Weird Food Combinations We Will Only Find In Africa
By Aaron Love
9 months ago
Rice, Yam And Okro Soup
Image Source: Kitchen Butterfly
Africa is well known for having quite the diverse culinary landscape and one peculiar combination that has popped up is that of rice, yam and okro soup. If you visit the West African countries you might across this combo which offers quite the contrast in textures within your mouth.Beans And Eba
Image Source: Cookpad
In Nigeria you might come across this combinatio n of food items, Eba is a staple food across the continent, made from cassava. But this combination brings the eba and the earthy taste of beans together which does create quite the blend of traditional African foods mixed together.Injera And Doro Wat
Image Source: Reddit
Ethiopia is where you'll find this mix of foods! Injera is a popular type of bread across Africa that is usually paired with rice and meats. This mixture however puts the spongy bread with Doro Wat which is a rich and spicy chicken stew. Sound pretty nice though doesn't it?Fufu And Groundnut Soup
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West Africa is well known for it's creation of Fufu, which is another staple cuisine made from cassava although it can be made with yams or plantains. This is then served alongside a creamy and nutty peanut or groundnut soup to create a dish full of textures and flavours which is rooted in tradition.Jollof Rice And Fried Plantains
Image Source: Reddit
Another beloved west African classic is Jollof rice and this is one of few African foods that has become widely eaten around the world too! Jollof rice is tomato-based and usually paired with some form of meat. However, some places in the continent will fry off some plantains for a sweet and savoury palate.Bobotie
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Down in South Africa you might come across the well-known dish of Bobotie. This is where a blend of spiced and minced meat (usually lamb or beef) is baked with some form of egg topping. On most occasions, this egg based topping is actually a custard which we obviously wouldn't expect here.Bunny Chow
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Also in South Africa you'll find the delightfully titled and unexpected combination of foods within Bunny Chow. Basically it's a hollowed out loaf of bread which is filled with curry. It seems pretty chilled but the ability for this bread to be transported portably is a pretty cool addition.Matapa
Image Source: Good Food On Bad Plates
Matapa is yet another dish from across Africa that involves the use of cassava, although in this instance it's the leaves that get used. These are then cooked in a creamy sauce made from peanuts and coconut milk. The rest of the dish creates an insanely broad set of tastes and local ingredients.Mopane Worms And Pap
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Southern Africa introduces the very odd and quite disgusting sounding Mopane worms to their regular diets. If you don't already know, Mopane worms are a type of edible caterpillar that tend to be dried and rehydrated before eating. They serve it with pap which is an almost porridge like dish!Samosa And Chai
Image Source: Reddit
I'm sure you've probably heard of these two food and drink items before! Samosa's within East Africa are usually a fusion of Indian and African flavours; although they like to pair their savory samosa with a hot and sweet cup of chai tea. Not quite the drink that I would have paired with a samosa!Pounded Yam And Egusi Soup
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Another popular combination over in Nigeria is that of pounded yam and egusi soup. The yam creates a stretchy side dish which when paired with the rich and nutty egusi soup goes quite well. The weird part of this is that the egusi soup is actually made from ground melon seeds!Sadza And Huku Peri-Peri
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Zimbabwe is known for it's quite bold choices of food and this dish is another that we wouldn't expect to re-create here in the US. Sadza is a kind of porridge made from maize and the huku is a kind of spicy chicken. The mild sadza is the perfect counterpart to the spicy chicken.Morogo And Samp
Image Source: Issuu
Many of the dishes you'll find in Africa will make the most of the food types that are prominent across the country. Morogo is a kind of wild spinach and samp is essentially crushed maize kernels. It might not sound the most appealing of foods but it's supposed to taste great.Moi Moi And Garri
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We're starting to see how many crazy combos African countries and enjoy but this might be one of the weirdest. Moi moi is a type of steamed bean pudding which is then mixed with Garri, some fermented flakes of cassava. The protein flavour mixed with the starchiness of Garri is a delightful contrast.Ugali And Sukuma Wiki
