A hot journey around the World

A hot journey around the world - We continue our journey across the Atlantic Ocean directly to Africa.

Christophorus Columbus brought the chilli to the African coast, and it has been very popular there ever since. From that moment on, Africans no longer wanted to live without the heat of the chilli. The positive health benefits of the spiciness in the fight against germs and bacteria were also a reason for the Africans to depend on the chilli. Still today, chilli is a kind of lifesaver in Africa, because hygiene standards in many regions are still far removed from those in Europe.

In African cuisine, chilli is used with much pleasure and in abundance. Typical varieties are the Birdeye chilli, Piri-Piri, Fatalii or Zimbabwe chilli, which are often mixed in spice blends or pastes.
The spice paste harissa, consisting of chilli, cumin, coriander seeds, garlic, salt and olive oil, is very famous in Africa. Harissa is often used in all kinds of dishes, whether falafel, köfte, taboulé or couscous, the heat is everywhere. The most popular African dishes include sweet potatoes, yams (a tropical root crop) and plantains, which are served with spicy frango piri-piri.

However, the individual cuisines of Africa regionally show great variation in their cooking habits, so be sure to check them all out to see which one inspires you personally the most.

Ethiopia:

Ethiopia, for example, is the oldest independent country in Africa and was never declared a colony by the Europeans. The difference in cooking culture is therefore probably the biggest here in comparison to the other countries. In Ethiopian cuisine, the staple food is a special sourdough flatbread called "injera", which is baked from teff (a special cereal found only in Ethiopia and Eritrea).
Ethiopians often eat intensively spiced sauces and vegetarian curries on top of the sourdough flatbread.
Because Ethiopians are extremely strict orthodox and fast, there are a large number of vegetarian dishes, but they are all intensely and spicy flavoured. A very popular spice blend from Ethiopia is berbere which consists of paprika, cayenne, fenugreek, cinnamon, turmeric, clove and ginger, this is popular for seasoning curries.
North Africa:

North Africa:

In North Africa, in contrast to Ethiopia, couscous is the focus of the diet. Whether Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya or Egypt, the grated semolina is used in many ways in cold and hot dishes here.
The North African countries, which are popular travel destinations, show you the most fascinating ways of preparing it, because it is not only a side dish, but also a main meal or dessert, and of course a certain spiciness must not be missing in most dishes here either. You can find wonderful recipes such as couscous salad with chilli, tomato couscous, Moroccan couscous or the dessert couscous seffa in our country cuisine Africa.

Black Africa:

Black African cuisine is alive with the motto "exotic and filling".
As soon as you arrive in Black Africa, you will surely discover the locals` favourite dish, "Fufu".
"Fufu" is a nutritious porridge based on the popular plantains there and is eaten at almost every meal. In Black Africa, meat is rarely eaten, except in the coastal regions, and if at all, people usually resort to poultry or chicken.
To give the dishes intense flavours and heat, the inhabitants use cayenne, okra, thyme, turmeric and lemongrass.
Black African cuisine is truly one that captivates with its versatility.
Back home, you will surely miss these exotic flavours, but to take you back to exotic Africa, you will find many African recipes in our Recipe World.

South Africa:

Presented as the last of the African cuisines, South Africa is definitely the most diverse and meat-heavy cuisine. Being most influenced by Europe and other exotic countries, South Africa is also known for its dried meat, called "biltong", which is often eaten as a snack.
In the coastal regions, people love to eat a lot of fish and seafood, while inland they eat more lamb, beef and game.
Different kinds of pumpkins, carrots, beans or even maize and onions are used to cook intensely spicy dishes, which are mostly refined with coriander, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and chilli.
This is why lovers of heat get their full money`s worth, especially in South Africa. Be courageous and try new things, because this is the only way to expand your taste horizon. Unfortunately, we cannot discuss the regional cuisines in their full extent here, as that would go far beyond the scope of our article, but feel free to take a look at what else the national cuisines of Africa have to offer, because one thing is certain: "There is something for every taste here."