Benachin is a traditional Gambian dish that has gained popularity in West African kitchens. Rice, veggies, and meat have all been cooked together to make this dish. You can also refer to it as Senegambian jollof rice.The Benachin recipe is one of numerous jollof rice dishes available across the world. It's very healthy and it always provides a filling lunch or dinner. The Gambia is already well-known for its distinct culinary delights. Benachin is an excellent replacement for jollof rice.Let's come here and enjoy it!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 chicken,1/2 lb beef,4 onions,2 slices yate,1 teaspoon pounded fresh peppers,2 large fresh tomatoes,3 dessertspoons tomatoes puree,3 cloves garlic,2 bay leaves,1 1/2 cigarette cups oil,1/2 small cabbage,1 large bitter tomatoes,1 large aubergine,1 slice pumpkin,2 big peppers, black pepper to taste,2 or 3 cigarette cups rice (1 lb),6 cigarette cups water, salt to taste

Instructions:

• Prepare, wash and cut the chicken into portions. Remove gristle, etc from beef, wash and cut into equal portions.
• Mix chicken and beef together. Season with salt, black pepper, pounded garlic and vinegar. Allow to stand for 1/2 hour before cooking.
• Prepare vegetables accordingly. Peel, wash, and slice onions thinly.
• Fry the chicken in hot oil until brown, turn over, and fry likewise. Remove from pan and put aside.
• Add beef and fry until quite brown. Add the sliced onions and fry until golden brown.
• Placed the washed, scalded skinned, and sliced tomatoes to the rest of the ingredients in the pan.
• Put the tomato puree and pounded fresh peppers into a saucepan. Cook gently for 15 minutes. Pour in measured water.
  Bring to a boil, add all the prepared vegetables, fried chicken, bay leaves, and salt.
• Remove the chicken and vegetables when cooked and keep them in a warm place. Taste seasoning.
• Add the washed rice to the cooking pot. Put the big sliced peppers and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and cook under low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed.
• Serve. Pile the rice on an oval dish, place the vegetables and chicken on top.

Akara is a tasty local breakfast meal that is occasionally served with tapalapa bread. It's created using black-eyed peas that have been pounded into flour and then deep-fried. It was served with an onion, chili, and Jimbo (seasoning) sauce at Ngala Lodge, where I first sampled it and fell in love with it. They're also on the breakfast menu at a few other hotels, such as Kombo Beach Hotel, which serves a Gambian breakfast special every day. Akara is a popular street food snack, but Oleleh and Abala, both prepared from black-eyed peas and customarily wrapped in a banana leaf, are also popular.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups black-eyed peas dry,1 Small Habanero Chili,3 ounces Red bell pepper approximately half of one red bell pepper,1 small Onion finely chopped, Salt to taste,1 Bouillon powder,1/4 cup Water for blending - a little extra might be required,Vegetable Oil Enough for deep frying

Instructions:

• Soak the beans for about 30 minutes till the skin is swollen and peel off the skin by rubbing it between your palms, or simply use a blender by pulsing it a couple of times till the skin falls off.
• Put the beans into a large bowl and separate the skin from the beans by adding enough water and gently swirling the beans around so that the skin can float. Pour off the skins into a colander. Repeat this process until the beans are clean.
• Pour the clean beans inside the blender, add the water, red bell pepper, habanero pepper, salt, bouillon powder, and crayfish, and blend into a paste.
• Pour the batter into a large bowl and whisk it together until it's light and fluffy. Hand whisk for about 3 to 4 minutes or an electric hand mixer for about a minute or two.
• Add the finely diced onion and mix gently fold with a wooden spoon or spatula in one direction.
• Preheat some oil in a pan (enough to deep fry the Akara). Drop heaping tablespoons of fritter batter into the hot oil, frying in batches to avoid overcrowding. Turn once or twice in between for even browning. Fry the fritters for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until golden brown on all sides.
• Remove fritters from the pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Tapalapa is created from a flour blend of wheat and millet, as well as maize flour and cowpea (niébé) flour. From the surface, it looks like a French baguette, but it's a little different and more widely accessible in the region. It's thick and weighty. It's a pain de brousse (bush bread) with a crust and a flavor similar to the interior of soft pretzels that bush people have known for a long time. Anything from the ancient continent is favored in Africa, especially in former European colonies, and is often more costly. This includes food, such as bread.

