Kitchen Essentials List for African Cooking

A cast iron pot or potjie is popular in African cooking. Recipes for stews and soups can be simmered slowly in these vessels, bringing out all the rich flavors.

Flat bottomed versions can be used on stove tops when the traditional method of cooking over a fire is not practical.

The tagine's conical shape allows steam to move up the cone during cooking and condensation to drip back down, thereby keeping the food moist and enhancing the flavours.

Cooking in a tagine requires less liquids and  fats, making it perfect for those dedicated to a healthy eating plan. Also, this vessel is used for both cooking and serving so clean up is simple. I got one of these a few months ago and I am enjoying using it.

Remember, that if you have a dutch oven/cast iron pot like the one above, you will be fine with making tajine stews or curries. it will do the same job. So, you do not have to get this.

Pound, pulverize, and grind ingredients for your African dishes with a mortar and pestle set. They're essential tools in the African kitchen. We have loads of spices, okazi leaves and many other stuff to pound. This is a must-have for any kitchen.

Though a food processor can achieve much the same results, there's just something about crushing food items into fine pastes and powders with your own hands. Besides that, the set is easy to clean and there's no electricity required.

This flat spoon-like utensil is used when turning starches into pastes in African cooking.

After the starch is boiled with water to a porridge-like consistency, the cook thickens it to their liking by adding more starch and pulling the paste up the side of the pot with the flat stick.

African flat breads like chapatis and injera are traditionally fried on a dry hot griddle, so an electric griddle is an excellent addition to your kitchen appliances when you want to replicate African breads in your own kitchen. 

Don't stop there though, cook up some vegetables and eggs or meat on the griddle and wrap it in your fried chapati. Yum!

The crock pot is one of the best modern kitchen appliances to prepare African food in. If you want to achieve similar results to those using traditional African tools and methods (eg. cooking in a potjie over an open fire), then a slow cooker is something you'll want to add to your kitchen supplies.

Like a tagine, the food slowly simmers and maintains the full flavour and moisture throughout the cooking process.

***Grated Coconut