Wakanda Forever

I saw Black Panther when it came out opening weekend a couple weeks ago. I loved it so much, I went and saw it the next weekend too. Aside from all the incredible and timely political and social messages of the movie, the film itself is visually stunning. It's nice to see Africa portrayed as more than just the savanna or the desert. The clothes, hair, and make up are just as stunning too. There was so much attention to detail, except for one area: food. The only food we see in the film is something that looks like chicken cooking on a grill, and plates of food at an outdoor cafe. None of the main characters ever eat or have a dining scene. As a foodie, I was sad that I had nothing to draw from to envision how people in Wakanda eat. Food is how I see the world and understand people and cultures, so, I decided to figure it out for myself!

The first step was to find where Wakanda is. According to the movie, it's on the eastern side of the central part of the continent, near Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. I researched recipes from those countries and contemplated certain issues like, what sorts of ingredients do they use in Wakanda? New World ingredients like tomatoes, corn, and beans, are prominent in a lot of African recipes, but don't come from Africa. Because they come from the New World, they are a symbol of colonialism, which we know Wakanda was not subjected to. But those ingredients are so prominent, and with me being in Seattle, I have limited ability to get my hands on foods native to that region of Africa, so I decided to partake of those ingredients. Wakanda never had to deal with colonialism, so they could freely enjoy the foods of the New World without the history behind it, if they wanted to.

Source

I chose four recipes, and will write about my experiences in cooking them. I will not be writing out the recipes, because I want to promote the sites I got them from, because these recipes are definitely not mine! I'm just enjoying them and signal boosting. I was very happy with the results and I'm sure you will be too!

Here is one of my favorite types of pictures: the grand total of ingredients before they've been prepped. It took about three hours to prep and cook the meal last night, and about two hours this morning for the dessert that I ran out of time to do, but I guess I shouldn't be too shocked it took that long with this amount of ingredients!

Up first is Ndizi na Nyama, aka, Plantains with Meat. The recipe can be found here.

After the original shot of all the ingredients, I separated them out by recipe and did a smaller one for each recipe. This is what I needed for the Ndizi na Nyama. The original recipe calls for beef, but I chose chicken since I don't eat beef. Any meat that you like most will work. And if you didn't want meat, you could probably use canned garbanzo beans. I think the texture would work pretty well with the plantains.

Here's all the ingredients, prepped and ready for cooking. The plantains took a lot of effort to get out of their skins. I don't know if it was because they were as green as they were or what; I don't have much experience with plantains. But be patient and ready to dig them out with your hands if you need to. Don't worry, I was wearing gloves the whole time!

This is what the stew looks like when it's done. The chicken is cooked separately from the vegetables and coconut milk, and then it's all mixed together at the end. The tasted great, not very spicy, but very flavorful. It was even tastier reheated the next day for lunch. 

Next up, is East African Rice Pilau, courtesy of Immaculate Bites. I'm sure we're all well acquainted with rice pilaf, some of us eat it in Rice-a-Roni form rather often(guilty as charged). The recipe originated in the Middle East, so how did it end up in Africa? Well, just as the western side of Africa had trading with Europe and the Americas, the eastern side had trading with Asia and the Middle East. They're all connected via the Indian Ocean, after all. It makes a lot of sense that recipes would be traded along the way as well as ingredients.

 The pre-prepped pile!

 Post prep!

Just like Rice-a-Roni, this pilau starts off with frying the ingredients. We start with the cashews and spices. The aroma from this was incredible!

 Then we add the rice and veggies and fry those for a bit.

I used a combination of chicken stock and coconut milk for the liquid. I had the rest of the can of coconut milk from the Ndizi na Nyama recipe, and poured that into a 1 cup measuring cup. It ended up being about 3/4 cup. I rounded that out with chicken stock and then did 3 more cups of stock. If you wanted, you could use vegetable stock and this would be completely vegan.

This is what it looks like while it's cooking. I had the wrong kind of rice for this, so it needed a little more stock than it called for. Just taste it when it's nearly done and see how it tastes. Add more liquid if it's too crunchy still. The recipe calls for basmati rice, and I bought basmati rice in bulk from the grocery store. But the next day, when I opened the bag, I could smell the rice and saw it was in fact, jasmine rice, not basmati. The store had put the wrong kind of rice in the dispenser!!! The two are totally different kinds of rice! I'm generally not a big basmati fan, but I would like to try it in this recipe. 

This rice is a little spicy from the jalapeno, but it works well with the coconut milk. And don't underestimate the amazing inclusion of the cashews. That was brilliant! I also forgot the tomato for this recipe, but I fished some out from the Ndizi na Nyama and tossed them in with it so at least there were a few. I knew I was bound to make a mistake with attempting three big recipes like this simultaneously, but at least I found a bit of a work-around for it!

