salt, butter, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg.
  6. Saute, blending the spices, onion and garlic. This only takes about a minute or two at most.
  7. Then add the tomato paste, wine and broth. Stir well to blend and bring up to just a boil.
  8. Now add the marinated chicken. (Take it out of fridge so it isn't super cold when you add it).
  9. Now put a lid on your pan and reduce the heat to a nice simmer.
  10. It should take about an hour to cook the chicken. Make sure you turn the pieces over a few times.
  11. When chicken is done, you can stir in the cilantro (or broad leaf parsley).
  12. Place a lemon wedge on the edge of each serving plate.

A little tip? This chicken is excellent cold as well. Not that there will be any left! There are lots of variations of Spicy Red Sauce. Search online for other ways to create this tasty concoction. Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make. 

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A Taste of Africa: Sambal - A Fresh Tasting Side Dish

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

Sambal is the perfect summer side to accompany almost any dish. Fresh and flavourful, this lovely combination is easy to prepare. Grated carrots and apples pair up with garlic, ginger and rice wine vinegar to produce a tasty slaw. 

There are many varieties of Sambal, showing up from Sri Lanka to South Africa, incorporating different ingredients - cucumber, tomato, onion and even pineapple! Most Sambals have a common trait - they are crisp and fresh versions of a slaw salad. We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. South African Tours and Travel is a good resource for South African recipes. As always, we've tried to approximate our family method of preparing this recipe. This one is from a favourite Auntie. We recommend having a good look online as well for different types of sambal recipes.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups grated carrots
  • 2 cups grated apples (we like a tart apple rather than a sweeter variety)
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup chopped broad leaf parsley (many people use cilantro but we don't like the flavour)
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped red chilies
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

Just toss the carrots and apples along with the lemon juice and the salt and let it sit for about a half an hour. Carefully pour off the excess liquid and then combine all the other ingredients. Cover with saran wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before dinner. As with all our recipes, this is just sort of the basics. We have both experimented and substituted when an ingredient wasn't at hand. For example, if we don't have chilies, we've chopped up some bell peppers and used a bit of hot sauce for heat. You can adjust the seasonings to your own tastes. We like a bit more ginger than most recipes call for. If you have any of this delicious slaw left over (and you probably won't), we find it to be very tasty on chicken sandwiches.  

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A Taste of Africa: Easy Peasy - Chicken Marrakesh in the Slow Cooker!

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food!

Although the temperature is an astounding 87 degrees Fahrenheit today, we looked at the calendar and realized that it's September - and back to school time - is just around the corner. In our house, we get much busier between work and school and everything else, so the slow cooker is our good friend!

This is a hearty Moroccan filling dish and super easy when prepared in the slow cooker. There are a number of online recipes for the slow cooker but don't hesitate to experiment. For example, AllRecipes and food.com both have a terrific recipe which calls for garbanzo beans. We use red kidney beans, or, frankly, whatever we have in the cupboard. Quite by accident, we ended up using black beans, and the results were quite delicious!

We recently purchased a Ninja Cooking System, which is a slow cooker, stove top cooker and oven all in one. We can't praise this device enough. You can brown, heat up, slow cook all in the same pot. Cuts down on storing appliances as well. We make all sorts of things in it - spaghetti sauce, soups, stews, ribs - even a cake! It has a steam feature which works really well for poaching fish. We love sharing our family recipes with you, but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes.  All Recipes and Food.com are also good resources. As always, we've tried to approximate our family method of preparing this recipe. This recipe gets varied from time to time, depending on what ingredients we have on hand (or need to use up) and who is preparing the dish.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 can of diced tomatoes - large (if you don't have diced, just break up a can of plum tomatoes)
  • 1 teaspoon of dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 large sweet onion, rough chop
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 big sweet potatoes, diced in fairly large chunks
  • 3 big carrots, also diced in fairly large chunks
  • approximately 2 pounds of chicken cut up into about 1-1/2 to 2" pieces (we use whatever chicken we have on hand, thighs or breasts)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cumin (we actually use a bit more - probably just shy of 1 teaspoon)
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of black pepper (to taste and we like roughly fresh ground pepper)
  • 1 can of beans - drained (traditionally garbanzo beans but we've used kidney beans, black beans, navy beans, etc.)

