Banana fritters
Fritters made from sweet banana batter, golden and soft — different from mikate (yeasted dough) and makemba (plain fried plantain).
15 min prep · 20 min cook
The recipes.
Everyday dishes and festive ones, documented with their gestures, their region, and their story.
51 recipes
The full repertoire
Category
Level
Region
51 recipes
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Bissap juice
A sweet infusion of dried hibiscus flowers (bissap), deep red and tart — a drink, distinct from ngai-ngai cooked as a dish.
10 min + cooling prep · 20 min cook
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Biteku-teku
Amaranth leaves quickly simmered with onion, tomato and a touch of peanut.
20 min prep · 25 min cook
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Braised pork
Pork pieces marinated with aromatics then braised over coals to a golden crust — pork grilling previously missing from the catalogue.
25 min + 2 h marinating prep · 55 min cook
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Bukari
A soft maize-flour dough worked hot until smooth, dense and ready to accompany sauces.
5 min prep · 20 min cook
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Cabbage-carrot salad
A crunchy cabbage and carrot salad bound with mayonnaise, brightened with vinegar and finished with eggs.
20 min prep · 10 min cook
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Cassava cake
A soft cake from grated cassava or cassava flour, sweet and fragrant — a snack and celebration dessert.
25 min prep · 45 min cook
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Cassava croquettes
Cassava bites soft inside and golden outside, shaped by hand then fried.
25 min prep · 30 min cook
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Chicken moambe
A silky palm-nut sauce simmered with chicken—a festive dish found across the DRC.
25 min prep · 1 h 15 cook
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Chikwangue
Fermented cassava dough wrapped in leaves and steamed for a long time—firm and lightly tangy.
40 min prep · 1 h 30 cook
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Cricket skewers
Seasoned edible crickets, threaded onto skewers and grilled until crisp.
25 min prep · 15 min cook
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Fish liboke
Fish marinated with spices, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed—fragrant and tender.
30 min prep · 45 min cook
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Fish moambe
Firm fish simmered in palm-nut pulp sauce — river moambe, distinct from chicken moambe.
25 min prep · 50 min cook
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Fumbwa with peanuts
Finely shredded fumbwa leaves simmered in a peanut sauce until tender and silky.
30 min prep · 1 h cook
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Grilled cassava
Cassava roots pre-cooked then grilled over coals, with a smoky crust and tender heart.
15 min prep · 35 min cook
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Grilled fish
Whole fish marinated with pili-pili and aromatics, grilled until the skin is smoky and the flesh juicy.
25 min prep · 30 min cook
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Grilled nsafu
Safou fruits gently heated until the purple skin softens and the flesh turns creamy.
5 min prep · 10 min cook
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Kamundele
Meat skewers seasoned and grilled over coals until browned outside and juicy inside.
25 min + 1 h marinating prep · 15 min cook
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Kapenta with tomatoes
Small dried lake fish fried then simmered with tomato and onion, a relish of Greater Katanga.
20 min prep · 30 min cook
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Kossa-kossa
Dried shrimp soaked then simmered with tomato, onion and pili-pili — an iodised everyday Congolese sauce.
20 min + 30 min soaking prep · 35 min cook
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Lituma
Green plantains pounded into a dense, smooth puree, a staple of eastern Congo.
15 min prep · 30 min cook
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Loso with green peas
Rice with green peas cooked in an aromatic broth—simple, colorful and made for sharing.
15 min prep · 30 min cook
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Madesu
Dried beans simmered until creamy with onion, tomato and a touch of chili.
20 min + 8 h soaking prep · 1 h 30 cook
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Makayabu
Salted dried fish soaked, then simmered in a tomato and onion sauce.
25 min + 12 h de dessalage prep · 35 min cook
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Makemba
Ripe plantains, golden outside and soft within, served as a side or a snack.
10 min prep · 15 min cook
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Matembele with peanuts
Sweet potato leaves simmered with tomato and pounded peanuts, a tender green served with bukari.