Today I ate some of the rice reheated with the Ndizi na Nyama mixed in with it. The flavors really mesh well, so I recommend eating the two together like this. The rice says it makes 5 servings, but I don't know, I think it made way more than that. I gave some to my parents to try and I have enough for a least two more lunches and will be able to share some with coworkers who want to try it out tomorrow.

My vegetable side dish was Sukuma Wiki, or stewed collard greens, via Tasteofsouthsudan.com. 

 Before...

 And after!

An action shot as it cooks on the stove. Very exciting with the steam!

This recipe could be made with any combination of collard greens and/or kale. I opted for only collard greens, and I found it too bitter for my tastes. The next time I do this, I think I'd try it with kale and see how that works. The baking soda was a brand new trick for me and I really think it worked well. It made the greens super soft and didn't make it taste salty at all like I thought it might. This is a great trick, a little baking soda in your greens to help them cook down faster!

This was the finished product. I plated everything separately because I didn't want the flavors to blend at first. I wanted to taste each item for its own flavor profile. Everything was amazing! The plantains were soft like potatoes, the pilau was an explosion of spices but no one spice took over the dish. The coconut milk tempered the heat. And if you look closely, at the top of the plate is one of my Africa ornaments I bought from Etsy. This ornament currently lives on my ancestor shelf, and was in my pocket when I went to see Black Panther. I thought it was appropriate for it to be in this picture!

But wait, there's more! I ran out of time last night for the dessert, so that became breakfast today. My final recipe was Kenyan Coconut Mandazi, courtesy of Talkingtonelly.com.

I got up early this morning to make sure these would be ready by the time my parents dropped by so they could try some. This is the first step of the recipe. Flour is measured, water/sugar/yeast mixture is thickening, and the coconut milk/oil/sugar/cardamom mixture has been stirred together.

All of those are combined and then kneaded into dough. I found mine to be very tough and a little dry at first so I added a couple spoons-full more of coconut milk and that helped. Just keep kneading for a while until it's smooth and elastic. I did not need the full ten minutes. And I discovered the best place to let this rise. In the oven! Just turn your oven to Low, cover the bowl with a towel, and set it in there for the last half hour or so of the rising time. Prior to that, I let it sit on top of the stove, above the burner with the stove outlet on it.

After you punch down the dough and divide it in half, you roll it out. I was happy with how well it rolled out without bouncing back like you see a lot when you roll out bread dough.

The original recipe calls for these to be cut into 8 per half, but I couldn't justify something that large. I think mine rolled out way bigger, so I did 16 per half.

 They fry really quickly and are not heavy and greasy at all. They are akin to a beignet, but way lighter and less greasy. Sometimes you eat a beignet and feel like you've eaten bricks by the time you're done. This was quite the opposite, actually...They are light and airy and you sort of forget how many you've had after a while...You just keep going back for more.

My parents ate some, and so did my sister and I have had well beyond my fair share of these delectable treats. I won't tell you how much are left, but there's a lot less than this picture portrays...It's the cardamom that makes it. I sprinkled a little bit of powdered sugar on them and they are perfect!

Making this food was a lot of work, but it was a labor of love. I spent three hours yesterday preparing the dinner. I went into a bit of a trance, as I often do with large amounts of prep work. There's something comforting and soothing about the repetition of movements with chopping and slicing.

With every collard leaf I washed, watching droplets of water roll off their backs like ducks, I thought about the ancestors. Those who grew and ate them in Africa, in freedom, and those who were forced to grow and eat them in the US, while enslaved. The ingredients and recipes bridged the divide between the motherland and the new land from which there was no return.

Spices from all around the world filled the air of my kitchen and tickled my nose, making me sneeze(not into the food!). I could see India, Madagascar, and the Middle East all swirling around in the Indian Ocean and making their way to Africa on the ocean currents. The west, the east, and the center of the world all found their way to my plate last night and it was beautiful and delicious. I felt privileged to have been able to try these recipes. I would eat every single one of them again.

I also thought of Wakanda and what T'Challa, Shuri, Nakia, and Okoye would think of the meal. I hope they would enjoy it! Hopefully in the next Black Panther movie, we can get a meal scene and find out exactly what sorts of foods they eat. But until then, try these recipes out, or look up others from the region and see what you think. If you are a fan of big flavors, you will not be disappointed!

Until then...