Just bung everything into the slow cooker and stir well to mix all the ingredients and spices. Cook on high for about 5 hours. Then yum, yum! This recipe makes 6 to 8 servings (depending on the size of your bowl or appetite!). We like it with a variety of breads and it is especially tasty with biscuits to sop up what's left at the bottom of the bowl. Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make! 

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A Taste of Africa: Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food!

This super simple stew is so tasty you will make it over and over again. We often do a double batch and enjoy it for several meals. The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of garam masala which is a mixture of a variety of spices. AllRecipes has a fail-safe garam masala recipe. You can buy it pre-mixed, but it is so easy and economical to make it yourself.

We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes.  AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. As always, we've tried to approximate our family method of preparing this recipe. We have some finicky eaters in our family, who aren't big on meats, so this recipe is a great way to get some protein into them.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (you don't have to use cayenne, we often use a rough ground black pepper)
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin (as always, experiment - we like a bit more cumin)
  • 2 cloves of minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (as always, we substitute broad leaf parsley as we don't like cilantro)
  • 1 bunch of kale with the ribs removed, chopped
  • 3 potatoes, cubed
  • 1 small onion, chopped (we always use a sweet onion)
  • 1 cup of tomato sauce
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes (14 ounces or thereabouts)
  • 1 cup of golden raisins
  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and well rinsed (about 14 ounces)
  • Water (just enough to cover the mixture when you get to that point)

Instructions

  1. Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onions are cooked through. We like ours slightly caramelized.
  2. Then stir in all the spices and cook for around a minute. Until the spices smell terrific!
  3. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and the potatoes and raisins.
  4. Pour just enough water over everything to cover the mixture. Bring it up to a nice simmer for about 15 minutes. You're done when the potatoes are cooked through.
  5. Add the chickpeas and kale and simmer everything until the kale wilts. It won't take very long 3-4 minutes at most.
  6. Sprinkle the cilantro or broad leaf parsley over the top.

This recipe makes 4 servings (depending on the size of your bowl or appetite!). We almost always make a double batch because we look forward to having it several times. This stew goes well with almost any bread or biscuit. Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.  

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A Taste of Africa: Spicy African Chicken Stew

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food!

There's just nothing like a hot, satisfying bowl of stew to cheer everyone up as the weather turns cold. This is our "go to" recipe for the fall season.

We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes.  AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources.

INGREDIENTS

  • 500 ml of chicken stock, heated up
  • 2 peppers, seeds removed, cut into rough chunks (we use 1 red and 1 yellow or orange)
  • 2 onions, thin sliced (we use sweet onions)
  • 3 sweet potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks
  • 340 gram jar of smooth peanut butter
  • 3 tbsp sunflower oil (or canola oil is fine too)
  • 3 tbsp of fresh ginger, finely chopped up
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp of cayenne pepper (you can vary the amount according to taste, or use black pepper if you prefer)
  • 1.5 kilograms of chicken thighs (skinless, boneless)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 to 2 scotch bonnet chilies, deseeded and chopped (again vary the amount according to your own taste)
  • 3 tsps of ground cumin
  • 3 tsp ground coriander
  • 400 gram can of diced tomatoes
  • handful of chopped broadleaf parsley (some people like coriander but we use parsley)
  • Prepare rice (whatever kind you prefer). Serve the stew over a ladle of rice at bottom of bowl
  • Cut some lime wedges up. The stew is delicious with a slight squeeze of lime over the top.

Instructions

  1. Pour your already heated chicken stock over the peanut butter and stir until all the peanut butter is dissolved.
  2. In a large frying pan, saute the onions in the oil until they are soft.
  3. Then, add the cayenne and/or black pepper, coriander, chilies, bay leaves, cumin and ginger and saute for a couple of minutes.
  4. Add the diced tomatoes and your chicken/peanut butter stock mixture.
  5. Add your chicken thighs. (Cut your chicken thighs up into large bite sized pieces)
  6. Cover your pan and simmer for about a half an hour. Stir often, making sure nothing is sticking to bottom of pan.
  7. Add the sweet potatoes, peppers and the chopped broad leaf parsley (or coriander). Reserve a bit of the chopped parsley to sprinkle over the top of each bowl.
  8. To serve, place a ladleful of rice at bottom of a large soup bowl. Then ladle chicken stew over rice. Serve with reserved chopped broad leaf parsley and lime wedges.

