Jill Lowery has been a missionary in the Congo for about 17 years so she knows a thing or two about African Cooking.  Here is what she has to say:

Mandaazi Uganda Donut Recipe Mandaazi Donuts is a Ugandan Dessert that is often eaten during breakfast or after the main course. The process of making this delightful dessert is quite a challenge. Most Ugandans use their hands to combined and mix the ingredients together.

Amala can be made using elubo or oat flour.  For the written recipe it calls for elubo which is s the Yoruba word for yam flour which is made by cutting yam into small bits, drying them and then grinding them into smooth brown flour. The flour is used in preparing amala or lafun, a mash meal which is eaten much like the way mash potato is eaten in the Western World.  The video below calls oat fufu (flour).

The tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is an evergreen tree native to Africa. It is now cultivated throughout the world's tropical regions. The tamarind fruit is a seed pod, brown in color and several inches long, which contains a sour-tasting pulp. Due to its cathartic properties the fruit was used in ancient and medieval times as a medicine; today it is most often found in various Indian chutneys, curries, and preserved-fish, as well as in Britain's famous worcestershire sauce (whose creators were inspired by Indian cuisine). Jus de tamarin or Tamarind Juice, a refreshing drink, is made by combining the seed pods with water and sugar. It is said to lower body temperature. Canned tamarind drink is available in many grocery stores.

Vegetables cooked in traditional Moroccan tagines have appetizing texture, color and delicious, slow-cooked flavor. Use either argan oil or olive oil when preparing this easy vegetarian tagine recipe.  You can eat this dish with a fork, but it's usually scooped up with crusty Moroccan bread such as Semolina Bread.

This is a beautiful dish that features peanut butter as a thickener, giving it a sophisticated, satisfying flavor. Season the chicken to make it as mild or spicy as you wish.

African Jollof is also called as Benachin” which means ‘One Pot’ in the Wolof Language. It is a popular dish especially in The Gambia, Nigeria and Ghana and enjoys quite a handful of variations. The basic components seem to be the same which has ingredients like Tomatoes, tomato paste, rice and onions. 

Nigerian Cuisine tends to be based on stapled food complimented with a stew. This recipe serves four with a prep time of 30 minutes and cook time of 30 minutes.

Kushari, often transliterated as koshary, kosheri or koshari, (Egyptian Arabic: كشرى; translit: kusharī) is a popular traditional Egyptian national dish. It consists of a base of rice, brown lentils, chickpeas, macaroni, and a topping of Egyptian garlic and vinegar and spicy tomato sauce (salsa). Caramelized onions are commonly added as a garnish. Kushari is normally a vegetarian and usually a vegan dish, possibly reflecting the meatless diet of Coptic Christians during Lent^{[citation needed]} and other fasts and/or the expensive cost of meat for the lower classes.

Zimbabwe is a country which has depended on aid for food needs for the last decade. One of the foods of the country is groundnuts. Learn more about the agriculture of Zimbabwe  Here is a recipe for Zimbabwean Salted Groundnuts:

Akara’s are traditionally fried in palm oil but you can use half palm oil and half vegetable oil or replace it all together with vegetable oil. If you don’t wish to remove the skins from the black eye beans simply puree them in a food processor thoroughly.

Show Producer Fatima Fofana hails from Sierra Leone.  We have known each other so long that we have grown up together having been roommates in college.   One of the best things for me culturally as far as the world of food was having a roommate from Guyana and West Africa.  There in our humble apartment in Baltimore, I watched her cook Cassava leaf stew.  The Cassava leaf soup is also very popular in Liberia but the recipe differs a bit.  Cassava leaf stew is a wonderful dish to consider preparing for the holidays.- Crystal Johnson, MCCN Editor