Source

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of the World: Jamaica

 

The Country: Jamaica

Continent/Region: Central America and the Caribbean
Capital: Kingston
Current Head of State: Prime Minister Andrew Holness
Form of Government: Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Official Language: English; National Language-Jamaican Patois
Ethnic Groups: 92% black, of Sub-Saharan African descent, East Indian, Chinese, Biracial
Formation Date: The island was settled between 4000 and 1000 BCE, by the Taino and Arawak peoples of South America.
Population: As of July 2015-2,950,210
Currency: Jamaican dollar
Independence Day: August 6, 1962-From the United Kingdom
Main Religion: Christianity
Famous Jamaicans: Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley, Usain Bolt
Famous Jamaican Americans: Harry Belafonte, Colin Powell, The Notorious B.I.G., Heavy D, Corbin Bleu, Gloria Reuben, Dule Hill
 National Anthem:

The Food: Jerk Pork Chops, Callaloo, Fried Plantains, and Coco Bread
This was a fun meal! I was worried a little about how spicy Jamaican food can be, but it's pretty easy to control the spice level, so it didn't turn out to be too spicy at all.

Jamaican food is sort of like Southern food in the United States. It is a blend of several different cultures that each brought their ingredients, cooking techniques, and flavor profiles with them when they came to the island. Indigenous ingredients blended with South American, European, and African ingredients over the centuries to create something completely unique. Being an island, seafood is naturally a large part of Jamaican cuisine. I went in a different direction this time, however.

I had a recipe for jerk pork chops in my collection forever but was never brave enough to try it, for fear of it being too spicy. This was a silly, unfounded fear, and I should have tried it long ago, because it ended up being just about the best pork chop I have ever had in my entire life.

"Jerk" is a seasoning blend unique to Jamaica. My particular recipe comes from the very authentically Jamaican, Family Circle magazine, and I am going to go out on a limb and say that it is probably slightly Americanized for a blander palette. If you are interested in trying out jerk seasoning in something besides this recipe, there are many recipes out there to make your own seasoning blend that is as spicy as you want it to be. I found that it could have even been a little more spicy and I would have been ok with that. I will write out the recipe as I made it.

Jerk Pork Chops:
2 large green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice(lime juice would also be fantastic in this)
2 tsp. honey
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. hot sauce(I used Tabasco and I found it could have been doubled for a bit more spice without being overwhelming.)
4 Bone-in loin pork chops(about 8oz. each), 1" thick

1.) In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients except the pork chops.

2.) Place pork chops in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Pour the jerk seasoning and cover the pork chops well on all sides. Zip the bag closed and refrigerate for 2 hours. Turn over at least once during the marinating time.
3.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a grill pan over high heat. If the handle of your grill pan is not metal, wrap well in a couple layers of foil.
4.) Place chops on grill pan; cook 2 minutes per side. Place the grill pan into the oven.
5.) Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, depending on thickness, or until the temperature reaches 155 degrees. Remove from oven and let meat rest 10 minutes. (I did 20 minutes for mine and it was perfect.)

Makes 4 servings. 327 calories, 18g. fat, 1 g. fiber

This was not really that hard to make and the flavor was fantastic. I have never had the thicker bone-in loin chops like that before and it was well worth the extra cost. If you don't eat them that often, go ahead and splurge and get the really good cut. You won't be disappointed!

To go with this, I wanted to make Callaloo. I didn't know what it was, I only remember them talking about it on The Cosby Show when I was growing up and always wanting to know what it was. Well, now was the time to find out! It turns out that callaloo is a type of leafy green vegetable native to Jamaica. It is prepared pretty much like collard greens and the recipe I found said you could use those as a substitute. If you recall from last year's project, I tried collard greens and failed horribly at it. I decided this was my second chance to try it out. I'm very happy to say that they turned out much better this time! I made sure to add a lot of water!

The recipe also came with a side recipe for frying plantains with it. I did this as well and used it as the starchy side for the meal. Both were really easy to prepare. The Callaloo recipe can have bacon in it if you want, but I chose to leave it out for a vegan version instead. This way I can share some of the leftovers with my vegetarian coworker tomorrow!

Callaloo and Fried Plantains:

1 bunch of fresh Callaloo, kale, collard greens (about 11/2 pound) (I used collard greens)
2 thick bacon strips cut in pieces (I omitted this)
3-4 garlic cloves minced 
1 medium onion, chopped
½ teaspoon smoked paprika 
1 sprig of fresh thyme (I used 1/2 tsp. dried since I did not have fresh on-hand_
1 fresh tomato, chopped (I had an extra half of a tomato to use up so I threw that in as well)
1 whole scotch bonnet pepper (This is one of the hottest peppers and there was no way I was going to use it. I had a bottle of Habanero pepper sauce, though, that I had meant to mail to my cousin in Texas, but had been too lazy to ever do, so I used about 1/2 tsp. of that instead. I could have used more because it could have been more spicy, but I didn't want to risk overdoing it.)
Salt/pepper, to taste 
3- 4 ripe plantains (I only used 1 because it was just for me. I would say half a large plantain per person is a good gauge)
Cooking oil 
Salt/pepper (optional)

Cut leaves and soft stems from the callaloo branches, them soak in a bowl of cold water for about 5-10 minutes or until finish with prep. (If using collard greens, wash very well, then cut the stems out and cut the leaves into bite-sized pieces. You don't need to soak them.) 

