Abagogwe

Ubugali

Cassava or maize flour cooked stiff, eaten with beans, greens or fish. The Rwandan table's fixed point, taken by hand and dipped.

Serves 6 · 30 minutes

Isombe

Pounded cassava leaves with aubergine, spinach and groundnut paste, cooked long and dark. Rwanda's most characteristic dish, served with ubugali or rice.

Serves 6 · 1 hour 30 minutes

Ibirayi n'Inyama

also Potato and beef stew

Potatoes and beef simmered with celery, leek and tomato into a straightforward, well-made stew. The dinner of the Rwandan highlands, where the potato is king.

Serves 6 · 1 hour 30 minutes

Brochettes na Ibirayi

Goat skewers with fried potatoes, the standard order at every Kigali bar. Ordered by the number of sticks and eaten with a bottle of Primus.

Serves 4 · 45 minutes, plus 2 hours marinating

Akabenz

also Fried pork, Kabenz

Pork boiled then fried hard in its own fat until the edges crisp, served with a bowl of chilli and a beer. The dish that fills Kigali's bar terraces on a Friday.

Serves 6 · 1 hour 30 minutes

Agatogo

Plantain stewed with meat, beans and vegetables in one pot, made for family gatherings and for guests. A dish of the banana-growing hills.

Serves 6 · 1 hour 30 minutes

Ibihaza

Pumpkin cooked with beans until both collapse into a thick sweet-savoury mash, an old dish of the countryside and a favourite of the hungry season.

Serves 6 · 1 hour 15 minutes

Urwagwa

Banana beer fermented with roasted sorghum, drunk at every ceremony and negotiation. In the old kingdom it was offered at every stage of a marriage agreement.

Serves Makes about 5 litres · 4 days

Icyayi cy'Amata

also Milk tea, African tea

Tea brewed directly in milk with ginger, from a country that grows some of the world's best tea and exports nearly all of it.

Serves 4 · 20 minutes

Fufu

Cassava and maize flour beaten into a firm dough, the daily food of most of the Congo. Rolled in the fingers, dented with the thumb, and used to scoop.

Serves 6 · 30 minutes

Madesu

also Congolese beans, Haricots

Red beans stewed with onion, tomato and palm oil until thick, the cheapest and most eaten dish in Kinshasa. Served with fufu or rice and a spoon of chilli.

Serves 6 · 2 hours, plus overnight soaking

Poulet à la Moambé

also Moambe chicken, Nsusu na mwambe

Chicken cooked in palm nut pulp with chilli and garlic, the national dish of both Congos. The palm oil rising orange to the surface is the sign it is ready.

Serves 6 · 1 hour 30 minutes

Ntaba

also Grilled goat, Chèvre braisée

Goat marinated in mustard, garlic and lemon then grilled slowly over charcoal, the Kinshasa nganda dish, eaten late with plantain and beer.

Serves 6 · 1 hour 30 minutes, plus 4 hours marinating

Mikate

also Beignets

Fried dough balls sold from basins by women at every Kinshasa junction, eaten hot at breakfast or as a snack with sweet coffee.

Serves Makes 24 · 2 hours 15 minutes

Makemba

also Grilled plantain, Banane braisée

Plantain grilled over charcoal until blistered and served with a fierce pili-pili, sold outside every Kinshasa bar and bus stop.

Serves 4 · 25 minutes

Liboke ya Mbisi

Fish steamed in a banana leaf parcel with onion, chilli and lime, the Congo river's signature method. Opened at the table so the steam and smell arrive together.

Serves 4 · 1 hour

Mbika

also Egusi in leaves, Pumpkin seed parcels

Ground melon seed mixed with fish or meat, wrapped in leaves and steamed until it sets into a savoury cake. A Congolese celebration dish and a market food.

Serves 6 · 1 hour 30 minutes

Pondu

also Saka saka

Pounded cassava leaves cooked long with palm oil, smoked fish and aubergine. Eaten across the Congo basin and cooked for hours, since cassava leaves demand it.

Serves 6 · 1 hour 45 minutes

Sombe ya Kivu

also Kivu cassava leaves, Sombe

Cassava leaves pounded and cooked long with palm oil and smoked fish, the daily dish of the Kivu hills. Bitter, dark and cooked until it no longer is.

Serves 6 · 2 hours

Malafu ya Ngasi

also Palm wine

Palm wine tapped from the oil palm and drunk the same day, sweet in the morning and sharp by evening. Poured for the ancestors before anyone else drinks.

Serves Varies · Tapped daily

Lotoko

also Congolese maize spirit

Distilled maize or cassava spirit, made in the villages and drunk everywhere. Clear, strong and entirely unregulated — this is a description of a tradition rather than a recommendation.

Serves Varies · 5 to 7 days fermenting, plus distilling