Learning the ways of African women: Cooking Edition

So a yeke legue ni ti awali ti Beafrika. This is the way of the women of Central Africa. 

Marie Claire, my Sango teacher, decided that if Caitlin and I are going to become good African women we not only need to speak the language but we need to learn the ways. Life for Central African women involves cooking. A lot of it! So yesterday we got down to business and spent the afternoon learning how to cook African style.

A pet peeve of mine is cookbooks without pictures. I'm a visual learner and if we're dealing with food, I need to be shown. Good news... African women don't use cookbooks without pictures when they cook. They don't use cookbooks at all! They learn how to make the traditional African food by watching their mothers and grandmothers and older sisters and neighbors cooking. Just my style! So I'm sticking with the African way and you're getting the picture book edition of my cooking lesson.

Step 1: Go to the market and barter for your ingredients. (unfortunately I can't get pictures of this. You'll have to use your imagination. Just think along the lines of crowded, dead meat smell, hot, loud, and colorful.)

step 2: prepare the nyama (meat)

cleaning the bagara (beef)

step 3: cut up the onions

our pot full of meat and onions! (yes I did use a big knife and no I didn't cut myself!)

Step 4: add a little oil and water and put the pot on the fire.

the outdoor kitchen

veke (okra)

Step 5: cut up the veke which will eventually get added to the meat and onion sauce along with some garlic, salt, and magic cubes. (yes, that's really they're called... magic cubes... or maybe it's not. It might be Magi. I can't remember. I think they are just bouillon cubes... but with a little extra magic) 

an enthralled onlooker

step 6: pound the gozo (manioc root) into flour

the cooks checking on the meat sauce

step 7: mix the gozo with boiling water

Marie Claire makes this look easy. It's not.

Gozo is made from the dried root of manioc plants and is rather gooey and bland. It's usually eaten with some sort of sauce and is staple food for the Central Africans. They love it!!!

Our fresh cooked gozo

the final product ready to be eaten!

There you have it! Seven simple steps to a tasty African meal.