Food Specialty

Sudanese cuisine is simple and similar to that of the Middle East. Fresh local produce such as tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers, and yogurt are used in most meals. Sudanese staples include rice and pita bread.

Foul, a kind of black bean soup with a lot of peanut oil, is the national dish, and you will be eating it every day to the point where you will get sick of it! Surprisingly, if you are lucky, some places will top it with some sort of local cheese. You can tell the waiter, "Mafi Zed," which means "without oil," when your order foul. Shawarma, kofte, and grilled fish are also popular dishes in Sudan. You can also try some Sudanese food specialties, such as Kisra (a sorghum flour-based flatbread), Dura (a dish of cooked maize and millet served with a variety of vegetables), Elmaraara (a Sudanese dish made from the lungs, liver, and stomach of sheep), Kawal (a stew made with Cassia obtusifolia leaves that have been fermented), and Kuindiong (a traditional sweetened semolina dessert).