This recipe is a snap to make and serves 6 to 8 people. We often make two batches and freeze one for a future quick meal. This stew freezes well for at least a couple of months. Although, it never lasts that long in our house! This recipe lend itself well to modification. Sometimes we add a carrot or some chopped cabbage. Recently, we had some leftover baby spinach and added that just at the end of the cooking process. In our house, recipes are often "tinkered" with, often with delightful results! Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.  

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A Taste of Africa: Harissa Roasted Turkey

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food..

After Thanksgiving, each year, you can often take advantage of post-holiday turkey sales at your local grocers. Try this North African inspired recipe. Harissa is a spice often used in Moroccan foods. Basically, a hot chili sauce comprised of several varieties of peppers, spices and herbs. This kicks up the flavour immensely! You can keep any leftover rub in the fridge for a couple of weeks and enjoy it on all sorts of things. We use it on both chicken and steak. Delicious!

We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes.  

INGREDIENTS

While there are quite a few ingredients, don't be discouraged. This recipe is quite easy to put together and the results are well worth it.

Harissa Spice Rub

  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground caraway seed
  • 1 cup chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
Roasted Turkey
  • 12 to 14 pound turkey
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • salt
  • black pepper (we like a rough ground pepper)
  • 1/2 cup kosher salt
  • 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup of Harissa plus at least a tablespoon more
  • 2 red onions (quarter or chop into large pieces depending on size)
  • 2 cups of sweet potatoes (cut into large cubes, about 1/2 inch or a bit bigger)
  • 2 springs of fresh thyme, roughly chopped
Stuffing
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup of raisins
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 5 to 6 cups of cubed white bread (suitable for stuffing)
  • 2 tablespoons of finely slivered almonds
  • 3 parsnips, cut in cubes (about same size as sweet potatoes)
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 3 shallots, diced
  • 2 quinces, cubed (preferred fresh but use canned if you can find them) Note: We have substituted apples and/or pears for the quince very successfully.
  • 1 tablespoon of Harissa rub
  • 1 cup of chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice

Instructions

Harissa Spice Rub
  1. Heat up the olive oil in a small frying pan. Use about medium heat.
  2. Then add the garlic and saute it until it turns a golden colour. Should take 3-4 minutes.
  3. Take your frying pan off the burner and then add the caraway, coriander, chili powder, mint and salt.
  4. Stir all your spices in the oil and set the mixture aside to cool off.
  5. You can store any leftover rub in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
Note: You can buy Harissa Spice in a variety of formats including dry rub mixture and paste. We highly recommend you make your own, though. It is easy and the results are far superior in our opinion. Here's a neat little video on how to make Harissa Spice. Especially useful if you have a garden, or a great farmers market source for peppers.

 

