African Food Network: Authentic recipes from across the continent.

Mufete

Cooked the tilapia over hot coals on the braai for about 4 minutes each side. That raw onion and parsley salsa cuts right through the richness of the 50ml palm oil in the beans, absolutely lekker. Just a heads up, 180g of butter beans is barely enough for three people if you have big eaters at home, I had to double it.

Reviewed by Palesa Sithole · Bloemfontein, South Africa

Benachin

1.5 cups of vegetable oil felt like way too much when reading the ingredients, but it gives the fried chicken and diced beef such a deep brown colour. The vinegar in the garlic marinade cuts right through the richness. Did this for dinner on Sunday, cooked the rice straight in that tomato and onion gravy. My husband was running late at the robot down the street and by the time he got home the whole house smelt incredible. Lekker meal!

Reviewed by Palesa Sithole · Bloemfontein, South Africa

Dombolo (Dumplings or Steamed Bread)

I tried substituting the maize meal with fine cornmeal from the Safeway near my house since I cannot easily get proper mealie meal in Seattle. Letting the yeast proof properly for two full hours yielded a wonderfully spongy bread that picked up my beef berbere stew almost as well as injera.

Reviewed by Selam Hailu · Seattle, WA, USA

Liberian Jollof Rice

Jollof rice traces to the Senegambian rice tradition of the Wolof, and moved east and south along the West African coast through trade and migration, acquiring a distinct national form in each country that took it up. Liberia's variation belongs to that eastward spread.

No Corn Starch Rice Cakes (Ablo)

chale back home my grandmother used small tin cans or banana leaves, but here in Croydon I just used silicone muffin cups inside a steam basket. The overnight soak is crucial paa, if the blended rice is still gritty the ablo won't be smooth. Tastes just like the ones from the Aflao border oo.

Reviewed by Kojo Mensah · Croydon, London, UK

Mozambique Matapa Recipe

Roasting and grinding the peanuts into a paste before adding to the coconut milk is so similar to how we make the masala base for Maharashtrian curries. I got cassava leaves from Belgrave Road, chopped them very fine. Next time ill add a bit more garlic but the creamy texture with the cooked shrimp was wonderful.

Reviewed by Priya Raman · Leicester, UK

Madeeda Hilba (Sudani Fenugreek Porridge)

Fenugreek is used across North and East Africa, the Arabian peninsula and South Asia as both a culinary and a postpartum ingredient, and in Sudan it is prepared as madeeda hilba, served during Ramadan and made for women after childbirth. Its earliest documented date in Sudanese cooking is uncertain.

Kontomire Stew

getting fresh kontomire in minneapolis is impossible abeg so I used frozen spinach and kale mix. used egusi from the African store on Lake Street and the smoked salmon flavor really carried the whole dish. my husband ate two plates sha.

Reviewed by Hauwa Bello · Minneapolis, MN, USA