Replies

http://www.congocookbook.com/staple_dish_recipes/chapati.html

Chapati

Chapatis or Chappatis (singular Chapati or Chappati) are round, flat, unleavened bread common in West Asia, particularly India. They are also popular in Eastern Africa, especially among the Swahili people and in Swahili-speaking countries. The Malay and Indian populations of South Africa also eat chapatis. Serve chapatis with any African curries.
women in the comoros

What you need

* two cups all-purpose flour (or whole-wheat flour, or a mixture of the two), sifted
* one teaspoon salt
* warm water
* cooking oil

What you do

* All ingredients should be allowed to come to room temperature if they have been in the refrigerator. Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Slowly mix in enough water to make a thick dough. Mix in one spoonful oil. Knead dough on a cool surface for a few minutes, adding a few spoonfuls of dry flour. Return dough to the bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and let it rest for thirty minutes.
* Lightly grease (with cooking oil) and pre-heat a skillet or griddle.
* Divide the dough into orange-sized balls. Flatten them into six-inch circles. Fry them in the skillet or griddle, turning once, until each side is golden brown and spotted.
* Cover the finished chapatis and place them in a warm oven until they are all done.
* Serve with butter, and any curry, soup, or stew.

http://www.congocookbook.com/vegetable_and_side_dish_recipes/kosheri.html

Kosheri (also spelled kushari, kosheree, kosheree, kochary, kochari) is an inexpensive, filling, and nutritious Egyptian fast-food dish: layers of lentils and Rice, topped with fried onions — a layer of pasta, and a tomato sauce are often added. In Egypt, kosheri is sold by street vendors and in specialized kosheri restaurants that serve nothing but . . . kosheri (your choice of small, medium, or large).
egyptian street scene

What you need

* one pound lentils (brown or black)
* one to two cups Rice
* one to two cups elbow macaroni (or similar pasta) (optional)

* one cup vegetable oil (evenly divided into two portions)
* one clove garlic, crushed (optional)
* one hot chile pepper, cleaned and chopped (optional)
* three or four ripe tomatoes, chopped ; or one large can crushed tomatoes
* one-half cup water
* two tablespoons vinegar
* salt (to taste)

* one onion, chopped or cut in rings

What you do

* Clean and rinse lentils. Place lentils in large pot. Cover with cold water, such that the water level is one inch above the lentils. Add salt if desired. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender and water is almost completely absorbed (approximately 30 minutes). Add additional water if necessary.
* While lentils are cooking: Cook rice in normal manner.
* Prepare sauce while lentils and rice are cooking: Heat oil in large skillet. Sauté garlic and/or chile pepper for a few minutes. Add tomatoes, water, vinegar, and salt. Cook on high heat for a few minutes, then reduce heat and simmer.
* While lentils and rice are cooking and sauce is simmering: Heat remaining oil in another skillet. Sauté onion until it is done to your liking (either lightly golden, or deeply browned and crispy. When done, remove onion from skillet and drain on absorbent paper or paper towels.
* While lentils and rice are cooking, sauce is simmering, and onion is sautéing: If macaroni is desired, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook macaroni in the normal manner.
* When everything is done: Assemble each serving of kosheri in a soup bowl: alternate layers of lentils, rice, and macaroni, then top it all with the fried onions and tomato sauce. Serve with bottled hot chile pepper sauce.

Variations:

* Cook the lentils in vegetable stock instead of water.
* Add a spoonful of cumin to the tomato sauce.
* Add a layer of cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
* Assemble the dish in one large serving dish, instead of individual soup bowls.
* Cook the lentils, rice, and macaroni together in one large pot, adding them in order such that they are all done at the same time.

Kosheri is an Egyptian version of the Kichri (kitchree, khitcherie) of India, which is always a combination of rice and lentils. Kichri is also the ancestor of the British/Scottish kedgeree which was a culinary byproduct of the British imperial Indian experience.

More about Kosheri in the Rare Recipes pages:

http://www.congocookbook.com/sauce_recipes/african_hot_sauce_and_pili_pili_sauce.html

African Hot Sauce & Pili-Pili Sauce

African Hot Sauce

An all-purpose hot sauce.
tea harvest in malawi

What you need

* one dozen chile peppers (i.e., hot red peppers!)
* one small sweet green pepper (or bell pepper)
* one clove garlic
* one medium onion
* two cans tomato paste
* four tablespoons vinegar
* one teaspoon sugar
* one teaspoon salt

What you do

* Remove stems and seeds from peppers. — Careful! Wear kitchen gloves! Do NOT touch your eyes or face while handling hot peppers! Wash your hands with soap and water after you have handled hot peppers — Grind hot peppers, green pepper, garlic, and onion (or use food processor). Combine all ingredients in sauce pan. Simmer for an hour or two. Add cayenne pepper if desired. Put in jars and refrigerate.
* Serve with everything.

