Cooking African or Caribbean food during the week doesn't necessarily require a whole afternoon at the stove. Here are five recipes already published on our blog, chosen for a preparation and cooking time that fits a weeknight dinner, one for each day from Monday to Friday.
Monday: jollof rice, West African tomato rice
Jollof rice combines long-grain rice with a spicy tomato sauce (chili, garlic, ginger, thyme, curry) and chicken thighs, for a one-pot dish in 65 minutes, including 20 minutes of preparation. Find the full recipe, with quantities and steps, in our West African jollof rice recipe, made with LOTUS fragrant Thai rice.
Tuesday: fonio in sauce, the grain that replaces rice
Pre-cooked fonio swells in just a few minutes in boiling water and replaces rice under a chicken and vegetable sauce (carrots, courgette, tomato), for a complete meal in 60 minutes. See our fonio in sauce recipe, with chicken and vegetables, with NUMBER ONE pre-cooked fonio.
Wednesday: fish mafé, the Senegalese peanut sauce
Mafé can also be made with fish, quicker than the chicken version: a firm-fleshed fish simmers with peanut paste, tomato paste and sweet potatoes, for a dish in 60 minutes. See our fish mafé recipe, with BONMAFÉ peanut paste.
Thursday: sukuma wiki, Kenyan sautéed green cabbage
This everyday Kenyan dish sautés shredded green cabbage with onion, garlic and tomato, in 25 minutes, to go with a simple starch (rice, ugali or bread). See our sukuma wiki recipe.
Friday: okra rice pilaf, the Caribbean recipe
This Caribbean rice pilaf cooks rice with fresh okra, tomato, stock and a little bacon or chicken, for a complete dish in 40 minutes, the quickest of the five. See our okra rice pilaf recipe.
Going further
To vary your starches, legumes and cooking techniques more widely over the week, our article 5 tips for varying your African and Caribbean cooking complements these five meal ideas.
