5 traditional rice recipes worth trying
What's the story
African cuisine is a beautiful diversity, especially with its flavors and ingredients.
Rice dishes are particularly interesting, each one steeped in local spices and techniques giving them a unique twist.
From the fragrant jollof rice to the wholesome waakye, they tell their own stories of taste and tradition, and how they are distinctly local.
Jollof Twist
Jollof rice: A West African staple
Jollof rice is a favorite dish throughout West Africa, especially Nigeria and Ghana.
It consists of long-grain parboiled rice cooked with tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers.
The distinct twist comes from the use of local spices such as thyme and bay leaves, which add to its flavor.
Each country has its own take on jollof rice, sparking friendly arguments on which is better.
Waakye Blend
Waakye: Ghana's breakfast delight
Waakye, a traditional Ghanaian dish, is prepared by cooking rice along with beans or black-eyed peas.
The unique factor in waakye comes from the use of dried millet leaves while cooking, which gives the dish a reddish-brown color.
Usually eaten as breakfast or lunch, it is served with sides such as fried plantains or avocado slices.
Pilau aroma
Pilau: East Africa's fragrant dish
Pilau is famous in East African countries like Kenya and Tanzania.
This aromatic rice dish uses spices like cardamom, cloves, cumin seeds, and cinnamon sticks to prepare an aromatic dish.
Cooked with vegetables or sometimes nuts for a crunchy texture, pilau is a delicious mix of flavors that highlight the region's culinary influences.
Thieboudienne flavor
Thieboudienne: Senegal's national dish
Hailing from Senegal, Thieboudienne is the country's national dish.
It pairs broken jasmine/basmati rice with vegetables like carrots and cabbage cooked in a tomato sauce.
The sauce is flavored with parsley leaves for freshness, and other herbs native to Senegalese cuisine, which gives it an authentic taste that many locals would love.
Koshari mix
Koshari: Egypt's comfort food
Koshari is unique among Egyptian street foods, thanks to its filling mix of ingredients- lentils, mixed up with macaroni pasta, and generously topped with crispy fried onions.
The crunchiness, and balance the textures give to this comfort food, is just perfect, especially when drizzled lightly with tangy vinegar-based sauce.
It enhances the overall flavor profile further without overpowering any single component in this delightful mix, savored widely across Egypt today.