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Thecuisine of the Democratic Republic of the Congo varies widely, representing the food of indigenous people.Cassava,fufu, rice, plantain and potatoes are generally the staple foods.^[1]

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Less than two percent of the land is cultivated, and most of this is used for subsistence farming. Congo's farmland is the source of a wide variety of crops. These includemaize,rice,cassava (manioc),sweet potatoes,yam,taro,plantain,tomatoes,pumpkin and varieties ofpeas andnuts.^[2] These foods are eaten throughout the country, but there are also regional dishes. The most important crops for export arecoffee andpalm oil.

Wild plants,^[3] fruits,mushrooms,^[3]honey and other foods such asbushmeat and fish are also gathered, hunted, and used in dishes.^[3] People often sell these crops at markets, or by the roadside. Cattle breeding and the development of large-scale agricultural businesses have been hindered by the recent war and the poor quality of the road system.

Congolese meals often consist of a starchy ingredient, along with vegetables and meat in the form of astew. The starch can come in the form of a paste or mash made of cassava or corn flour, calledfufu orugali. When eaten, thefufu is rolled into golf-ball-sized balls and dipped into the spicy stew; often an indentation is made with the thumb in order to bring up a thimbleful of sauce.^{[citation needed]}

A type of fermented bread,kwanga orchikwangue, made from cassava, is commercially produced throughout the country.Lituma is a popular plantain dish made from mashed plantains which are formed into balls and baked. Sweet potatoes are prepared in a similar way, and mixed with roasted peanuts in some parts of the country. Rice is often mixed with beans.^{[citation needed]}

To accompany these starchy ingredients, green vegetables such as cassava leaves (pondu),bitterleaf, andokra are often added. Mushrooms, especially prized among theLuba people, are often seen as a substitute for meat in times of shortage. Though totalvegetarianism is unknown, most meals are eaten without meat due to its high price.

Fish are plentiful along theCongo River, its tributaries, and various lakes, and are baked, boiled or fried for immediate consumption, or smoked or salted when preserved. Markets often sell ready-to-eat peppered fish baked inbanana leaves.Goat is the most widely consumed meat.^[3]Mwambe is a common way of cookingchicken withpeanut sauce.^[3] Edible insects such asgrasshoppers andcaterpillars are eaten;^[3] they tend to have a nutty flavour.

Sauces to mix with the ingredients above can be made with tomatoes,onions, and the local aromaticherbs.Vegetable oil, salt, hot redchile pepper and sweet greenpepper are used to impart extra flavour. These spices are less frequently used in the far south.

Kinshasa'snganda restaurants, with a greater mix of ethnicities, are ethnic restaurants serving food from specific parts of the country, as well as Western imports such as bread andbeer.^[4] Often owned by unmarried women, thenganda occupy a middle ground betweenbars and restaurants. Three typical types ofnganda restaurants are:

• Riversidenganda serve baked fish served with cooked plantains: recipes from up river.
• Kongonganda serve fish dishes with a vegetable sauce, together withkwanga mentioned above. These dishes originate downriver from Kinshasa.
• Kasainganda serve goat meat with rice and green vegetables. They also use rabbit as the grand dessert at a special occasion.

Nganda restaurants are often geared not only to specific regions, but also different classes—from migrant menial workers and miners, to professionals and government officials.^{[citation needed]}

• Moamba, asauce or adish prepared with a sauce usually made from peanut butter.
• Ngai ngai ya musaka is a sauce or dish prepared with a sauce usually made from thepericarp (not the seeds) of palm nuts, the fruit of theAfrican oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) tree, in westernMiddle Africa.^[5]Ngai ngai is a leaf calledoseille in French andsorrel in English.
• Chikwangue orkwanga, made from cassava, cooked and stored in banana leaves, darker in some parts of the country, nearly white in other parts.
• Fufu, sticky dough-like dish made of cassava flour. This is a staple dish comparable torice orpotatoes in other countries.
• Loso na madesu—rice and beans.
• Sombe orpondu—soup made from boiled, pounded and cooked cassava leaves.
• Ndakala—small dried fish.
• Pili pili—very hot pepper, served with nearly everything, even occasionally dried and sprinkled on fruit.
• Palm wine, made from the sap of a wild palm tree, is fermented by naturalyeasts, and has an alcohol content of between five and seven percent.
• Mbembe—snails.
• Mulenda, ordongo-dongo—okra.
• Soso—chicken and rice.
• Ntaba orngulu yako tumba—grilled goat, pork.
• Mbisi ya mayi (poisson de mere)—fish.
• Liboke ya mbika (steamed pumpkin-seed pudding),liboke ya ngulu (pork pepper soup steamed in banana leaves) orliboke ya mbisi (fish, mostly catfish pepper soup steamed in banana leaves).
• Mikate—deep-fried dough balls.
• Makelele—grasshoppers.
• Pain mwambe—peanut butter bread.
• Makayabu—salt fish.
• Kamundele—kebab sticks, beef on skewers.
• Thomson—horse mackerel.
• Mbewngi—black-eyed peas.
• Loso ya bulayi—Congolesefried rice.
• Madesu—bean stew.
• Pondu ya madesu—cassava leaf and bean stew.
• Dabo kolo—small pieces of baked bread.

• African cuisine
• List of African cuisines

• Democratic Republic of the Congo cuisine
• Republic of the Congo cuisine
• Central African cuisine

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