East African Cuisine
Traditional East African Food
East Africa boasts beautiful coral reefs along the 1,600-kilometer Swahili Coast, thick mangrove forests, and woodlands. The land borders the Indian Ocean on the east and is home to the Great Lakes of Africa. You can smell the vibrant Middle Eastern influences wafting through the air, with hints of saffron, cloves, cinnamon, and sweet pomegranate juice. These Persian flavors bring boldness to hearty bowls of steamed rice and meat dishes.
Includes: Burundi / Comoros / Djibouti / Ethiopia / Eritrea / Kenya / Madagascar / Malawi / Mauritius / Mozambique / Réunion / Rwanda / Seychelles /Somalia /Somaliland /Tanzania / Uganda / Zambia / Zimbabwe / South Sudan
“Food for us comes from our relatives, whether they have wings or fins or roots. That is how we consider food. Food has a culture. It has a history. It has a story. It has relationships.” – Winona LaDuke
One of Africa’s most beloved dishes, Ugali, is popular in East Africa. It’s a dense porridge traditionally made with maize flour. A big batch is made and set in the middle of the table, and guests pull off bits with their hands. Then, roll it into a ball, create a bowl with your thumb, and dip it into stew for the perfect bite.
Thick meat-based stews are common, featuring chicken, beef, or lamb, along with vegetables and rich spice blends. In Uganda, Tsebi or Wat is a hugely popular meat and tomato stew using chili-infused spice blends. Berbere, a mixture of chili peppers, coriander, garlic, ginger, Ethiopian holy basil seeds, korarima, rue, ajwain, nigella, and fenugreek, is ubiquitous in this region. An authentic Tsebi also contains a spicy clarified butter called Niter kibbeh. This is served with Injera, a thin and spongy crepe-like pancake made with teff flour.
Find Local East African Shefs & Meals
When searching for “east african cuisine near me”, you’ll find Shef delivers East African food in the following locations:
- New York City
- New Jersey
- Seattle
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco (Bay Area)
- Chicago
Find your local home-cooked food today!
