Flavourful West African Recipes You’ll Make on Repeat

Mafé, a vibrant West African stew, is typically made with beef, but this version swaps in lentils instead, making the dish entirely vegan. Flavoured with garlic, ginger, cardamom, as well as a cup of peanut butter for a nutty flavour. Yum yum yum.

You can’t make your way through West African cuisine without sampling jollof, a flavour-packed one-pot rice dish stewed in tomato paste, broth and meat. Kardea Brown’s Gullah version has a rich blend of savoury flavours, from the tomato base infused with onion and garlic to the meats, tender and tasty.

Another recipe from Kardea Brown’s kitchen, this is the warming dinner you didn’t know you were craving. This comforting beef stew features tender, melt-in-your-mouth morsels of top sirloin and earthy, fiber-rich okra, a vegetable that’s native to West Africa and used often in West African cooking.

Nothing is as satisfying as sizzling chewy plantain to a thin crisp coat in light oil and biting through the lightly browned skin to find a chewy, sweet centre. Plantain is banana’s starchier cousin – and is a great pairing for stews, meats and other savoury dishes.

Suya is a spicy meat kebab made of thin steak strips — sirloin, flank or topside — skewered and packed with heat from a seasoning blend of ginger, garlic, paprika, chili and salt. This recipe is a twist on the popular barbecue fare perfect for backyard barbecues.