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African Culinary
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00:00Today we're tucking in to some delectable stories and what better way than to do it from the
00:12trendy Joburg market. But before we dig in, let's show you what we have on today's show.
00:18We head over to the culinary melting pot of Mauritius where Asian and African cuisine meet.
00:24Meet Malawi's own Wesiwonka and her chocolate factory. And finally, settle the war of jollof in Nigeria.
00:34I am Zimi Ngonapagate Mabunzi and you're watching AFRIMAX.
00:39In Ethiopia, coffee is life. The country's beings have enchanted the world for centuries.
00:59Let's explore some Ethiopian coffee culture.
01:02Coffee and Ethiopia are so related. Some people say it's a way of showing love to one another.
01:10While I was growing up, we see coffee as socialising between neighbours, living in the neighbourhood.
01:19They gather round and round coffee to have a cup of coffee. Usually they don't have one cup, they have three cups.
01:25Ethiopia and coffee are intertwined. The country prides itself as being the birthplace of coffee roughly discovered in the 9th century.
01:34The coffee origin story strongly influenced the culture, traditions and methods of how coffee is made throughout the country.
01:41There is a common legend which everybody knows about the goat herder who found out that his goats were acting differently from before.
01:51He was herding his word in the Kaffa Mountains. So he followed them what they were eating to be so active and so hyper.
01:58He found out that they were having reddish berries and once they tasted that, they became so energetic and they jumped around.
02:06At that time there was a monastery nearby. So he went with the berry, tell them what happened.
02:13The abbot wasn't, at first he wasn't excited so he threw it in the fire.
02:17They roasted it unintentionally. He saw the aroma, the smell of the coffee, he had to try it.
02:24So they washed it and so they tried it. That's why we started the coffee.
02:29When they prepared the coffee traditionally, they have the small pots, the small glasses.
02:36These are called sini and it's a pretty much additional cup that is used in Ethiopia when having coffee ceremony or drinking coffee.
02:44We have popcorn which is also a popular snack while having the ceremony.
02:49This is called sar which is grass and when you're having a grand celebration like this, you have it all over your house and it just brightens it up.
02:58And this is ambasha, it's a type of bread that is made in Ethiopia. It's really good. It's also another popular snack.
03:07And this is bunna, which is coffee. I'm roasting it right now.
03:12The next few steps entail manually grinding the coffee and then scooping the grinded coffee into a clay pot called a jebena.
03:19The whole process takes a few hours to complete, leaving plenty of time to socialise. Once done, three rounds of coffee is distributed to each guest.
03:31They drink the first cup called a bowl. It's very strong. It has a lot of ground coffee. And the second, they put water in it. It's called tona. And they put water. For the first time it's called baraka.
03:46That's how we came for the dark roast, medium roast, light roast.
03:52The first shop of coffee shops was open in Italy. They came up with the machines. They brought it to Addis.
03:58We are the source of coffee. There is the demand of coffee. We cannot serve forever in the pots, in the traditional way. Yes, it's good. We have to find a quicker way. Here we are.
04:10Established in 1953, this coffee shop is part of the first coffee roasting company in Ethiopia.
04:17Since the opening of the shop, we have machinery who gets back to the starting of this business.
04:24We only use authentic old machinery. We had to find a way to serve quickly and efficiently.
04:31They had to taste that good Ethiopian coffee. So we had to bring the Italian machines along to spice our flavoursome coffee.
04:45Italian machine coffee rapidly changed the pace of how coffee is made in Ethiopia.
04:51In the streets of Addis Ababa, you are spoiled for choice when looking for a quality cup of coffee.
04:56The smell radiates in the air. The beans flow in their bloodstream. It's more than just a drink. It's part of who they are.
05:03Now that's how you start a day. The island of Mauritius is a melting pot of cuisines.
05:10Food vlogger Ashwin Patano knows all the best spots and he's sharing them with us.
05:15From the jupatika to the fluffy dholpuri and the sweetest Chinese delicacies.
