African cuisine is beautifully diverse — rich in flavour, colour, tradition, and heart. Every region tells its own story through food, using wholesome ingredients like maize, cassava, rice, beans, aromatic spices, and vibrant vegetables. Whether you’re craving comforting stews, flavour-packed street food, or family-style dishes, African recipes offer something truly special.

Here are 10 delicious African recipes that bring the taste of the continent right to your kitchen.

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🇿🇦 1. South African Bobotie

A national favourite — sweet, savoury, warmly spiced, and baked with a creamy egg custard.

Ingredients:

• 500g beef mince
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 slices white bread (soaked in milk)
• ¼ cup raisins
• 2 tbsp apricot jam or chutney
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• Salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Fry onion & garlic, add mince and brown.
3. Add curry, turmeric, raisins & jam.
4. Squeeze milk from bread and add to mince. Season well.
5. Spoon mixture into a baking dish.
6. Whisk eggs with milk and pour over the top.
7. Bake 35–40 min until golden.

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🇬🇭 2. Ghanaian Jollof Rice

A vibrant, flavourful tomato-based rice dish loved across West Africa.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups long-grain rice
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 tomatoes (blended)
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 stock cube
• 2 cups chicken stock
• ½ cup oil
• Salt, pepper

Instructions:

1. Fry onion in oil until soft.
2. Add tomato blend & paste. Fry 10 min.
3. Add spices & stock cube.
4. Add washed rice and chicken stock.
5. Cover and cook 20–25 min on low heat.

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🇰🇪 3. Kenyan Chapati

Soft, flaky flatbreads perfect with stews or curries.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Mix everything into a dough. Rest 20 min.
2. Roll into balls, flatten, and roll out.
3. Cook in a hot pan with a little oil until golden.

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🇲🇦 4. Moroccan Chicken Tagine

A fragrant stew with apricots, spices, and tender chicken.

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken pieces
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ginger
• ½ cup dried apricots
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tbsp honey

Instructions:

1. Brown chicken.
2. Add onion, garlic, and spices.
3. Add stock, apricots & honey.
4. Simmer 45 min until tender.

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🇳🇬 5. Nigerian Puff-Puff

Sweet, soft, addictive fried dough balls.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• Oil for frying

Instructions:

1. Mix warm water, sugar & yeast. Rest 5 min.
2. Add flour to form a sticky dough. Rise 1 hour.
3. Drop small scoops into hot oil.
4. Fry until golden.

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🇿🇦 6. Chakalaka

A spicy, colourful vegetable relish from South Africa — perfect with pap, chicken, or braais.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 green pepper
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 can baked beans
• 1 tomato, chopped
• Salt, pepper

Instructions:

1. Fry onion, pepper & carrots.
2. Add curry powder.
3. Add tomato and cook 5 min.
4. Stir in baked beans.
5. Season and simmer 10 min.

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🇪🇹 7. Ethiopian Lentil Wat (Misir Wot)

A rich, spicy lentil stew made with berbere spice.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp berbere spice
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups water or stock
• 2 tbsp oil

Instructions:

1. Fry onion until soft.
2. Add berbere & tomato paste.
3. Add lentils and water.
4. Simmer 20–25 min until soft.

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🇪🇬 8. Egyptian Koshari

Egypt’s famous street-food bowl — lentils, rice, pasta, and crispy onions with spicy tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup cooked lentils
• 1 cup cooked macaroni
• Crispy fried onions
• Tomato Sauce:
  • 2 tomatoes blended
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Chili flakes

Instructions:

1. Cook rice, lentils, and pasta separately.
2. Make sauce: cook tomato mixture until thick.
3. Layer rice → lentils → pasta.
4. Top with crispy onions & sauce.

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🇹🇿 9. Tanzanian Coconut Bean Curry

Creamy, comforting, and full of flavour.

Ingredients:

• 1 can beans (kidney or butter beans)
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 can coconut milk

Instructions:

1. Fry onion & garlic.
2. Add spices.
3. Add beans & coconut milk.
4. Simmer 15–20 min.

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🇸🇳 10. Senegalese Yassa Chicken

Tangy, spicy lemon-onion chicken — bursting with flavour!

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken pieces
• 3 onions, sliced
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp mustard
• 1 chili
• 3 tbsp oil

Instructions:

1. Marinate chicken with onions, lemon, mustard & chili (1 hour).
2. Brown chicken.
3. Add marinade & simmer 45 min.

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🌍 Final Thoughts

African cuisine is a celebration of bold flavours, simple ingredients, and warm hospitality. Whether it’s a classic South African bobotie or a fragrant Moroccan tagine, every recipe in this list brings a little piece of Africa into your home.