Flavors of Africa Cookbook : Spicy African Cooking - From Indigenous Recipes to Those Influenced by Asian and European Settlers

Rating:
Summary: Hot Stuff
Review: The title of this book and a look at the other books by the authors would lead one to think that this is a cookbook of spicy-hot recipes . . . and one would be right. Despite focusing on the hot chile pepper in Africa, the "Flavors of Africa Cookbook" does provide an overview of African cooking in about 160 recipes; from the North African tajine to the South African bobotie and all the sauces, soups, stews and curries in between. There are authentic traditional African recipes featuring such ingredients as plantains, yams, and groundnuts (peanuts) as well as African-inspired fusion cooking from in and out of Africa. But the African pili-pili, peri-peri, and piri-piri (all African words for chile peppers and dishes made with them) is the star here. The book's introduction is a history of the chile pepper in Africa. There is much related to spicy-hot African cookery throughout the book, including advice on exactly which hot chiles to use to obtain the most authentic results.

There are just a few things I noticed and wondered about:

The general consensus among scientists is that Capsicum (peppers) are native to America and were spread throughout the world in the early years of the age of European exploration. This book states that chile peppers first appeared in North Africa, but were spread to the rest of the continent by Europeans, but there is no further explanation. Perhaps there is some confusion of the Capsicum with the Aframomum melegueta (or grains of paradise, a pepper-like spice that is native to Africa) or other spices native to Africa.

Poulet (chicken) Gnemboue (or Nyembwe) is a chicken stew made with palm nuts, the fruit of the African oil palm. It is a dish made in equatorial West Africa, especially Gabon. People outside of Gabon sometimes substitute hazelnuts, pine nuts, almonds, or peanuts. In this book, this recipe (with almonds) is called a "North African tajine".

There are a few mistakes in Swahili: (and I am no expert there, but) I noticed that "Curried Chicken and Banana Soup" is parenthetically titled "Supa Ya N Dizi" which should be "Supa Ya Ndizi", meaning "Soup of Plantains".

Oftentimes the authors enthusiasm for chile peppers goes a bit too far, leading them to abandon the use of the African names for recipes. For example, a sort of black-eyed pea fritter popular in West Africa and known as "Akara" (along with other African names) is called "Blistering Bean Balls" in this book, with no mention the dish's African names. Also, "Poulet Yassa" (made by grilling chicken that has been marinated in an onion-lemon mixture) is sometimes made with hot peppers, but is just as likely to be flavored mostly by the onions and lemon with little or no hot pepper. Not all African cuisine is spicy-hot after all.

Finally, the "Zanzibar Duck" recipe seems to have been copied almost word for word from Laurens van der Post's "Recipes: African Cooking (Foods of the World)" (New York: Time-Life Books; 1970), but with no acknowledgement.

Overall, a good book for adventurous cook who likes it hot.

Rating:
Summary: Hot Stuff
Review: The title of this book and a look at the other books by the authors would lead one to think that this is a cookbook of spicy-hot recipes . . . and one would be right. Despite focusing on the hot chile pepper in Africa, the "Flavors of Africa Cookbook" does provide an overview of African cooking in about 160 recipes; from the North African tajine to the South African bobotie and all the sauces, soups, stews and curries in between. There are authentic traditional African recipes featuring such ingredients as plantains, yams, and groundnuts (peanuts) as well as African-inspired fusion cooking from in and out of Africa. But the African pili-pili, peri-peri, and piri-piri (all African words for chile peppers and dishes made with them) is the star here. The book's introduction is a history of the chile pepper in Africa. There is much related to spicy-hot African cookery throughout the book, including advice on exactly which hot chiles to use to obtain the most authentic results.

There are just a few things I noticed and wondered about:

The general consensus among scientists is that Capsicum (peppers) are native to America and were spread throughout the world in the early years of the age of European exploration. This book states that chile peppers first appeared in North Africa, but were spread to the rest of the continent by Europeans, but there is no further explanation. Perhaps there is some confusion of the Capsicum with the Aframomum melegueta (or grains of paradise, a pepper-like spice that is native to Africa) or other spices native to Africa.

Poulet (chicken) Gnemboue (or Nyembwe) is a chicken stew made with palm nuts, the fruit of the African oil palm. It is a dish made in equatorial West Africa, especially Gabon. People outside of Gabon sometimes substitute hazelnuts, pine nuts, almonds, or peanuts. In this book, this recipe (with almonds) is called a "North African tajine".

There are a few mistakes in Swahili: (and I am no expert there, but) I noticed that "Curried Chicken and Banana Soup" is parenthetically titled "Supa Ya N Dizi" which should be "Supa Ya Ndizi", meaning "Soup of Plantains".

Oftentimes the authors enthusiasm for chile peppers goes a bit too far, leading them to abandon the use of the African names for recipes. For example, a sort of black-eyed pea fritter popular in West Africa and known as "Akara" (along with other African names) is called "Blistering Bean Balls" in this book, with no mention the dish's African names. Also, "Poulet Yassa" (made by grilling chicken that has been marinated in an onion-lemon mixture) is sometimes made with hot peppers, but is just as likely to be flavored mostly by the onions and lemon with little or no hot pepper. Not all African cuisine is spicy-hot after all.

Finally, the "Zanzibar Duck" recipe seems to have been copied almost word for word from Laurens van der Post's "Recipes: African Cooking (Foods of the World)" (New York: Time-Life Books; 1970), but with no acknowledgement.

Overall, a good book for adventurous cook who likes it hot.