05:21Join us on a culinary journey on the most vibrant streets of Port West, the capital city of Mauritius.
05:30Where we will look for sought-after hidden gems to tantalise our taste buds.
05:39Now, let's eat.
05:40The food.
05:41Over the years, Mauritius have adapted each other's cuisine, resulting in a very unique culinary experience.
05:50From aromatic curries to savoury meaty or veggie snacks.
05:55The flavours of Mauritius will transport your taste buds to a paradise of gastronomic delight.
06:02So now I'm going to bring you to one of my favourite places here in Port West.
06:08Probably also the busiest one. It's Tikka Renaissance.
06:12We will have jupatika and halim. Dishes originating from India, but with a twist.
06:18We eat it with a French baguette.
06:19We eat it with a French baguette.
06:22Come on, give me one Tikka for you.
06:25Put mayonnaise.
06:27Then put a little lemon cinnamon.
06:28Little lemon cinnamon.
06:29It's the only one that's in the first place.
06:30You'll have to discover it for the last time.
06:32You'll have a lot of money on this later.
06:34So now what we're going to do is actually take our beautiful baguette.
06:39Which is filled with a Tikka.
06:42So it's a piece of chicken breast.
06:44Which is coated with breadcrumbs.
06:46And then dipped in white eggs and fried.
06:49Just to get that crispy texture on the outside.
06:52You will see also green red chilies with lemon.
06:55And on the side I've taken a bowl of halim.
06:58Which is made out of wheat with lentils and briyani spices.
07:02So the correct way to do this is like this.
07:10And then you take a big scoop and...
07:19Mauritius' rich food culture is a blend of African, Chinese, French and Indian influences.
07:29Inside this small alley is a hidden jam.
07:32We are going to try the dolpuri, often known as the national dish of Mauritius.
07:37Come with me.
07:40The joy of food lies not only in its taste, but the stories it tells and the memories it creates.
07:49What Ahmed just told me is that he's the fifth generation of his family to be dolpuri sellers.
07:56And he himself has been doing it for more than 40 years.
08:00Next generation, it's going to be his daughter who's going to take over.
08:04The first lady to ever take over the family business.
08:06From one delicious destination to the next, the Portris market is especially known for its variety of stalls and intoxicating aromas and unique culinary treasures of Mauritius.
08:22And this is the Oluda. It's a milk based drink with some chia seeds inside, which is very famous.
08:31But today I'm going to show you one of my favourite, which is the watermelon juice.
08:36And let the flavours of Mauritius ignite your culinary passion.
08:42Our gastronomic adventure brings us here to Chinatown, where you can experience the ultimate sweet street feast.
08:54Mauritius is made up of a beautiful mix of cultures.
08:59Now, we're going to try some traditional Chinese delicacies at Mr. Chu.
09:03So here we have the gato zenzeli.
09:08With one, we have bread bean paste inside and the other one we have papaya and peanuts, which is tailored to Mauritian taste.
09:15And the next one, we got the moon cake, which is the haka style first, which is from our rice flour and peanuts and sesame all kind of pushed together and put in this special moulds.
09:25It's a different texture. You get a lot of the peanuts inside, which brings a very nice nutty flavour. And it's a clean bite. And I love it.
09:39So Brian has recommended that we try a small tea just to clean our palates first before we try the cakes.
09:47So what we have here, we have a yellow tea. And as you can see, you have a nutty flavour that pairs well with the cakes.
09:52And the other, we have the typical moon cake that we're used to. You can see it in China, you can see it in Hong Kong, which has a very interesting thing inside.
10:09I don't know if you can see the egg yolk, the duck egg yolk, which is salted. Then you have a sweet paste here. Look at this. It's a piece of art. Let's try it.
10:22Salty, creamy, amazing. Cheers. Cheers.
10:23So this is the end of our food journey. I hope you've loved it, because when it comes to food, Pertano's best. See ya.
10:42Now Mauritius may dazzle with its diverse cuisines, but just across the waters in Malawi, the spotlight shifts to a sweeter story.
