African Recipes from Tohu Bohu Catering

                                    (the African subsidiary of Hit & Miss Caterers)  

Akara (fried bean & corn-meal patties) from Ghana

½ onion

1 green chilli

1 tin canellini beans

1 egg

Salt

Cornmeal (polenta works well)

(plenty for 8)

Process or blend onion and chilli, add beans and egg and enough bean liquid to allow it to blend.  Transfer to a bowl, add salt and enough cornmeal to make a thickish paste – it should be quite soft and sticky.  Fry spoonfuls, not too large, in groundnut oil until golden brown.  In my experience this takes practice, but persevere.

Atadindin (fried pepper sauce)

from Nigeria

¼ cup groundnut oil

2 green peppers

4 green chillies

1 medium onion

1 Tbsp dried red chillies

1 tsp salt

(enough for at least 8)

Remove seeds from peppers and chillies, mince all vegetables together in processor and fry gently in oil until soft and blended, then add salt.

This is intended as an accompaniment to the Akara, but is a delicious relish with all sorts of things.  Adjust the number of chillies to taste – this recipe is not too fiery!

Groundnut Chop (chicken in peanut sauce) from Senegal

8 chicken thighs, skinned

2 large onions

1 tin tomatoes, drained and chopped

1 tsp cayenne

½ lb peanut butter

3 Tbsp lime juice

(serves 8)

Fry onions until soft, add chicken and fry until coloured, stir in tomatoes, cayenne and peanut butter.  Add enough water to make a sauce to cover chicken, bring to the boil then put in oven (180°C) about 1 hr or until chicken is cooked through.  Add lime juice just before serving.

Small-small ting

Fried onions

Raw onions with sugar & vinegar

Fried bananas

Roasted peanuts

Boiled peanuts

Quartered tomatoes with sugar & salt

Peppers, many colours, raw

A selection of accompaniments to be added to your plate according to taste and imagination – other ideas include fried tomatoes and sliced bananas in lemon juice.

Rice

Allow for each person about:

100g long grain rice

1 Tbsp finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp groundnut oil

½ tsp salt

Fry the chopped onion in the oil until soft but not coloured.  Add rice and coat with oil, then add water to cover by an inch, and the salt.  Bring to the boil, then cover and reduce heat to minimum – cook for about 15 minutes, then turn off heat and leave to stand.

This method works very well particularly for large numbers – you may need to cook a little longer, but once it has come back to the boil it almost cooks itself.

Stewed eggplant from Liberia

Sauce:

1 Tbsp groundnut oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 tin tomatoes

1 fresh red chilli, or more to taste

1 tsp salt

Pinch dried thyme

2 med. aubergines, sliced into rings

1 egg + milk, beaten together

Cornmeal

Oil for frying

(serves 8)

Make the sauce: sweat the onion and garlic in the oil until soft but not coloured.  Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice – chop tomatoes coarsely and add to pan with chilli, salt and thyme.  Cook gently until oil runs red, adding the reserved juice a little at a time – do not allow to become too dry.  Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly.

While the sauce is cooking, dip aubergine slices in egg and milk, then in cornmeal.  Fry a few at a time until lightly browned – beware, they burn quite easily at this stage.

In an ovenproof dish put a little of the sauce, then layer the aubergine slices on top, pour rest of sauce over, bake in medium oven for 20-30 minutes.

 Ebe (Yam pottage)

from Sierra Leone

3lb yam in 1” cubes

2 tsp salt

5-10 green chillies

2 med onions

2 med toms

¾ cup palm oil

¾ lb smoked fish

(serves 10)

Cook yam in water to cover with salt until just tender – do not drain!  Mince together 1 onion, 1 tomato and the chillies in a food processor, add to the yam and leave to cook for 5 minutes.  Slice the other onion and tomato, add to the pot with the palm oil – cook uncovered 10 mins then add the fish – cook gently until most of the water has been absorbed and the yam is very soft.