Offal - Africa

Africa

Sausage is made from the small intestine of a goat, cow or sheep, stuffed with chilli and small chunks of meat, fatty meat, and blood (although some people prefer the bloodless kind). In Kenya it is commonly referred to as 'mutura' which is the Kikuyu name for it. Sheep's or goat's stomach is also stuffed in a similar way.

In the Kikuyu traditions, grilled goat/sheep kidneys are a delicacy usually reserved for young ladies, although today, anybody can consume it. Similarly, the tongue was reserved for men and the ears were to be eaten by little girls. The testicles were for the young men. Liver is also consumed. The heads, lungs and hooves of animals are boiled to make soup and sometimes mixed with herbs for medicinal purposes.

In South Africa offal is enjoyed by South Africans of diverse backgrounds. Due to the popularity of this dish, it is one of the few customs that white (especially Afrikaners) and black South Africans share.

Offal dishes in South Africa do not usually consist of any organs and are mostly limited to stomach skin, sheep's head, shin and very rarely brains. Sheep's head has gained many nicknames over the years such as 'skobo' (township colloquial term meaning head) and 'smiley' (referring to the expression of the head when cooked).

There are numerous recipes to cook the above mentioned items available on many South African websites. One of the more popular way to cook offal in South Africa is to cook it with small potatoes in a curry sauce served on rice. Alternatively it can served with samp or maize rice.

In Zimbabwe offal is a common relish enjoyed by people of all cultures. Cow offal dishes include stomach, hooves, shin, intestines, liver, head, tongue and very rarely in certain communities, testicles. Chicken dishes include feet, liver, intestines and gizzards. A popular preparation of goat or sheep offals involves wrapping pieces of the stomach with the intestines before cooking.