Turkey
  1. You need to cure the turkey overnight in a brine made from stirring 1/2 cup of kosher salt into 8 cups of water. You can use a large pail or any large container with a lid that will accommodate the turkey and brine.
  2. A really good suggestion from a friend of ours is to line the container with a garbage bag. It makes cleanup easy!
  3. The container must be kept chilled.
  4. In the morning, put the onion, garlic, sweet potatoes and thyme in a bowl with 1/2 tablespoon of the Harissa Spice Rub and toss ingredients until well coated/mixed.
  5. Preheat the oven 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  6. Rinse the turkey with cold water and pat dry.
  7. Sprinkle salt and pepper both inside and outside of the turkey.
  8. Place the vegetable mixture inside the turkey cavity and then use a skewer to seal up the turkey.
  9. If you have extra vegetable mixture, just place around turkey in roasting pan.
  10. Tie the drumsticks together with some kitchen string and afix the wings with small skewers.
  11. Then place the turkey in your roasting pan. We cover the breast with some foil.
  12. Roast for 20 minutes.
  13. Remove from oven and pour two cups of broth into the roasting pan.
  14. Stir the roasting pan to scrape up the good brown bits!
  15. Place back in oven and roast again for 40 minutes.
  16. Remove any "extra" vegetables from the pan and reserve.
  17. Now, turn your oven down to 350 degrees F and continue roasting the turkey.
  18. Baste with pan juices.
  19. When the turkey reaches 170 degrees, it is done. Test with a thermometer but total roasting time is usually about 3 to 3.25 hours for us.
  20. We take the foil off for the last half hour so the bird browns nicely.
  21. To make gravy: Skim excess fat from pan juices. Over medium-low heat (not too hot) add 1 cup of water and stir, scraping all the caramelized bits off bottom of pan. Heat to a simmer.
Stuffing
  1. Heat up 1/4 cup of oil in a big frying pan and add the bread cubes.
  2. Saute the bread cubes for about 5 minutes, until they are nicely toasted.
  3. Then add the finely slivered almonds and set pan aside off the heat.
  4. Now, combine the rest of your oil with the parsnips and the cinnamon sticks in a "Dutch Oven" type casserole dish and saute everything for around 4 to 5 minutes.
  5. Then add the quinces (or apples and/or pears), the harissa rub, shallots, and garlic and continue to saute until the garlic has softened up.
  6. Once garlic is soft, you can add the stock, honey and orange juice.
  7. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for around 15 minutes.
  8. Now add the thyme, salt and raisins, as well as your bread cubes and almond mixture you set aside back in Step 3.
  9. Cook over low heat, making sure to stir frequently. Don't let anything stick to bottom!
  10. Once well heated through, you can stir in the chopped parsley.

We have given you the basic rundown of what we do. As always, our amounts are sometimes a range and our cooking times and methods are relating "how we do it". There are some Harissa Turkey recipes online that you can use as a reference as well. Ours always turns out well but, by all means, check out other versions. Again, the Harissa Rub is incredibly delicious and can be used to flavour other dishes. 

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A Taste of Africa: African (Leftover) Turkey Stew

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

While Canadian Thanksgiving is past, American Thanksgiving is coming up soon! There are still lots of good buys on turkey at local supermarkets. Whether made with inexpensive turkey legs or (as we usually do) with leftover turkey, this stew is a great "warmer upper" for those nippy fall days.

We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes.  Many similar recipes for this delicious stew start with turkey legs. We use leftover turkey most of the time. If you like your stew a little "juicier", reduce the amount of turkey. Play it by ear and vary this recipe and you will end up with a family favourite, we're sure!

 INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups of leftover turkey, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 litre of chicken stock
  • 2 orange (or yellow) bell peppers
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic (we use chopped garlic in oil- comes in a jar - much easier)
  • 4 hot peppers (your choice but chop them up fine and be careful handling them)
  • 6-8 plum tomatoes (cut up into chunks) You can use canned plum tomatoes if you want. We do and it works just fine. We use an entire can because we like our stew with lots of juice.
  • 1 sweet onion (cut into bite size chunks)
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • salt (to taste)
  • 1 cup of olive oil (it is okay to use vegetable oil - we just prefer using olive oil)

Instructions

  1. Put your leftover turkey into a big saucepan and then pour in the chicken broth. It must cover the turkey meat.
  2. Bring it to a boil slowly over medium heat and cook until the broth has been absorbed/reduced by at least half.
  3. Cut your bell peppers into bite size chunks and blend them roughly along with the onions, hot peppers, garlic, tomato paste and tomatoes. We use our food processor. Don't puree them until they are a paste! Make sure some of the pepper and onion chunks are still recognizable.
  4. Now heat up your olive oil in another big saucepan and pour in your vegetable mixture from the step above. Watch (and stir) carefully as you simmer the mixture in the oil. It will take about 30 minutes for this to be done. Don't let it burn.
  5. Now add your turkey and simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Add salt to taste.

Now, here's the nice thing about this recipe. Sometimes we add some more chicken broth and a can of black beans. Other times, we add more chicken broth and tomatoes to make a juicier stew - adding some beans (you can use black beans, navy beans - whatever you like). Sometimes we don't puree the bell peppers. This recipe really lends itself to variations. We often serve this recipe over rice. And sometimes couscous. We often serve it with fresh, hot biscuits. This is a good basic recipe to enjoy any way you want to! It freezes fairly well so, if you find you like it, make a double batch for the next rainy fall day you need something warm in your tummy! Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.  

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