25 min prep · 35 min cook
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Mayebo
Wild mushrooms cleaned and simmered with onion and a light sauce.
25 min prep · 30 min cook
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Mbika
Pound pumpkin-seed paste seasoned then cooked in leaf packets for a dense, melting texture.
30 min prep · 50 min cook
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Mbinzo with tomatoes
Dried caterpillars rehydrated then simmered with tomato, onion and pili-pili.
30 min prep · 40 min cook
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Mbisi ya kokalinga
Fish fried or grilled until the skin is crisp and the flesh stays moist.
25 min prep · 20 min cook
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Meat liboke
Meat marinated with aromatics, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed — the liboke gesture applied to meat, not fish.
30 min + 1 h marinating prep · 1 h cook
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Mikate
Congolese yeasted doughnuts, crisp outside, soft inside, served still warm.
20 min prep · 20 min cook
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Mujibujibu
Pumpkin leaves slowly simmered with freshly ground peanuts and smoked fish.
30 min prep · 45 min cook
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Munkoyo
A lightly tangy cereal drink from a short fermentation of maize porridge with munkoyo roots.
25 min + 24 h fermenting prep · 20 min cook
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Ngai-ngai
Congolese sorrel leaves simmered with onion and a little oil until soft and pleasantly tart.
25 min prep · 40 min cook
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Ntaba (grilled goat)
Goat pieces marinated with aromatics then grilled over coals, browned outside and tender within.
25 min + 2 h marinating prep · 50 min cook
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Ntaba in sauce
Goat simmered slowly in a tomato and onion sauce — the stewed version of ntaba, distinct from the grilled one.
25 min prep · 1 h 45 cook
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Okra sauce
Fresh okra simmered to its characteristic silky texture, with tomato, onion and optionally smoked fish or meat.
20 min prep · 40 min cook
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Passion fruit juice
Fresh passion fruit juice, tart and fragrant — a very common drink in Kinshasa and the diaspora.
15 min prep · 0 min cook
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Peanut porridge
A thick porridge of flour and peanut paste, sweet and comforting — classic breakfast or snack, distinct from savoury mains.
10 min prep · 25 min cook
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Pepe soupe ya ngolo
A hot catfish soup scented with ginger, garlic and pili-pili, as served in Kinshasa streets.
25 min prep · 35 min cook
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Pondu (saka-saka)
Pound cassava leaves cooked in palm oil with onions and smoked fish—a everyday Congolese classic.
45 min prep · 1 h 30 cook
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Poulet mayo
Browned chicken pieces coated in a mayonnaise sauce lifted with garlic, mustard and pili-pili — a Kinshasa classic for tables and celebrations.
25 min prep · 45 min cook
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Rice with moambe
Rice cooked or served with a palm-nut moambe sauce for a rich, fragrant plate.
15 min prep · 35 min cook
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Saka-madesu
Pound cassava leaves and beans simmered together in a silky palm-oil sauce.
30 min + 8 h soaking prep · 2 h cook
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Sautéed beef liver
Liver slices quickly seared with onion and chili — street-food and express cooking common in Kinshasa.
15 min prep · 15 min cook
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Snails, Congolese-style
Snail meat slowly tenderized then simmered in a lively tomato, onion and pepper sauce.
30 min prep · 1 h 10 cook
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Soso ya lumba-lumba
Kasai chicken simmered in a fresh, highly fragrant African basil sauce.
25 min prep · 1 h cook
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Soso ya sauce
Chicken simmered in a generous tomato sauce lifted with garlic, ginger and pili-pili.
25 min prep · 55 min cook
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Tangawisi
Fresh ginger juice, sharp and tangy, sweetened to taste — a homemade drink common in Kinshasa and the diaspora.
20 min + 1 h resting prep · 0 min cook
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Viande ya sauce
Beef simmered in a generous tomato and onion sauce — everyday Kinshasa cooking, distinct from kamundele skewers.
20 min prep · 1 h 30 cook
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