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You might have noticed that many African countries enjoy eating a porridge of some variety alongside another ingredient. Ugali is a maize porridge and the sukuma wiki are collard greens. Although it might seem a little bland it's quite a wholesome meal eaten as a staple across Eastern Africa.Malva Pudding
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Malva pudding isn't quite a weird combination but it's still something that we haven't eaten here in the US. The warm dessert is made from apricot jam and is usually served with a sweet caramel sauce. The weird thing isn't the combination, but it's weird that we haven't had this here yet!Bobolo And Eru Soup
Image Source: African Food Network
This central African dish is one of the most distinctive but seemingly bland dishes to feature within this list. Bobolo is another term for fermented cassava and it's usually served with Eru soup. The eru is a type of tree found in the region and is extremely popular with the locals.Berbere-Spiced Ribs
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Ethiopia has this popular dish in which tender chunks of meat are marinated and cooked in berbere spice blends. They are usually grilled and these are usually pork although many of people will actually try out some other animals too. It really shows off the culinary traditions of the country.Indomie And Yam
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Throughout west Africa you might come across people eating the mix of Indomie and Yam which is quite the surprising pairing. Indomie is pretty much instant noodles that we'd buy from the store and they're then combined with some yam which I'm sure makes it a little more filling.Chambo With Nsima
Image Source: Flickr
Yet another African dish to feature a porridge can be found in Malawi. Chambo is one of the most popular fishes local to the country and usually it comes alongside nsima which is another kind of maize porridge. The tender fish would complement the porridge well, but it might be an odd one for you to think about?Pounded Yam And Fried Egg
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Another quite surprising combination found within Nigeria is that of pounded yam and fried eggs. As you might be aware, pounded yam creates quite a stretchy and starchy texture which I'm sure is the complete contrast to fried eggs. It's simple but probably pretty filling!Concotion Rice And Locust Beans
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Concoction rice is a popular pot dish created across the continent and is a dish made using a whole medley of ingredients from vegetables and meats to fruits in some situations. However, they are sometimes mixed with some bugs including locusts and locust beans to add some crunch!Garri And Maltina
Image Source: North Of Lagos
Sticking with garri, you might not know that these are actually eaten alone as well in flake form. These supposedly work very well as a snack and they can often be found combined with Maltina. This is a popular drink which is described as having a sweet and malty flavour.Bread And Plantain
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Various African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria often combine two simple ingredients like bread and plantain to create quite a simple but effective meal. The soft fluffy bread encases the plantain to create an almost sweet breakfast sandwich for the people to enjoy.Akamu With Guava
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Another popular breakfast duo within Nigeria is that of Akamu, a type of maize porridge that's fermented, mixed with some fresh guava fruit. Fruit and porridge is definitely popular over here too, although I can't imagine that many of us have eaten fermented porridge before.Bread And Pap
Image Source: Woolworths Taste
Sticking with the Nigerians, they have yet another popular porridge dish, although this time they enjoy it with a few extras. Pap, the porridge, is actually smothered on to slices of bread like a sandwich, or the bread is used as a spoon in order to dip the bread instead.Garri Salad
Image Source: Wikipedia
Garri, as we've already discovered, is usually a side dish, although in this scenario the Garri has been transformed to being the main component within a salad. Here it will be mixed with your common salad veg like lettuce and carrots but mixed through a load of traditional African foods and spices too.Garri And Sardines
Image Source: Reddit
Garri is back yet again! The crunchy texture of the garri can often pair unusually well with the little oily fish we all love to hate, sardines. I'm sure they probably taste a little better when it comes to catching them and eating them fresh instead of eating them from a can like many of us.Rice And Okra
Image Source: Reddit
In some of the western African nations, rice and okra are combined to create an extremely nutritious and hearty dish. Okro is a pretty slimy vegetable whilst rice is obviously a well known staple around the world. Therefore we have quite the unique character added to a common dish.Ful Medames