10:54Wazim Zamara isn't just making chocolate. She's making history as Malawi's first female cocoa farmer and chocolatier in the making.
11:02I've always loved cooking. So making chocolate and being able to experiment with ingredients that people typically, traditionally wouldn't put in chocolate. We almost put everything in.
11:14Malawi unofficially exports 12 tonnes of cocoa annually, which is sold on as Tanzanian cocoa. Wazim Zamara is changing that narrative one decadent bite at a time.
11:25I'm a cocoa farmer, chocolate maker and chocolatier in training and the only one in Malawi that actually does all of the three.
11:37A chocolate maker uses the beans and does the whole process of measuring the beans and creating the type of chocolate.
11:48Whereas a chocolatier takes already made chocolate and creates it into confectionery.
11:54Being a chocolate maker is also very scientific in nature because you're doing the percentages of how much sugar, how much milk, how much.
12:04And you have to measure these percentages and look at them so that you don't jam your machines.
12:09Because if you put like too much of one thing, you'll end up with solid chocolate.
12:13I mean, water, liquids and chocolate are enemies.
12:17Farming comes as naturally as breathing to most Malawians.
12:21Across the country, when the rains come, every square inch of vacant land goes towards food production.
12:27However, the farm bug seems to have missed Wazim Zamara.
12:30As she grew up, she discovered a love for design and events that led her to have a lauded international career.
12:37In 2011, she returned home and found that her parents had planted five cocoa trees for her.
12:42We were traveling through Tanzania and we saw some two ladies who offered me two pots of cocoa.
12:50I brought them here and I started a nursery.
12:53I was dilly dallying between 2011, 2013. I was like, okay, let's do 50 more trees.
13:00So we planted 50 more trees in 2013 and I was like, oh, they're doing quite well in 2017.
13:05And then we went off to Tanzania and got a whole thousand trees, which is the thousand trees that you see now, which are this height.
13:15And then since then, we've been adding. So since 2017, we've been adding and adding and adding.
13:20And now we've got about two hectares of trees.
13:23What started as a hobby placed Wazim Zamara firmly on the path of a new career, where she is said to be Malawi's first and only female chocolatier.
13:32I spent 2020, the whole of 2020, pretty much researching, trying to make chocolate using a blender.
13:40Very embarrassing now, now that I know the science behind making chocolate.
13:44It was actually my mum who walked into a shop and she found our first grinder.
13:49And she's like, Wazim, come and look at this. And I was like, no, in Malawi, how?
13:57Making chocolate is actually a very complicated process.
14:01So you've got our three machines here, which are grinders.
14:05In here, we've got some cocoa beans and these have been fermented, roasted and shelled.
14:12In the process of making cocoa butter, we use an oil press and we do a hot press.
14:17And then we'll start making the process of making chocolate.
14:20So as a finished product, this is our New Year's special.
14:24So when our customers get a little guide as to what's what, so you don't end up biting something and you're like, ooh, what's that?
14:34Usually our chocolate, we grind for 36 to 48 hours.
14:38I hear Lindt does 60 hours just to get that smoothness.
14:44And it's basically goes in here and the wheels just spin around.
14:50And that's pretty much how chocolate is made.
14:53So these machines are constantly running.
14:57Innovation has changed the way we do business.
15:00We no longer rely on having a shop. We've got an e-shop.
15:02People can order via WhatsApp. People can pay digitally, which has changed business for us a lot on the continent, I'd say.
15:11I've been working really hard studying pots in the last year and a half and obviously starting the building and actually opening a chocolate factory.
15:21So I'll be Wazzy Wonka.
15:22So when we move into the factory, we'll be able to experiment more with the cocoa bean itself because we plan on doing five course meals, VIP Fridays, which is basically going to be a VIP five course cocoa based meal.
15:39This is the beginning of the beauty line because what we'll be using what's left in here.
15:47It's solid now, but it's going to turn into like a body scrub.
15:51So we'll mix it with a few other oils and turn it into sort of like a chocolate body scrub.
