African Cuisine: Spice up your cooking with African spices
Are you tired of meals that taste the same every time? Do you want to spice things up? With 54 countries, Africa boasts a multitude of unique and delicious dishes, each with its own set of aromatic and flavourful spices. These spices play an essential role in many African dishes, from the Mediterranean-inspired cuisine of the north to the fiery curries of southern Africa.
In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at some spices used in African cuisine. So, get ready to take your taste buds on a journey through Africa and discover the amazing flavours that our incredible continent has to offer.
- Cameroon Pepper
This pepper is named after the African country, Cameroon and is also known as dried scotch bonnet pepper, which is a popular spice in West African cuisine. Cameroonians particularly enjoy peppers in their dishes, using hot pepper sauce to enhance the flavour of grilled and fried delicacies like fish, chicken, meat, puff puff, beans, and more. Cameroon pepper is typically orange or red in colour and is popular for its fruity, smoky flavour.
They are famous for their high heat and spicy level, which makes them a must-have ingredient in many African dishes, especially a nice plate of chicken pepper soup. Cameroon peppers come in fresh, dried, or powdered forms and are versatile in their use, as they can be used in non-African meals like noodles and pasta. So, the next time you try out an African recipe, make sure to add Cameroon peppers to your list of ingredients.
- Grains of Paradise
Grains of Paradise, also known as “Aframomum melegueta” or “Melegueta pepper”, is a fascinating African spice with a long and rich history and a unique flavour profile. Indigenous to the West African region, including countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast, this spice has been used in African cuisine for centuries. The small, brown, seed-like grains resemble peppercorns and are related to ginger and cardamom, belonging to the ginger family, Zingiberaceae.
Grains of Paradise has a peppery, slightly pungent taste with citrusy and floral notes. Some people describe its flavour as a blend of black pepper, cardamom, and citrus, which gives it a unique and aromatic quality. It is used as a spice to season various dishes in African cuisine, such as marinades, soups, stews, and spice blends, and pairs well with meats, fish, and vegetables. This spice can be used to make a delicious plate of Ogbono soup.
- Harissa
Harissa is an extremely spicy and flavourful condiment made from hot chilli peppers. It originated in North African cuisine, specifically Tunisia, and is well-known for its bright red colour and fiery heat. Harissa is a versatile ingredient used in various North African and Middle Eastern dishes, and it has gained popularity worldwide.
Harissa is often used as a spice paste to rub on meats, fish, or vegetables before grilling, roasting, or pan-frying. It also serves as a base for sauces and marinades in dishes such as tagines and couscous. Harissa can be added to soups and stews to give them a spicy kick and depth of flavour. There are several ways to prepare this spice. It can be blended into a thick paste, dried, or infused into oil. Additionally, it can be mixed with yoghurt to create a spicy dipping sauce or spread for bread and chips.
- Calabash Nutmeg
Calabash nutmeg, also known as Monodora myristica, is a spice indigenous to West Africa and is a key component of Nigerian and Ghanaian cuisines. Despite its name, this spice is not related to the popular nutmeg (Myristica fragrans), yet it is often used as a substitute due to its similar taste. The seed of the calabash nutmeg has a distinctive appearance. The outer shell of the seed is woody and requires cracking open to access the inner seed, which is used for cooking.
Some regions of West Africa use calabash nutmeg to flavour drinks such as palm wine and local liqueurs. It is used as a spice in a variety of West African dishes, including stews, soups, and sauces, and is frequently combined with other spices to achieve well-balanced and delicious meals like this Nkwobi dish.
- Berbere
Berbere is a well-known Ethiopian spice blend that plays a pivotal role in Ethiopian cuisine. It’s renowned for its robust and intense flavour, which marries spicy heat with a rich aroma. Berbere is an important ingredient in Ethiopian cooking, used to season a wide range of foods. Although the precise composition of berbere spice blends may vary from one recipe to another, typical ingredients include chilli pepper, cumin, garlic, cloves, fenugreek, and other spices.
Berbere is an essential ingredient in Ethiopian stews known as “wats.” Doro wat, a spicy chicken stew, is one of the most famous dishes made with berbere. Berbere is also used in beef, lamb, and lentil wats. Some Ethiopian households keep a paste made from berbere as a condiment, which diners use to add more spice to their meals as desired.
African cuisine is a treasure trove of unique and delicious dishes, made more flavourful by the use of aromatic and rich spices. From the fiery heat of Cameroon pepper to the complexity of Berbere, the spices of Africa add depth and character to dishes that have been perfected over centuries. So be adventurous and make sure to explore the diverse world of African spices!
