Traditional Kwanzaa Foods
Dr. Maulana Karenga established Kwanzaa as a celebration of African culture, family and community in 1966. Millions of ethnic Africans participate in the seven-day Kwanzaa celebration every year across the world, beginning on the day after Christmas, December 26. Kwanzaa emphasizes seven principles of African culture: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Some parts of the celebration of Kwanzaa continue to evolve, including food traditions. However, participants often choose traditional African or African-American dishes as part of their Kwanzaa meals, such as peanut soup, roast chicken and olive bread. Does this Spark an idea?
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Peanut Soup
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Many parts of Africa incorporate peanut soup into their diets, and many celebrants eat this nut soup during Kwanzaa. These soups can be fancy or simple, and people usually eat them with rice or another side dish. One particular peanut soup recipe calls for chicken stock as the base. Onion, peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, chili pepper, carrots, yams, potatoes and peanut paste are added. Make the peanut paste by using your food processor to grind the shelled peanuts.
Roasted Chicken
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Roasted chicken is a traditional southern food, popularly known as the "gospel bird" because people often ate it for Sunday dinner. Add a mango glaze to this dish, and it will remind the Kwanzaa participants not only of southern African-American culture but also of Caribbean-African culture. Make the glaze with dark rum, mango chutney and mango nectar, all available in the grocery store or a speciality food store. Alternately, serve the glaze on roast pork.
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Side Dishes
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Side dishes could include dilled string beans. Make these with unsalted butter, pepper, dill and lemon juice. You could also try sweet potato oven fries, which, along with the dilled string beans, remind the Kwanzaa feasters of southern African-American roots. For bread, try a Moroccan olive bread. Women often sell this thick, flat, olive-covered bread in the marketplace in Morocco.
Dessert
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You may wish to serve a lighter dessert after the heavy meat, side and bread dishes. A simple dessert reminiscent of southern African-American culture can be found at the grocery store. Purchase a pecan pie, served with vanilla ice cream, as a reminder of African roots in the south.
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