lifestyle

This is a classic recipe from Niger for how to prepare chips (fries) from cassava batons. Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 30 minutes/Serves 4 Ingredients:1 cassava (about 35-40cm long)oil for deep fryingsalt, to taste Method:Peel the cassava to remove the outer skin and reveal the white flesh. Cut the cassava into rounds about 12cm thick.

Touo is a classic okra and tomato stew from Niger that is typically served with thick cornmeal paste (pap). Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 25 minutes/Serves: 4 Ingredients1 green bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped2 onions, chopped2 tomatoes, chopped250g okra, washed and sliced into thin roundsjuice of 1 lime80g cornmealsalt, to taste1 small chilli, finely chopped

Here is a simple salad or starter from Niger of cabbage dressed with lemon, olive oil and vinegar served with a crushed hard-boiled egg garnish. Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 30 minutes/Serves: 4 Ingredients:1/4 red cabbage, finely shredded1/4 white cabbage, finely shredded4 eggslemon juiceolive oilvinegar1 small onion shallot, finely chopped1/2 bell pepper but into small

This is a one-pot dish from St Helena; though a British overseas territory (along with Ascension and Tristan da Cunha) and though located in the South Atlantic, they actually lie on the African continental shelf and are considered a part of West Africa, so its food deserves to be showcased here. Prep time: 15 minutes/Cook

Ivorian Palm Nut Soup Native to various countries on the African continent, palm nut sauce is appreciated for its unique and creamy flavour. This typical sauce is usually served with Foutou or cassava Foufou (fufu). Whether you are looking for a palm nut sauce recipe to accompany fish, chicken or simply white rice, or you

This is a classic Burkinabé recipe for chicken that’s marinated and finished in a coconut cream sauce. Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 45 minutes/Serves: 4 (+1 hour marinating) Ingredients:1/2 organic chicken cut into pieces2 tbsp Dijon mustard (strong or extra-strong)1 chicken Maggi cube2 tbsp olive oilfine salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste For Pepper

This is a classic Burkinabé (from Burkina Faso) recipe for chicken and mixed vegetables in a spicy peanut purée base (note that traditionally a paste made of puréed peanuts is used, but you can substitute peanut butter). Traditionally this is cooked in a large pot. The best equivalent for most of us would be a

This is the true story of a young girl named Nneka who attended the prestigious Federal University of Technology, Owerri. She was deeply in love with her boyfriend, Gerald, who was also a student at the same campus. However, one day, Gerald abruptly ended their relationship, leaving Nneka heartbroken and devastated. The young ambitious Gerald

These are classic Malian doughnuts/fritters that are adapted to be made with the native small-grain millet, Fonio along with sweet potato flour, which makes these gluten free. Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 10 minutes/Serves: 8 (+6 hours fermenting) Ingredients:100g blanched whole fonio250g Fonio flour100g Sweet potato flour150g Sugar150ml Oil1 tsp Baker’s yeast Method:Prepare a thick

This is another classic Malian recipe that makes the most of the local short-grain millet, Fonio and where the dish is served in a similar manner to Senegalese tiebou djen. Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 80 minutes/Serves: 5 Ingredients:1kg Funio2 kg Peanuts1l Water250ml Oil1kg Onions, finely chopped45g Potash500g Fresh okra, cut into thin strips5 aubergines

This is a Malian version of Senegalese tiebou djen but which uses Fonio as the base rather than the more typical rice. The fonio is cooked with the smoked fish and the dish is served topped with the garden eggs and the whole habanero chilli. Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time 60 minutes/Serves: 5 Ingredients:500g of

Djaratankai is a traditional okra and peanut stew from Mali that’s typically made with mutton (but you could substitute goat or lamb). Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 135 minutes/Serves: 6-8 Ingredients:1kg of mutton meat, cut into small pieces150g peanut paste (peanut butter)500g of okra, cut into thin strips1 bell pepper, diced2 onions, peeled and chopped2

I love fonio, which I discovered as a grain in Senegal. Fonio is a fine-grain millet that you can grind into a gluten-free flour. The whole grains can also be cooked as a couscous substitute. The large Senegalese population in France has meant that fonio has become a much more commonplace grain there and this