African Street Food Recipes

Street food is designed to fuel busy people who only have a little pocket change to spare and almost no time. But also, it’s some of the best food.

BEEF SUYA

Ingredients:

680g boneless short ribs, sliced lengthwise into 6mm strips

¼ cup peanut oil, plus more for grilling

2 tbs store-bought or home-made ground suya spice blend

15cm piece fresh ginger, grated

2 garlic cloves, grated

Kosher salt

2 medium plum tomatoes, sliced into 6mm strips, seeds discarded

1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced into rings

1 lime (optional)

¼ cup toasted peanuts, chopped

Method:

Lay several strips of meat on a piece of plastic wrap, leaving about 1.3cm between each slice, and top with another piece of plastic wrap. Pound the meat strips with a rolling pin until 3mm thick. Repeat this process until all the meat has been flattened. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine ¼ cup peanut oil and 2 tbs suya spice blend, with ginger and garlic. Add beef, toss to coat, and season with 2 tsp salt. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge, for 4 to 12 hours. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat, and brush with peanut oil. Skewer the beef pieces on 12 pre-soaked wooden or metal skewers, wiping off any excess marinade.

Brush the meat with more peanut oil and set the skewers on a baking sheet. Working in batches, grill the beef skewers until meat is cooked through and lightly charred on both sides, three to four minutes per side. Transfer the skewers to a platter and sprinkle with more suya spice blend. Place the tomato and onion slices in a bowl, and squeeze lime juice all over. Season with salt and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Strain any excess liquid. Top skewers with red onion and tomatoes, sprinkle with toasted peanuts, and serve with additional suya spice, for dipping.

Note: To make suya spice blend, combine ¼ cup dry-roasted peanut powder, 1 tbs ground ginger, 2 tsp ground cayenne, 2 tsp hot paprika, 2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp fine sea salt. Makes about ½ cup.

KELEWELE (SERVES 3-5)

A popular Ghanaian dish made with fried plantains

Ingredients:

4-6 ripe plantains with little black spots

1/4 onion cut in pieces

1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

1/2- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger

1-2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon stock powder

oil for deep frying

Method:

Using a sharp knife cut both ends off the plantain. Slit a shallow line down the long seam of the plantain, cut only as deep as the peel. Remove plantain peel by pulling it back. Cut plantains in diagonal pieces and set aside. Blend onions, ginger, garlic, in a blend or food processor, with just enough water to facilitate blending , then add cayenne pepper, lemon, nutmeg, salt and stock. Set aside In a large bowl toss the plantain cubes and ginger spice mixture Let it rest for about 10 to 20 minutes to absorb the flavour Heat up a large pan with oil up to 1cm- medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Fry the plantain cubes in batches , turning once, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan (it will cause the plantains to be soggy and absorb excess oil Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried plantains to pan lined with paper towels. Serve warm.

SMOKIE PASUA

Nairobi’s number one street food.

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar (plain vinegar also works)

2 tsps olive oil

2 tomatoes (the riper the better)

14 smoked sausages

Method:

Mince the onions to your desired size then place them in a small bowl, add in 1 tbsp of the plain vinegar and half the salt, mix well and leave to sit. In a separate bowl mix the remainder of the plain vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil and the remainder of the salt.

Cut the ends off two whole tomatoes then cut them both in half. Use a brush or spoon to spread just enough of the vinegar/oil mixture on the four tomato halves. Oil a baking tray or place parchment paper on it, place the sausages and the tomato halves on the tray and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. When sausages are baked they should be browned and semi-split.

Take a knife and make an incision almost all the way down across that line, then set them aside. Take out the tomatoes and leave them to sit for 3 or so minutes to cool.

Then cut the tomatoes lengthwise then across to the desired size, add them to the onions (juices and all) and mix well. Using a tablespoon scoop roughly half a tablespoon of the mixture into the smokies. You can garnish with a little coriander, serve while hot and enjoy!