Southern African cuisine

Southern African cuisine refers to the culinary traditions and practices from the Southern region of Africa. This includes the cuisines of countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Swaziland, Lesotho, and Zambia.

Overview

Southern African cuisine is diverse and influenced by many cultures, including indigenous African tribes, European colonizers, and Asian immigrants. The cuisine is characterized by the use of a wide variety of grains, meat, vegetables, and fruit.

Common Ingredients

The staple food in Southern Africa is maize, which is used to make dishes like sadza, pap, and mealie bread. Other common ingredients include sorghum, millet, beans, potatoes, yams, and cassava. Meat, especially beef, chicken, and fish, is also a significant part of the diet.

Popular Dishes

Some popular dishes in Southern African cuisine include bobotie, a spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping, biltong, a type of dried, cured meat, and boerewors, a sausage popular in South Africa.

Influence

The cuisine of Southern Africa has been influenced by the cooking methods and ingredients of the indigenous people of Africa, as well as the culinary traditions of the European colonizers and Asian immigrants. For example, the use of spices in dishes like bobotie can be traced back to the influence of the Dutch East India Company and the slaves they brought from Indonesia.

See Also

• African cuisine
• South African cuisine
• Botswana cuisine
• Zimbabwean cuisine
• Namibian cuisine
• Mozambican cuisine
• Angolan cuisine
• Swazi cuisine
• Lesotho cuisine
• Zambian cuisine