Grains & Starches

🇦🇱Albania

Albanian Trahana

Trahana

Albanian trahana is a fermented grain-and-yogurt mixture dried into granules, then stored for soups and porridge.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Beso

በሶ

Finely ground roasted barley flour — an ancient Ethiopian travel food. Mix with water for a quick savory paste, with honey for a sweet snack, or with milk and fruit for a modern smoothie.

🇵🇪Peru

Cañihua

Nutritious Andean grain similar to quinoa but darker and more resilient. Valued for food security in high-altitude regions.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Chiko

ጭኮ

A pressed Ethiopian travel snack made of roasted barley flour blended with niter kibbeh, sugar and warm spices. Calorie-dense and shelf-stable — a traditional 'journey food' eaten by farmers, soldiers and travelers.

🇲🇿Mozambique

Chima de Arroz

A Mozambican stiff porridge made from rice flour and served with relishes.

🇨🇬Niari-Bouenza (Southern), Republic of the Congo

Congolese Attiéké

Attiéké

Fermented cassava semolina steamed into fluffy, slightly tangy granules; originally from Côte d'Ivoire but now produced in the Bouenza district of Congo.

🇰🇬Uzgen, Kyrgyzstan

Devzira Rice

Девзира

A red-brown rice from the Fergana valley whose grains hold a groove of pink bran, grown around Uzgen and prized for plov because it swells without breaking.

🇸🇩Sudan

Dukhun

A Sudanese sorghum preparation cooked as a staple alongside sauces and stews.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Eritrean Tihlo

Tihlo

Eritrean dish of roasted barley flour dough shaped into small balls; served on a stick and dipped into a spicy berbere sauce; a specialty of the Tigrinya people; eaten communally

🇧🇷Brazil

Farofa

A toasted manioc flour mixture, often sautéed with butter, bacon, onions, or herbs, served as a crunchy accompaniment to stews and barbecue.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Green Wheat

فريكة

Wheat harvested green, set alight so the chaff burns off, then dried and cracked, giving a smoky, chewy grain.

🇺🇬Uganda

Kalo

Finger millet flour worked into boiling water, sometimes with cassava flour, into a stiff dark brown loaf torn by hand and dipped into sauce.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Kishk

كشك

Cracked wheat fermented with yoghurt for days, dried in the sun and ground to a pale powder, then cooked into a thick sour soup.

🇵🇪Peru

Kiwicha

Andean amaranth grain, high in protein and essential amino acids. INIA has developed improved varieties like INIA 442 La Frondosa.

🇲🇼Malawi

Mpunga

Rice grown in lowland and irrigated areas of Malawi, used as a less common but valued alternative to nsima; often served with beans, vegetables, or fish.

🇳🇦Namibia

Pearl Millet

Mahangu

Pearl millet — the staple grain of northern Namibia, ground into flour for oshifima porridge, oshikwiila pancakes, and oshikundu drink; the carbohydrate base of the Owambo diet.

🇿🇦South Africa

Phutu

A South African crumbly maize meal, steamed and served with stew or meat — the traditional pap of the townships.

🇧🇮Burundi

Pounded Banana

Boiled green plantains pounded in a wooden mortar until smooth and elastic, seasoned with salt; served as a starchy accompaniment to stews and beans, similar in role to mashed potato but denser and more fibrous.

🇧🇴Bolivia

Quinoa

Quinua

The 'golden grain of the Andes', rich in complete protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Peru is a world leader in production.

🇱🇺Éislek, Luxembourg

Stäerzelen

Buckwheat and wheat flour scalded and pulled into rough torn dumplings, fried in butter and eaten with apple sauce or bacon.

🇪🇷Eritrea

Teff

ጤፍ

The tiny ancient grain that feeds Ethiopia. Ground into flour for injera, teff is naturally gluten-free and packed with protein, iron and fiber. The foundation of Ethiopian cuisine for thousands of years.

🇪🇹Ethiopia

Tihlo

ጥሕሎ

A Tigrayan specialty of barley dough balls served with meat stew and spiced with berbere. Small roasted barley balls are skewered on a stick and dipped into the spicy sauce — a beloved northern comfort food.

🇲🇼Malawi

Ugali

Posho

Kenya's staple food: dense maize flour porridge cooked in boiling water, served with meats, vegetables, or stews

🇸🇸South Sudan

Walwal

A South Sudanese grain dish cooked into a firm, shareable accompaniment for stews.