Gastronomic Adventure

No culture is complete without food, and so, I bring you an A-through-whatever-food-names-I-remember guide to Angolan cuisine.

Arroz – not your mother’s rice; cooked with corn, jimboa (see below), peppers and whatever else is found at the market that day

Batata Doce – sweet potato but not the orange/red ones we have in the States that Maayan bakes in the oven; these are white, almost flaky, but incredibly sweet

Churrasco – grilled chicken...yah, that’s it

Coffee – yes, we all know what this is, but here coffee flows through veins so I figure I would include it for added effect

Farofa – coarse corn meal; mixed with feijão (see below)...would be fantastic to thicken any dish

Feijão em olio de palma – yellow beans in this palm oil sauce...a lot of bean eating here

Feijoada – adopted from Brazil...brown beans and pork, which means Naama no eat

Fish Calulu – a blend of dry fish and fresh fish; one of the only dishes I can’t quite swallow...a very strong unique taste

Funge milho – the STAPLE food in Angolan cuisine...kind of like mashed potatoes made with corn (think I mentioned it in my first blog entry); half a serving and not only are you done eating for the day but an all-afternoon nap is a must

Funge bom bo – similar to above, but made with mandioc...stickier, gooeyer…the perfect kid’s meal; more typical of Luanda than the rest of the country

Galinha em molho – wild chicken (as in, those chickens that cross the street without a care in the world and then freak out when a car almost runs them over) in a jimboa-base broth; much tastier than the normal “frango” (store-bought chicken…although I’m sure you can find the wild chickens is some stores as well)

Gambas – shrimp (but HUGE ones); Angolans are big on all shellfish here (being on the coast and all) **Interesting note: Currently lobsters are illegal to eat because it’s their egg-laying season…surprise, surprise, not everyone respects that around here

Jimboa – green leaf similar to spinach but lighter in taste and mixed with everything

Jinguba – peanuts; think they’re fried or grilled…quite crispy…eaten with everything

Mandioca – mandioc; eaten as a carb to accompany fish, meats or chicken…can be completely tasteless

Meat Calulu – same as fish calulu but with meat…you know where I stand on that

Peixe Grilhado – yum yum yum…grilled fish…FRESH fish always…a little bit of pepper, salt and lemon is all I need. I’m going to go into serious withdrawal in NY

Selection of grilled meats – pick and choose…they kill and grill everything including monkey

Weird note of the week: sun sets in the middle of the sky here…not on the horizon. In the last month, I’ve seen the sun set only once on the water.

Kitchen update: almost there…missing a few tiles and the tube that doesn’t drain the water straight to the floor.

More pix!
http://picasaweb.google.com/naama.laufer/Angola250208