Remove callaloo from water cut in chunks. (Skip this step if using collard greens.) Place bacon on saucepan and cook until crispy. (Skip this step if you want it to be a vegetarian version.) Then add onions, garlic, thyme, stir for about a minute or more.
  
Add tomatoes; scotch bonnet pepper (or pepper sauce), and smoked paprika. Sauté for about 2-3 more minutes. Add the greens, salt, mix well, and cook for about 6-8 minutes or until leaves are tender. Add water as needed. Adjust seasonings and turn off the heat. (I ended up cooking these while the pork chops cooked in the oven. Collard greens need more time to cook down than the callaloo leaves.)

Prepare the fried plantains: Using a sharp knife cut both ends off the plantain. This will make it easy to grab the skin of the plantains. Slit a shallow line down the long seam of the plantain; peel only as deep as the peel. Remove plantain peel by pulling it back. Slice the plantain into medium size lengthwise slices and set aside. 

Coat a large frying pan with cooking oil. Sprinkle with salt, freshly ground pepper. Let the plantains fry on medium heat, shaking the frying pan to redistribute them every few minutes. (I found they stuck to the pan and I had to work a bit to loosen them so I could turn them over. They're pretty hearty though, so don't be afraid to use some force on them.) As the plantains brown, continue to add more cooking oil, salt and pepper, if needed, until they have reached the desired color and texture. Remove and serve with callaloo.

The Callaloo was pretty tasty. Collard greens have a slightly bitter taste to them, but they were much less bitter this time around since I didn't burn them to death. They could have had a bit more spice but I didn't want to tempt fate with the habanero sauce.

The plantains reminded me of sweet potatoes. Plantains are related to bananas. You can see they look just like one, but they tend to be harder, starchier, and less sweet. They do have sweetness, though, so go into it knowing this. I found them to be a little too sweet for my tastes, however. I will explore them more, in future blog posts, so my palate might adjust to it in time.

As if that wasn't enough, I decided I needed to make bread too. I found a recipe for Jamaican Coco Bread and found the name intriguing. You would think there would be coconut somewhere in the recipe, but you would be wrong! I found this recipe interesting because the preparation was unlike any bread I've ever made before. It's a basic white bread, but it's divided up into pieces, rolled out into circles, spread with melted butter, and folded over before being baked. This creates a spongy texture as the bread bakes and steams simultaneously.

Jamaican Coco Bread:

2 packets yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 egg
1 cup warm milk
1 tsp. salt
3.5 cups white flour
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix the yeast, sugar and water together. Beat the egg and stir in to the mixture. Stir in the milk and salt. Stir in 2 cups of the flour.

Slowly add more flour, stop when the mixture becomes stiff.
Knead the dough until it is smooth. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and some of the melted butter. Roll the dough around the bowl until it is entirely coated in butter. Cover with a damp towel for 1 hour (this will allow the mixture to rise).

Punch down the dough. Divide the dough in to 10 pieces and roll each piece in to a thin circle. Brush the dough with melted butter then fold in half.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place folded pieces on a well-greased sheet and place on the top rack of the oven. (I found I needed three sheets to fit them all. You can only get 4 to fit on a standard-sized sheet.) Bake until golden brown for about 15 minutes.

Mine ended up being a bit overdone. There were a few factors involved with this. First was, I baked two sheetpans at once. I had one on the upper level and one on the lower level and I switched them halfway through the baking time. This bread definitely does better on the top level of your oven, so they got a little over-baked. Also, I think 425 might be too high for this recipe. I would try 400 degrees and check it after 12 minutes or so to see how brown they're getting. It's also possible that I rolled the dough too thin. In spite of that though, they flavor and texture were fantastic! I spread a little more melted butter on the top and that really made it delicious.

This entire meal was amazing! It was fun to make and delicious to eat. If you are like me, and have been afraid to try Jamaican food because you've heard how spicy it can be, try making it yourself. This way you control the spice level.

The pork chops were so fantastic that I might have to add this to a more regular rotation in my daily life. I was highly impressed with them. I was really proud of this entire meal and am really looking forward to the leftovers tonight!

Sources: 
Callaloo Recipe

Country Map

Country Flag

Coco Bread Recipe

National Anthem