Pili-Pili Sauce

An easy-to-make hot sauce. Pronounced “pee-lee pee-lee”, also spelled pilipili. From the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, this word is used throughout tropical Africa to refer to hot red peppers, sauces made from them, and foods cooked with these peppers or sauces. Is Pili-Pili a reduplication? See the Coupé-Coupé recipe.

What you need

* several chile peppers (i.e., hot red peppers!), cleaned and finely chopped
* juice of one lemon
* a few cloves of garlic, minced
* several pieces of parsley, minced (optional)
* a few tablespoons of cooking oil
* a pinch of salt

What you do

* Mix all ingredients by hand or with a blender, food processor. Cook in a hot skillet for a few minutes. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.
* Serve with everything.

Instant pili-pili: Mix cayenne pepper or red pepper powder, garlic powder, and onion powder with a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce.

Philippe Wamba
Children who couldn’t eat pillipili were objects of scorn

Philippe Wamba, the child of an African-American mother and a Conglese father wrote Kinship: A Family’s Journey in Africa and America (New York: Penguin Putnam/Dutton, 1999) in which he describes pilipili (among other things).

http://www.congocookbook.com/sauce_recipes/berbere.html

from: Eastern Africa
Berberé

Berberé (or Berbere) is an Ethiopian spice mixture that is the flavoring foundation of Ethiopian cuisine, a basic ingredient in Dabo Kolo, Doro Wat, and many other dishes.

Berberé is made from a cupboard-full of herbs and spices, fresh-ground, pan-roasted, and then packed into jars for storage. Among Ethiopian cooks there are many variations of which spices and what amounts. (In the recipe below, ingredients marked “optional” seem to be the least common.) Basic berberé is made by combining roughly equal amounts of allspice, cardamom, cloves, fenugreek, ginger, black pepper, and salt with a much larger amount of hot red (cayenne) pepper. The combination of fenugreek and red pepper is essential to berberé; while one or two of the other ingredients may be left out, the fenugreek and red pepper are must-haves. Milder berberé can be made by substituting paprika for some or most of the red pepper. Berberé is sometimes made as a dry spice mix, and is sometimes made with oil or water to form a paste.
Gondar, Ethiopia

What you need

* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
* 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
* 4 to 6 tablespoons of a combination of ground cayenne pepper (red pepper, dried chile peppers, or red pepper flakes) and paprika
* 1 tablespoons salt
* 1 teaspoon ginger, fresh (peeled and grated) or dried (ground) use dried ground ginger if making dry berberé
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions or shallots, omit if making dry berberé (optional)
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic, omit or use dried garlic if making dry berberé (optional)
* 1/4 cup oil, water, or red wine (omit if making dry berberé)

What you do

* In a heavy skillet over medium heat, toast the dried spices for a few minutes — stirring or shaking the skillet continuously to avoid scorching. Remove from heat and allow to cool. If making dry berberé powder: grind the mixture in a spice grinder or blender, or use a mortar and pestle. Store the berberé powder in a tightly-sealed container.
* If making berberé paste: combine the toasted spices with the fresh ginger, onions or shallots, garlic, and oil (water, or wine). Grind together in a blender or with a mortar and pestle. Store the berberé paste in a tightly-sealed container.

Starting with whole spices, the various nuts and seeds and dried red chile peppers, then pan-roasting, grinding and mixing them will produce the most authentic berberé. However, perfectly satisfactory results can be obtained using already-ground or powdered spices.

The red wine seems to be a non-Ethiopian addition, but it works well.

http://www.congocookbook.com/vegetable_and_side_dish_recipes/squash_with_peanuts.html

Squash with Peanuts

This recipe comes from Chad; Peanuts are a common ingredient in Chadian cuisine.
woman carrying bundle in chad

What you need

* oil
* two to three pounds summer squash (cut into cubes) or zucchini (sliced)
* three cups shelled roasted peanuts; crushed or coarsely chopped
* salt to taste
* one teaspoon brown sugar or white sugar (optional)

What you do

* Heat a spoonful of oil in a large skillet. Cook squash until it begins to become tender, stirring often; about five to ten minutes. (Or cook squash in one cup of boiling water. Drain excess water before adding peanuts.) Squash can be mashed if desired.
* Add peanuts, salt, and sugar. Reduce heat. Simmer until squash is tender and flavors have mingled, about five minutes. Serve hot.

More about Squash with Peanuts in the Rare Recipes pages:

* Barbara Krauss

[This reminds me of how my grandmother fixed summer squash, par-boiled till tender, drained it well, used bacon drippings in a skillet, added squash, added brown sugar, not a lot, to suit the taster’s taste, then browned it until it was real brown...........good and I liked it in sandwiches, I do not recall onions or other things being in it, and it cooks down to nothing.

granny]

http://www.congocookbook.com/vegetable_and_side_dish_recipes/sweet_potato_greens_with_fish_and_shrimp.html

What are sweet potato greens??

[I did not know, very interesting, appear to have a high food value...granny]

http://www.google.com/search?q=sweet+potato+greens&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

So much that I did not even peek at:

http://www.congocookbook.com/recipe_indexes/index.html