Monday 21 September 2009

International Food Evening


On Saturday night our church held an mission's celebration and each bible study group was asked to choose a country, dress up in national dress, as well as cater a table with food from that country. It was such fun and very interesting, we had a talk from locak Pastor who was a missionary to Morocco for 6 years.

The countries were not randomly chosen, as in our church we have people from the 4 corners of the world. I was part of a group from the Cameroon. It was a great experience from the foodie side too, as I had to research a cuisine that is totally foreign to me.

The people in West Africa eat lots of fish, beans, peanuts, coconut, pineapples and chili. The most exciting part of this food adventure, was that I found a shop in Parow that only sells ingredients that are used in West and Central Africa. I didn't recognize anything, and kept asking the owner to explain - I think I was about 2 questions away from him saying "Lady, we cater to foreigners, if you want to understand everything in a shop, go to Pick 'n Pay!"! Next time I go, I'll have more recipes in hand, so I won't have to ask so much!

My attempt at Cameroonian food was this Suya, a kebab. It can be made with any kind of meat - I chose beef. It is marinaded in a dry spice mix and then cooked over hot coals. The flavours are subtle (except for the chili) and work remarkably well together.


Cameroonian Kebabs
Makes about 18

1kg Steak chopped into 1" cubes
10ml Meat Tenderizer (this was my addition)
60ml Chili Flakes
20ml Garlic Powder
15ml Paprika
10ml Onion Powder (I used 2 Knorr mini Stock cubes)
1 Cup Roasted Peanuts finely ground (but not into a paste)
15ml Ground Ginger
Salt to taste
Red, Green and Yellow Peppers, cut into 1" pieces

Mix all the ingredients together and marinade for a few hours.
Thread onto skewers with some colourful peppers.
Cook on the braai (BBQ) or in the oven under the grill.


I served this together with some grilled pineapple kebabs. This is inspired by Cameroon, but not authentic.

Take two whole pineapples and cut off the peel.
Slice into wedges and then into 1½" cubes
Make a mix with about 125ml hot honey and 10ml dried chili.
Coat the pineapple with the mix and thread onto skewers and grill over the flames or on a hot griddle pan.
Brush with more of the sauce before serving.

2 comments:

Marisa said...

I love international food evenings! We used to have them at varsity and all the international students would man stalls and serve up some of the traditional dishes from their countries. At R5 a ticket (which entitled you to one portion) it was a bargain as well.

glamah16 said...

Those kebabs looks amazing. Im of Nigerian descent. Did you get my email? I needyour address because you won the book!

Jeremiah 17: 7-8

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water."

It is not your business to succeed, but to do what is right : when you have done so, the rest lies with God.
C.S. Lewis

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