HAPPY AFRICA DAY!!!

Hey Africans!
Today is 25 May and Africans everywhere in the world are celebrating this day because belongs to us. There is no other continent that has a public holiday specifically to celebrate the continent. Ain't no America day, nor Asia day, nor Europe day neither does Australia. Hope you be cooking some African meals all around the continent.
Here are 3 dishes served in Nigeria, Mozambique and DRC.
Nigeria has such a variety of people and cultures that it is difficult to pick one national dish. Each area has its own regional favorite that depends on customs, tradition, and religion. But jollof rice is a delicacy and that's the dish I have chosen from Nigeria.

Jollof Rice

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1½ cups cooked rice
• 1 green chili, seeded and chopped (green pepper can be substituted)
• 1 cup meat or vegetable stock

Instructions

1. Cook the rice according to package directions.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until soft, but not browned.
3. Add the tomato paste and chili and cook on medium heat while stirring, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the rice and continue stirring.
5. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium and cook until almost all of the stock has evaporated. Serve with fried chicken.

The cuisine of Mozambique revolves around fresh seafood, stews, corn porridge (maize meal), arroz (rice), millet (a type of grain), and mandioca (cassava). Meats such as bifel (steak) and frango (chicken) are often accompanied by beans, cassava chips, cashew nuts, coconut, batata (potatoes), and a variety of spices, including garlic and peppers (a Portuguese influence). Matata , a seafood and peanut stew, is a typical local dish.

Matata (Seafood and Peanut Stew)

Ingredients

• 1 cup onions, finely chopped
• Olive oil (vegetable oil may be substituted)
• 4 cups canned clams, chopped
• 1 cup peanuts, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, cut into small pieces
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
• 1½ pounds fresh, young spinach leaves, finely chopped
• 2 cups cooked white rice

Intructions

1. Sauté onion pieces in a small amount of olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until onions are softened, but do not brown them.
2. Add the chopped clams, peanuts, tomatoes, salt, black pepper, and a pinch amount of red pepper (it is spicy).
3. Over low heat, simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add spinach leaves.
5. Cover tightly; as soon as leaves are withered, matata is ready to be served.
6. Serve with cooked white rice.

Congolese cuisine is built upon grains, tubers, vegetables and, to a lesser extent, meat. Due to its year-round availability, cassava is a common ingredient in Congolese cooking. Although meats aren't regularly eaten, this goat stew is a traditional Congolese recipe and boasts a surprisingly Italian flavor.

Goat stew

Ingredients 

• 2 kg goat meat (ask butcher to cut it into pieces with the bone)
• 4 spring onions, roughly chopped
• salt
• water
• 2 tbsp oil
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 4 onions, sliced
• 2 capsicums, chopped
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp basil
• 500 g jar crushed tomatoes
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• Crushed peppercorns, to taste
• 2 litres stock (goat stock and vegetable stock)

Instructions

1. Place chunks of meat and bone in a large pot with the spring onions, salt to taste and about 6 cm of water.
2. Bring to the boil and simmer with the lid on for approximately 40 minutes.
3. Pour off liquid and keep for stock.
4. Add oil to saucepan and brown the meat quickly.
5. Add chopped onions, tomatoes, capsicum, oregano, and basil to the meat.
6. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.
7. Season with cracked pepper and salt to taste.
8. Pour over enough of the reserved stock to cover meat and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Please note that I personally have not tried these dishes but with the help of Google ;) this is what I came up with. Enjoy the rest of this special day for Africans. Watch out for more African cuisine!