15:57Wazzy is constantly experimenting and partnering with local chefs in terms of flavor for her ever expanding product line.
16:05Her natural creative flair and ability to innovate has made her parents proud.
16:11Bold and packed with flavor. Nigerian Jollof rice is the star of any celebration.
16:18But what makes it so irresistible? Let's dig in and find out.
16:22It's still boiling. Who makes the best Jollof rice in Africa? The Nigerians pretty much agree.
16:31Nigerian Jollof rice is the best because they do it very well.
16:37But what makes it so special?
16:41The important thing I love about this Jollof is the smoky effect.
16:45There's tiny bits of protein, there's pomo here, there's fish here. It's really, really nice.
16:50The color as well. It's giving Nigerian Jollof. I love it.
16:56All over West Africa, people are arguing about who makes the best Jollof rice.
17:00We'll come back to the Jollof Wars later.
17:04At Just Jollof, they specialize in Jollof rice, which can be made on firewood,
17:09therefore giving it another term called firewood Jollof, which gives the rice a smoky taste and very flavorful.
17:14For me, I feel Jollof rice is a meal that's basically known for celebration growing up.
17:23And then right now in our society, there's no party without Jollof fries.
17:28These are the ingredients you need.
17:30Rice. Most Nigerians prefer short grain rice compared to the long grain or basmati rice that the Ghanaians prefer.
17:35You need water, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, ginger, thyme, a variety of peppers, stalk, crayfish, dried fish or shrimp to give the rice some additional flavor.
17:48So first of all, we'll start with this pot. This pot is an iron cast pot. It's called Akmeri in Europa.
17:54And it's very, very important in making your firewood Jollof rice.
17:58Because for firewood, the flame is, the fire is very, very hot.
18:02So you need a pot that can stand it for like two to three hours.
18:06Because for you to make a very good, authentic, overbite power-made Jollof, you need your Jollof rice to burn.
18:11Now I'm going to add the butter, which is the margarine, into the Grand North Island on fire.
18:14We have our shredded onion and our onions cut into bits for flavor.
18:19And it's very important in cooking them. There's nothing like too much onions.
18:23You use as much onions as you can.
18:25Next, we're going to go in with our tomato paste.
18:28I'm using half of a tin, half of the tin can of tomato paste.
18:36And I'm going to be using the same measurement for the pepper mix.
18:40And give it a good stir.
18:46So for the pepper mixture, we use shombor.
18:49Shombor is a thickener, it helps to, it's a kind of pepper too, but it helps to bind everything together.
18:55And you have your wawarodo for spice, to give it a little bit of heat.
19:00And then you have the tomato. Tomato is both sweet and savory.
19:03It also binds everything together.
19:05And the next thing we'll go in, we'll go in with our curry, our curry mix.
19:13Everything is coming out nice. I can already smell the bay leaf smell.
19:18I can already smell the curry and the thyme as well.
19:21I can already smell the garlic and some of all the spices that are mixed in the pepper mixture as well.
19:25Everything is coming out nice, the aroma.
19:27While the rice is on the stove, we take a look at where jollof comes from and what are the jollof wars all about?
19:33One factor contributing to the vast diversity of jollof stems from the movement of the Wolof people across West Africa.
19:40Many countries of the subcontinent have their own methods of preparation and many people use a variety of spices.
19:46But the secret always lies in the type of pepper one uses.
19:51Jollof is as diverse as Nigeria.
19:54Almost every region has its own, like coconut jollof or fada jollof, which is made from of fada sauce.
20:00Some people use crayfish as a replacement for fish, which gives it additional flavor.
20:05For you to be able to make a good, authentic jollof rice, you need to cook it for a long time.
20:10You need it for it to steam, you need the base to be perfect.
20:14A perfect base is a perfect jollof rice.
20:17A perfect stock water is a perfect jollof rice.
20:19If you're looking for variety and you're looking for something different to give you a kick,
20:24I recommend the Nigerian fada jollof rice.
20:27It tastes like no order.
20:29You would love it.
20:31Have you ever tried jollof rice?
