African Food - Mystery Meals
September 24, 2007
Even though you are not likely to be offered most of these meals in a five star hotel or a resturant in down town Africa, these meals indeed are traditionally eaten in the countryside.
Snakes - In central Africa snakes and especially vipers which locals consider very tasty are eaten.
Gorillas and Monkeys - If you care to sample your closest relative then Guinea-Bissay is the place to be for a taste of monkey brain. Gorilla hands are also eaten in the Congo However eating your close relative is never a good idea from a conservation point of view and also if you care for your health. Monkeys have been known to transmit all kinds of diseases including ebola.
Cats and Dogs - One man’s pet is another man’s meal. Ghana’s Volta Region is the place to eat pussy (tastes like chicken) In Nigeria dog meat which is roasted like beef is also belived to improve your sex life.
In fact Nigerians have dog meat terminology
404: A dog is also called 404 after the French-built Peugeot pick-up van, a tribute to a dog’s ability to run fast.
Headlights: A dish with the eyes of a dog as the most prominent component
Gear Box: Dog’s liver, heart and kidneys (usually more expensive than ordinary meat)
Tyre: A dog’s legs. Some claim that eating a ‘tyre’ makes you a fast runner
Telephone: A dog’s tail
Sentencing: The act of clubbing a dog to death rather than slaughtering it.
Termites - In some parts of Kenya, cameroon, uganda and Malawi termites are a favourite especially during the rainy season when young boys and girls will often light kerosene lamps to attract winged termites which are then collected and either pan -fried or eaten alive with a little salt or chilli to taste and a bottle of beer to wash it down.
Locusts and Grasshoppers - The tought of eating locusts isn’t that bad when you think terrestrial prawns and they are quite tasty when fried in butter.
Rodents - There is a west African dish called akrante or “grasscutter” a giant size rat like creature. Its meat is particularly fine, but it’s the fur that is contained in it’s sauces and stews which make it an unforgettable dish. Further South there exists a fragile balance
between man and rodent where occasionally mice populations reach plague like numbers eating grain and local are left with nothing much to eat but the rats and mice. In Malawi and Mozambique you could be treated to barbecued mice.
Mopane worms - These giant grubs also known as macimbe are eaten in Zimbabwe and other parts of Southern Africa. Deep fry or roast then add a bit of salt to taste and you are good to go.
Bugs insects and Other crawlies - For fried beetles head to Zimbabwe hard on the outside gooey in the inside. cooked grubs and giant grilled rhinoceros beetles are eaten in Congo, butterful larve in Burkina Faso, and millipedes in Namibia.
Hmm… definitely not my cuppa of tea.