The Africa News Cookbook: African Cooking for Western Kitchens (Penguin Handbooks) (Paperback)

by Inc. Africa News Service (Author), Tami Hultman (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A smattering of anthropology, linguistics, culture, economics, mores and folkways accompanies lively and varied recipes culled from across the continent in this attractive African cookbook. Many dishes are familiar versions of Southern and Cajun-Creole cuisine, but enough lie sufficiently off the well-beaten path to offer a sense of freshness and discovery. Where necessary, American substitutes for African ingredients and implements are provided. Recipes for chicken curry, fish soup or pickled green beans are not likely to quicken many American pulses, but Moroccan lamb sauced with butter, onions and raisins, Burkina Fasoan fish cooked with okra, hot peppers and sweet potato greens, Ghanian palm-nut soup, Tanzanian mango snow and Liberian plantain gingerbread make for enticing departures from daily fare. The cookbook was originally published privately by the Africa News, an educational news agency based in North Carolina. Illustrations.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Revised edition (May 6, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140467513
• ISBN-13: 978-0140467512
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #571,962 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't pay attention to the editorial review! Buy this book!!, December 16, 2002

By	"afi-odelia" (South Euclid, OH United States) - See all my reviews

I've had this book for years and can truly testify that it's one of the best cook books in my collection which includes classics like the Joy of Cooking by the Rombauer mother and daughter, and Cookwise by Shirley Corriher.
"The AFrica News Cookbook" has delicious recipes, including curry chicken, fish stew, that come from all over the continent. The book illustrates the various cultural mixes that distinguish each region and country.
Plus, the recipes are easy to make.
More ingredients are available since the book was published in 1986. I can buy palm oil at my local grocery store and I live in Cleveland.
This book is worth the money, whether you're a novice (like I was when I bought it) or experienced with African cooking.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You've got to add this to your collection!, June 24, 2003

By	Kelly K. Coyle "generally annoyed" (Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If only for one recipe, Doro Wat (my spelling may be off, I loaned out my copy and have never seen it again!) Chicken Stew, it is AMAZING!!!! Don't be put off by the ingredients (lots of cayenne pepper!) And making the aromatic Berbere, and Ghee yourself is a bit time consuming, but worth the experience and effort. (You can use your old coffee grinder) I made Doro Wat chicken for a party, after having some at a food festival and prying the recipe source from the chef, and it was the most well received dish I EVER served,(to a room of critics!) and I'm a great cook! Plus there are loads of other authentic African recipes,(from various countries) a cusine that gets over-looked too often!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful cookbook, December 4, 2006

By	Debora Ann Jarrell "debiannj" (DE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you can only have one cookbook of African food in your collection, this is the one I recommend. I have had it for many years, after finding it in a library. I can't even count how many times I made the Jollof Rice recipe in this book - I've made it following the recipe explicitly, I've had chicken as the only meat, shrimp as the only meat, no meat - and it's been perfect. The recipes from Eastern Africa I know are authentic as I shared the book with a native Tanzanian while I studied Swahili, and she said that the recipes are very similar to hers. Same with a native Nigerian; in fact, she borrowed my book to make Egusi soup (Egusi is a gourd/melon whose seeds are used ground up as a thickener, which adds it's own flavor)when she misplaced her own recipe. I have made a lot of the recipes, but after the Jollof Rice, the Kuku na Nazi (koo-koo nah Nah-zee - which means Chicken in Coconut in Swahili) is my favorite recipe. I also make the Garum Masala recipe in the book. If you need a recipe for curry, there are several in the book including curry for fruit and curry for fish, and Berberé which is an Ethiopian Curry in liquid form.