20:33Surely not all the varieties.
20:35Then go ahead, because there's something for everyone.
20:38But the ongoing feud between Nigeria and Ghana regarding whose jollof rice is better may never be resolved.
20:45This is known as the jollof wars.
20:50Pizza is another popular dish around the world.
20:53But what makes the perfect pizza?
20:55Let's find out from Burkina Faso's Ibrahim Sonja, who's earned a spot among Italy's top 50 takeaways.
21:01Takeaways.
21:05Ibrahim Sonja once had a dream.
21:08He aspired to bake the perfect pizza, focaccia and pizza on the go.
21:12My name is Ibrahim Sonja, I'm 30 years old and from Burkina Faso.
21:20No one believed in my project at first.
21:24But I finally made my dream come true.
21:28And my joint was even named one of the top 50 takeaway pizzerias in Italy.
21:33His restaurant is right next to the main square of the northern Italian city of Trento.
21:42There's always something going on in the little takeaway pizzeria.
21:46The boss serves customers himself, too.
21:49But funnily enough, pizza is an acquired taste for him.
21:52At first, I didn't like pizza. I just didn't enjoy the taste.
21:59It was new to me because I'm from Burkina Faso and pizza wasn't a thing there yet.
22:05But with time, he took a liking to it.
22:09Sonja puts zucchini blossoms, basil cream or pistachios on the pizza base to make his gourmet takeaway creations.
22:17And he comes up with a new type every week.
22:26I like odd combinations.
22:32Especially with intense flavors, aromas and colors that remind me of Africa.
22:40When Ibrahim Sonja came to Italy as a 12-year-old, he was the only black child in his class.
22:48And when he opened his pizzeria in 2018, he hardly had any customers at first.
22:54Many people were skeptical of a black pizza baker.
22:57Only once he had hired white employees did his business take off.
23:02This discrimination often angered me.
23:06But when you get up in the morning to do something you enjoy, you can do anything you put your mind to.
23:12Because your work doesn't feel like a burden, and it's just wonderful.
23:17And customers gradually warmed to him. And they love his pizzas.
23:26In the meantime, his now famous pizzeria is even featured in many travel guides.
23:31His secret recipe is sourdough made with top-quality flour.
23:34He lets it rise for at least 24 hours, making his pizzas extra aromatic and easy on the stomach.
23:41He even has his own special baking method.
23:44We bake our pizzas twice.
23:47First, we do just the dough, then add toppings and bake it all again.
23:54And you end up with an extra crunchy dough that's fluffy and light at the same time.
24:00You can really see it here, these nice air bubbles that form during baking.
24:05He tried pizzas from all over Italy to figure out what he liked best.
24:12Ibrahim Sonja only uses high-quality ingredients in his takeaway pizzas.
24:17And yet he still keeps the starting price at €2.50 a slice.
24:22His pizzeria has become one of the most popular in the city, and has a reputation even outside of Trento.
24:29Everyone likes his pizzas, and they've got great ingredients.
24:37You can tell he puts his heart into his pizzas.
24:41They're authentic and made with love.
24:45With Pizza Sospesa, customers pay for an extra pizza so that a person in need can pick it up later.
24:52Some donors write a personal message on the receipt, too.
24:55The initiative is a real hit online, with people expressing their thanks.
25:03We give people their pizza along with the receipt and a little hello from the donor.
25:08It puts a smile on their face.
25:11The donations keep coming, and the locals' growing appetite for his pizzas
25:16has now led Ibrahim Sonja to open up a second restaurant in Trento.
25:20I don't think we've ever had a more delicious episode.
25:33We hope that we tantalize your taste buds.
25:36For more, check us out on dw.com forward slash afreemax.
25:40Until next time, it's goodbye from me.
25:42We hope that we've got a star, too.
25:43Thank you, so much.
25:44Thanks so much for having me here from me.
25:47Thank you for joining us.
25:50Thank you, I love you.
25:52Thank you so much.
25:53Thank you, Lava and you have me here from me.
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