Recettes

Ghana Jollof Rice

Ghanaian jollof rice is defined against its rivals as much as on its own terms, and Ghanaians are entirely comfortable with that. It is a tomato based rice, aromatic rather than fiery, seasoned with curry powder, garlic and ginger, and cooked in basmati. Every one of those choices is a position in an argument. The rice is the clearest one. Ghanaians use basmati, which stays separate and perfumed and carries the aromatics; Nigerians use long grain parboiled, which absorbs the tomato base and takes on the smoke. Neither is a mistake. They produce genuinely different dishes that share a name, and the preference in each country is consistent enough to be a national marker. The jollof rivalry between Ghana and Nigeria is the continent's most famous culinary argument, conducted on social media, at dinner tables and in the press with an intensity that has very little to do with rice and a great deal to do with two confident countries enjoying themselves. The honest position on the origin is that the dish descends from the Senegambian rice tradition rather than from either country. The honest position on which is better is that both are right within their own tradition, and Ghanaians serve theirs at every social gathering and celebration that matters.

★★★★★Les mieux notées

1 hr 20 minMediumGhana

Recette de Debby · Africook

Kenyan Beef Biryani

Kenyan biryani is a Swahili coast dish, and the coast is where the Indian Ocean has been depositing influences on East Africa for more than a thousand years. Arab, Persian and Indian traders working the monsoon routes brought rice, spices and techniques to Mombasa, Lamu and Zanzibar, and what developed there is neither Indian nor Arab but Swahili. The biryani method itself is unmistakably South Asian: meat cooked in a spiced yoghurt gravy, rice parboiled separately with whole spices, the two layered and steamed together so the rice finishes in the gravy's steam. The Kenyan version keeps that structure. What it does differently is in the details, with fried onions used in quantity, tomato leaning heavier than in most Indian versions, and fried potatoes worked through the meat rather than served alongside. It is occasion food. Biryani appears at Kenyan weddings, at Eid, and at the large family meals where the effort is justified by the number of people eating. The orange food colouring streaked through part of the rice, which purists elsewhere would query, is standard in Kenya and is part of what a Kenyan expects a biryani to look like. Served with kachumbari, the raw tomato and onion salad, it is one of the clearest expressions of what the coast is.

★★★★★Les mieux notées

1 hr 30 minHardKenya · African

Recette de Abigael Alfredah · Africook

Seffa Medfouna (Moroccan Buried Chicken with Sweet Vermicelli)

Seffa medfouna is saffron chicken hidden inside a mound of steamed, sweetened vermicelli, dusted with cinnamon, icing sugar and ground fried almonds. Medfouna means buried, and the concealment is the whole presentation. **It is finished with a cup of ground almonds, which the title gives no indication of.** It is the clearest example on this site of the Moroccan savoury-sweet axis. Saffron chicken cooked with ginger, turmeric and pepper is buried under vermicelli that has been sweetened with butter and icing sugar, studded with raisins, and decorated with cinnamon and almonds. Neither element is subtle, and the point is that they arrive in the same mouthful. This is the same tradition as pastilla, and it reflects the Andalusian and Arab influence that runs through Moroccan festive cooking. Seffa on its own is the sweetened steamed vermicelli or couscous, served as a dish in its own right. Medfouna is the version with meat concealed inside. The vermicelli is steamed four times. That is not an exaggeration in the method, repeated steaming with resting in between is what makes it light rather than claggy, and it is the same principle as double-steamed couscous. It is a dish for a table with several courses on it, not a weeknight.

3 hr 15 minHardMorocco

Recette de Blessing · Africook

Ka'ak (Libyan Ring Bread)

Ka'ak is a ring-shaped bread, crisp outside and soft within, scattered with sesame seeds. It is Libyan in this version, and made across a wide stretch of the Arabic-speaking world, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria all have their own. The shape is what defines it. Ka'ak is formed into a large ring, bigger and thinner than a bagel, which is why street vendors across the region can carry stacks of them on a pole or a cart. In Libya it is eaten at breakfast alongside hummus and falafel, and it comes in savoury and sweet versions. The name travels further than the shape does. Ka'ak, sometimes kahk or kahqa, covers a whole family of baked goods across the Arabic-speaking world, from this ring bread to the small filled Egyptian cookies eaten at Eid, which are a completely different thing. The word means something closer to "baked good" than to any specific item. One technique in this recipe is worth borrowing for other breads. A tray of water is placed in the bottom of the oven while it heats, so the loaves bake in a steamy environment. Steam keeps the crust soft for the first minutes, letting the bread rise fully before the surface sets, and then produces a thin, crisp finish.

2 hr 45 minMediumLibya

Recette de Blessing · Africook