Egusi soup is popular in Western Africa. The soup is thickened with ground melon, gourd, or squash seeds. Pounded yam (Fufu) is a popular African dish similar to mashed potatoes but heavier. Pounded Yam is very smooth and tasty. It is often eaten with vegetable soup. Egusi soup and pounded yam is...

Key Wat or Sega Wat is a deep colored, bold flavored and hearty Ethiopian beef stew seasoned with warm and earthy Ethiopian spices. It's a wonderfully rich and succulent beef curry cooked in the Instant Pot or on the Stove until the meat is fall-apart tender. The Ethiopian stew dishes often cooked...

Chorba or shorba, refers to several kinds of soup or stew found in national cuisines across the Balkans, Algeria, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. It is often prepared with added ingredients but served alone as a broth or with bread. Chroba frik...

Chtitha djaj or Ch'hiwat oum Hamid (chicken with chickpeas in red sauce) is one of the classics of Algiers cuisine. It has a unique flavor thanks to the typical spice of this dish. This spice is a mixture of several spices just like ras-elhanout, garlic and it is sold in Algeria. The other...

Merguez is a North African sausage made with uncooked lamb, beef, or a mixture stuffed into a lamb-intestine casing. It is heavily spiced with cumin and chili pepper or harissa, which give it its characteristic piquancy and red color, as well as other spices such as sumac, fennel, and garlic....

Algerian mtewem (Arabic مثوم ) is an Arabic word which means “ with garlic”. This dish mtewem is mainly made of chickpeas, meat, lamb, beef or even chicken. The meat is prepared for meatballs that cook with, chickpeas, garlic and spices like cumin and pepper. Mtewem can be prepared with white sauce...

Loubia is Moroccan stewed white beans. White beans are soaked overnight then stewed with fresh tomatoes, ginger, paprika, and cumin. Throw in lots of garlic and chopped herbs and chili pepper .The loubia may be served as a side or main dish, dipping in with crusty bread. The dish is also popular in...

Brik is a north African dish, especially popular in Tunesia. It consists of thin pastry around a filling and is commonly deep fried. The best-known version is the egg brik, a whole egg in a triangular pastry pocket with chopped onion, tuna, harissa and parsley. Brik pastry is made by slapping a...

Sayadeya is an Egyptian dish made with a combination of yellow rice, spices, onions, tomato sauce, and white fish such as bluefish, mullet, or bass. The combination is then baked in traditional earthenware pots. It is mostly prepared in coastal cities such as Alexandria, Portsaid, and Suez.

Koshary, also kushari and koshari, is Egypt's national dish and a widely popular street food. An Egyptian dish that originated during the mid-19th century, the dish combines Italian, Indian and Middle Eastern culinary elements. Koshary is made of rice, macaroni, and lentils mixed together, topped...

Hawawshi is a popular Egyptian street food, particularly in Cairo and Alexandria (where it called baladi). It is basically dough (or pita) stuffed with a mixture of ground beef that is seasoned with tantalizing warm spices, onions, garlic, hot peppers and fresh herbs.

Ful medames, or simply fūl, is a stew of cooked fava beans served with vegetable oil, cumin, and optionally with chopped parsley, garlic, onion, lemon juice, chili pepper and other vegetable, herb and spice ingredients. Ful medames are traditionally made in and served out of a large metal jug. Ful...

Mulukhiyah, molokheyya, molokhia or mulukhiyyah (Arabic: ملوخية‎ mulūkhiyyah) is the leaves of Corchorus olitorius, commonly known in English as denje'c'jute, nalta jute, tossa jute, jute mallow or Jew's mallow. It is used as a vegetable, boiled slowly turned into a kind of soup or stew . The...

Fatteh is an Egyptian and Levantine dish consisting of pieces of fresh, toasted, grilled, or stale flatbread covered with other ingredients that vary according to region. It is also some times referred to as Shâmiyât in the Levant area. It is made with a garlic and vinegar flavored meat soup and...

Duruka is a vegetable cane that looks like baby corn and has a natural sweetness of sweet corn. The plant and the leaves look like corn and sugar cane plants. The unopened flower heads of Saccharum edule are gathered and used as a vegetable in Fiji and Polynesian islands, it's eaten either raw or...

Fish Suruwa is a Fijian Fish Curry that comes together easily with a handful of ingredients and a few spices for a quick and flavorful meal. This Fish Suruwa from Fiji is perfect for curry dish with seafood ingredients, especially the white fish. The dish is served often with steamed white rice or...

Palusami is a main dish from Samoa and other Pacific Island made with with tender corned beef and onions in coconut cream sauce wrapped in taro leaves. Palusami is a popular dish at family feasts in many parts of Polynesia. In Hawaii, it’s called laulau. In Fiji and Samoa, it’s called palusami.

Rourou is a Fijian dish made from dalo or taro leaves. The leaves are cooked or stewed in coconut milk. It is served liked a soup often as a side to a fish main or mixed with chicken. Rourou with less sauce cooked is like a vegetable stew side dish. Dalo or Taro leaves and is similar to spinach. It...

Lovo or Umu is a traditional Fijian meal cooked in an underground oven, similar to New Zealand’s hangi. The lovo pit is prepared by digging a hole in the ground and heating special stones on the bottom layer. These heated stones will be what helps cook the meal. Meats such as chicken and fish are...

Kokoda, pronounced koh-kon-da, is a Fijian version of the raw fish dish, ceviche. Kokoda is made with fresh fish soaked in lemon or lime juice, which ‘cooks’ the fish. Spring onions, red onion, chillies, capsicum and tomatoes are regular additions, with the combination then soaked in coconut milk...