African food, undoubtedly a huge part of African tradition and hospitality, has always been vibrant, colorful, hearty, and prepared with fresh ingredients mixed with oodles of love. 

The cuisine of the Mother Continent is slowly but surely taking off across the world, including in Australia, thanks to its vigorous use of robust spices and unique tastes because of cookery methods like grilling meats over charcoal, steaming foods in banana leaves, and roasting meat in underground pits! 

If you are looking to dip your toes in the deep waters of African culinary arts, we recommend you start "mise en place" and gather all the information you need about the basic spices that go into some of the most delicious and sumptuous dishes from the continent. 

Where should you start? 

We suggest beginning in Morocco, going down south to Nigeria, and moving east to the land of the Sphinx, Egypt. 

We’ll explore some classic spice mixes that have been used for centuries to rustle up regional delicacies, which should also give you an idea of how they can also be used to pick up or enhance the flavours of certain Western recipes.  

Moroccan Spice Blends 

The most common and widely available Moroccan Spice is the Ras El Hanout, translated as the “top of the shop”. Sometimes, it can be made with close to a hundred spices, including rose petals, saffron, and lavender! 

Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves add warmth to the conventional Ras El Hanout spice, while you get a good kick of heat from a blend of paprika, black pepper, and chilli powder. Turmeric, cumin, coriander, cardamon, mace, star anise, ginger, and fenugreek are roasted over a low flame until fragrant and ground into a powder that gives African stews, meaty curries, rice, roasted vegetables, and couscous an aromatic, earthy, and smoky flavour. 

The Ras El Hanout spice easily blends with Western preparations, adding spice and boldness to dishes like braised lamb, roasted veggies, and mushroom and chicken traybakes. 

The Moroccan spice mix is an alternative to the Ras El Hanout that can be used in everyday cooking to bring a burst of heat and a hint of sweetness. Both of these store well. 

The Egyptian Dukkah

The Dukkah is a very old traditional Egyptian recipe made by grinding together nuts, seeds, and spices into a coarse-textured, protein-rich powder. 

In Arabic, the word Dukkah means “to pound,” referring to the method by which the spice mix is made. 

Locally, it is usually eaten by dipping staple Middle-Eastern breads into a mix of the powder and olive oil. A Western equivalent would be eating crunchy nut butter on bread without the spice blend. 

Crushed sesame seeds, hazelnuts, and almonds make up the bulk of the spice, while ground pistachios, peanuts, pine nuts, cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, and cayenne pepper add to the flavour profile. 

Dukkah goes well as a dip for pita, challah, or Jerusalem bagels, as a coating for meat, chicken, fish and even as a topping on soups, roasted veggies, freshly made hummus, or labneh. 

The Nigerian Suya and Pepper Soup Spice

The Suya is a popular snack in Nigeria made by smoke-grilling meats like beef, lamb, goat, chicken, offal, and sometimes even seafood that has been rubbed with the Suya spice mix and doused in vegetable oil on wooden skewers.  

This Hausa evening street food snack goes well with drinks, rice, grains, or corn cakes, passing off both as a spicy appetizer or a side. 

The spice mix is intense. Cayenne pepper, dried hot chillis, dried onions, ginger, salt, and a ground peanut cake called Kuli-Kuli go into making the Suya spice, which can be used as a marinade or a dry topping. 

Another popular Nigerian spice is the Pepper Soup spice blend. Used to make the ultimate comfort food of Nigeria, variations of this soup are served at celebrations and help to energise the drinker. Any kind of meat can go in. Fish, goat, or chicken, are left to simmer for hours with a spice mix of pepper, ginger, cumin, thyme, African nutmeg, negro pepper, bay leaf, and chilli pepper. It’s both invigorating and comforting in one slurp. 

Wrapping Up

Open up to the flavours of Africa with these essential traditional African spices that add spice and flavour to any dish.

Whether you're looking for the bold heat of suya spice or the aromatic depth of Ras el Hanout, you’ll find everything you need at your trusted online African food store, ALL FOODS AFRICA.  

Explore authentic seasonings and ingredients that define African foods, from fiery pepper blends to fragrant herbs. 

Shop at our African food shop today and bring the essence of African cuisine straight to your kitchen!