The food buzz is reaching its peak as the end-of-year festivities kick in. Food experts at online retailer Jumia picked some of Africa’s most popular dishes — from snacks to full dishes.

The festive season is a perfect time to break off from the usual day-to -day meals and indulge in some of these traditional dishes.

1. Couscous - Algeria

Couscous is a North African dish made of semolina and is traditionally served with various meats and vegetables.

2. Waakye - Ghana

Waakye is a rice and beans combination that is both delicious and nutritious. Usually served for breakfast or lunch with a typical Ghanaian spicy pepper sauce.

Waakye is a Ghanaian rice and beans combination. PHOTO | COURTESY

3. Ofada rice - Nigeria

Ofada rice is a specially made delicacy with a unique aroma and original flavour. Its rich brown colouring and exotic taste make it a family-favourite across the country. Usually accompanied with goat sauce and plantain, it is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy.

Nigerian ofada rice is usually accompanied with goat sauce and plantain. PHOTO | COURTESY

4. The Ndole - Cameroon

The Ndole is like the Cameroonian flag; revered by children and worshipped by their elders. The Ndole is a mixture of spinach, fresh peanut paste, crayfish, shrimp, and beef, preferably on the bone.

Cameroonian Ndole is a mixture of spinach, fresh peanut paste, crayfish, shrimp, and beef, preferably on the bone. PHOTO | COURTESY

5. Chips Mayai - Tanzania

Chips Mayai is one of the most widely available and popular Tanzanian street foods. It is made of French Fries and eggs, or to put it more clearly a French fry omelette.

Tanzanian chips mayai is made of French Fries and eggs. PHOTO | COURTESY

6. Injera with Doro - Ethiopia

Doro is a thick spicy stew served with boiled eggs as a local delicacy. It is served with injera, made from fermented teff flour. The stew is piled on top of the bread, allowing the injera to soak up the juices creating a unique combination.

Ethiopian doro, a thick spicy stew served with boiled eggs, is piled on top of injera, made from fermented teff flour. PHOTO | COURTESY

7. Biltong - South Africa

Biltong is a variety of dried, cured meat that originated in South Africa. Various types of meat are used, ranging from beef and game meats to ostrich fillets from commercial farms.

Biltong is a variety of dried, cured meat that originated in South Africa. PHOTO | COURTESY

8. Garba - Cote d'Ivoire

Garba is the slang name for Attiéké. It is a popular dish made from Ivorian manioc sold in small street stalls usually owned by men. It consists of Attiéké in a couscous shape and pieces of fried salted tuna.     

Ivorian garba consists of Attiéké in a couscous shape and pieces of fried salted tuna. PHOTO | COURTESY

9. Nyama choma - Kenya

Nyama choma means “barbecued meat” in Swahili. It is always eaten with the hands and common side dishes include ugali (stiff maize porridge) and kachumbari salad.

Nyama choma means “barbecued meat” in Swahili. PHOTO | COURTESY

10. Thieboudienne - Senegal

Thieboudienne is a traditional dish from Senegal. It is made from fish, rice, tomato sauce and other vegetables. The name of the dish comes from the Wolof words meaning “rice” and “fish”.

Thieboudienne is a traditional dish from Senegal made from fish, rice, tomato sauce and other vegetables. PHOTO | COURTESY

11. Cachupa Rica - Cape Verde

Cachupa Rica is a famous dish from the Cape Verde islands. It’s a slow cooked stew of corn, beans, cassava, sweet potato, fish, or meat. Each island has its own regional variation.

Cachupa Rica is a slow cooked stew of corn, beans, cassava, sweet potato, fish, or meat from the Cape Verde islands. PHOTO | COURTESY

12. Rolex - Uganda

The Rolex has nothing to do with watches. It’s a favourite anytime snack or light meal in Uganda. Its name is derived from saying “roll on eggs.” It can be compared to a breakfast-burrito or rolled omelette.   

Sliced rolex, a Ugandan snack whose name is derived from saying “roll on eggs.” PHOTO | NMG