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cup all-purpose flour,⅔ cup millet flour,1½ cup yellow corn flour,⅓ cup cowpea flour,1½ cup water (warm),3 teaspoons active dry yeast,1 teaspoon salt, Cornmeal

Instructions:

• Mix the flours together in the bowl of a stand-in mixer. Add in salt, yeast, and water. Mix well and knead the dough for a few minutes until smooth and elastic.
• Place the ball of dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Cut the dough into 3 pieces and form baguette loaves.
• Place them on a baking sheet, optionally sprinkled with cornmeal, or lined with parchment paper. Let them rise for 30 minutes. Make one long shallow cut on top of each loaf with a knife.
• Preheat oven to 450F/220C, and bake tapalapa for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Gambia's national dish is Domoda. It's a tasty "groundnut stew" (peanuts) made with whatever vegetables are available at the time, usually pumpkin or sweet potatoes, and a saucy foundation. Whether vegetarian or meat-based, the foundation is the same: Ground peanut paste, fresh tomatoes, and tomato paste combine to make a thick and fragrant sauce. There are also caramelized onions, chicken and tomato stock, and fiery chili peppers. Many sections of Africa have Maggi bouillon cubes, which are often used in African cookery, including this meal. Gambia was a British commonwealth until 1965 when it won independence. It is located in West Africa. The terrain is more fertile than in other regions of Africa, and farming, fishing, and tourism are the mainstays of the Gambia's economy.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb beef steak or 1 lb chicken breast, cut into ½ inch chunks,1 large onion, diced,2 tablespoons olive oil,3 cloves garlic, minced,3 Roma tomatoes, diced,½ can (3 oz) tomato paste,¾ cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter,4 Maggi or Knorr tomato bouillon cubes,3 cups water, Scotch bonnet chilies, diced, according to heat preference,4 cups pumpkin or sweet potato, diced, Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven. Saute the onions until golden.
• Add the beef and garlic and continue to sauté until the beef is no longer pink. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, chilies, peanut butter and stir to combine.
• Add the water and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add squash, cover, and continue to cook for 35-40 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender, stirring occasionally.
• Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with rice.

When it comes to Gambian cuisine, Fou-Fou is another staple. It's a basic recipe made with sweet potatoes and cornmeal that's been blended till it's creamy. This blend goes well with a variety of Gambian stews and soups. Typically, foufou is made by grinding yam, cassava, or boiling plantain. Cassava, plantain, and yam are used to make Foufou (Powder), a white fermented carbohydrate meal. It's not the same as the traditional product, which is usually collected in a wet state and is quite perishable. The automated product comes in the form of dry flour. It's a terrific alternative to pounded fufu.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups fufu flour,6 cups water,1 chicken,1 onion,6 cloves garlic,1 tsp ginger,1 bouillon cube,2 cloves,2 allspice, smoked fish, vegetables (okra, eggplant, tomatoes, green pepper), Salt and pepper

Instructions:

• Boil 2 cups of water and add the mixture
• Cook until the liquid turns into a paste.
• Wet your hand and touch the dough . If it sticks to your fingers, cover and cook longer.
• As soon as it is cooked remove it from the heat and put it in a ball.
• Put in a large saucepan the chicken cut into pieces with enough water to cover the meat, the bouillon cube, and the seasoning. Bring to a boil and keep on the heat for 20 to 30 minutes
• Cut the aubergines in 2, the tomato. Add the eggplant and okra. Add 4 teaspoons of foufou.
• Once the meat, eggplant, and okra cooked add the tomato, chilli,fish. Cook for 10 minutes and season to taste.
• Serve with foufou.