Afra

Ingredients

Meat

• 1 kglamb or mutton on the bone, cut into large pieces, or 1 kg beef
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tspground black pepper
• 1stock cube, crushed
• 2 tbspgroundnut oil

Onion and mustard dressing

• 2onions, sliced into thin rings
• 1 tbspvinegar or lemon juice
• 3 tbspDijon-style mustard
• 1stock cube dissolved in 50 ml hot water
• 1 tspground chilli or 1 Scotch bonnet, finely chopped
• ½ tspground black pepper

To serve

• 2baguettes or 4 tapalapa breads, split
• extra ground chilli

Directions

1. Build a charcoal fire and let it burn right down until the coals are grey and glowing with no flame at all. Afra is grilled over embers, never over flame.
2. Rub the meat with the salt, pepper, crushed stock cube and oil and leave it 20 minutes at room temperature.
3. Grill over the coals for 6–8 minutes a side for lamb on the bone, turning often, until deeply charred outside and just pink at the bone.
4. Meanwhile soak the onion rings in the vinegar with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes, so they lose their raw bite but keep their crunch.
5. Whisk the mustard with the dissolved stock cube, chilli and black pepper into a loose, sharp sauce.
6. Move the grilled meat to a wooden board and chop it into rough bite-sized pieces with a cleaver, bone and all, exactly as the afra sellers do.
7. Tip the chopped meat into a foil tray or metal pan back over the coals with the mustard sauce and half the onions, and toss for 2 minutes so everything picks up the sauce and a little more smoke.
8. Pile into the split bread with the remaining raw onion and more chilli, wrap in paper and eat standing at the grill.

Technique

• Afra is late-night street food, cooked at open-air grills across Banjul and Serekunda and eaten from paper on the pavement rather than at a table.
• The chop on the board after grilling is the defining move. The meat is grilled in large pieces so it stays juicy, then cut small so it fits into bread.
• Mustard and raw onion do the seasoning, not a marinade. The meat itself gets nothing but salt, pepper and a crushed stock cube.
• Charcoal is not optional to the flavour; a gas grill produces something flatter and quite different.

Substitutions

• Under a domestic grill, cook 5 minutes a side on the highest setting and finish the chopped meat with the mustard and onion in a hot pan to make up for the lost smoke.

Variations

• Grilled beef or chicken versions are sold at the same stalls according to what came in that day.
• Dibi is the closely related Senegalese version, usually mutton, served the same way with raw onion and mustard.

History

Grilled-meat shacks called afra houses open after dark in Serekunda and Banjul; the meat is chopped on the block, peppered and wrapped in paper.

Frequently asked questions

What is Afra?

Afra is a street food from Gambia: chopped grilled meat with raw onion, mustard and pepper; nightlife ritual. Grilled-meat shacks called afra houses open after dark in Serekunda and Banjul; the meat is chopped on the block, peppered and wrapped in paper.

How long does Afra take to make?

Afra takes 20 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Afra?

Yes, within limits. Under a domestic grill, cook 5 minutes a side on the highest setting and finish the chopped meat with the mustard and onion in a hot pan to make up for the lost smoke.

What is the most important thing to get right in Afra?

Build a charcoal fire and let it burn right down until the coals are grey and glowing with no flame at all. Afra is grilled over embers, never over flame.