Angola: Kisaka and Funge

Angolan peanut and cassava leaf stew with cassava flour porridge.

It took me a while to decide what to make for Angola- I knew for sure that I wanted to make something with cassava (which is a starchy root vegetable similar to yuca) because it’s a staple in the Angolan diet, but the dish I really wanted to make was Calulu de Peixe, which is a fish stew with a main ingredient of okra. Unfortunately, okra are currently out of season and I could not find them anywhere, so Kisaka it is!

Also, fun fact: Angola is a West African coastal country and has a strong Portuguese influence, so many of the dishes include seafood and have very Portuguese sounding names!

Now, even though I was disappointed not to make Calulu de Peixe, I actually ended up loving the Kisaka and Funge! Plus it’s vegetarian!

The funge is actually just cassava flour and water and as I’m sure you can guess, it’s quite bland. But it’s always served with some kind of stew and is a vehicle to help scoop/sop up the broth, so it actually works really well with some of the bolder flavors in the Kisaka (or whichever stew you serve it with).

Kisaka is a peanut and cassava leaf stew, but since I couldn't find cassava leaves anywhere, I ended up using collard greens instead. This dish is also traditionally cooked with palm oil, but if you plan to make this make sure you get a sustainable and environmentally friendly brand, as the mass production of red palm oil has led to deforestation of the rainforest and loss of habitat for many animals. I found a good one at Whole Foods! This dish also called for both whole peanuts and peanut butter and I loved the creamy and crunchy combo! I also loved the spicy kick from the chili flakes and you could always tone the heat up or down depending on your taste.

Overall, I really enjoyed this meal and would definitely make a variation of this again!