South Sudan cuisine is unsophisticated; the staples are bread, pancakes and porridge made from corn, sorghum, maize and other grains. Look out in particular for kisra, a wide, flat bread made from fermented sorghum flour; gurassa, a thick corn bread; and brown wheat poshto.

A wide range of vegetables and pulses are available in the marketplace, many of them grown locally. In addition to potatoes, sweet potatoes, daal (lentils) and peas, you’ll find bamia (okra or ‘ladies fingers’), ful (mashed fava beans) and local specialities such as kudra (a leafy green vegetable rich in vitamins A and C), dodo (amaranth leaves), and pea leaves. Onions, tomatoes, peppers, cabbages, plantain bananas, cassava and carrots are imported from Uganda and Kenya.

During mango season (March), you won’t be able to move for sweet, ripe mangoes and will happily be able to gorge yourself on them at rock-bottom prices. Each green mango hangs pendulously from the tree like a giant, round Christmas tree decoration, and when the fruits ripen, fall and bounce across the tin roofs, it can sound as if the sky is falling in. The markets also sell juicy pineapples, papayas (pawpaw) and oranges, apples, guava and avocados, although many of these are imported from neighbouring countries. Don’t miss sugarcane and sorghum stems: their juice is immensely sticky and sweet and chewing on them is a popular snack. Many types of foods are fried in cow brain rather than cooking fat as it gives a distinctive flavour and vegetarians should be aware that this applies as much to vegetables and pulses as to fish and meat. Meat (usually mutton or goat) is typically boiled or stewed, which helps to make it less tough, and it can be served with spices and peanut or simsim (sesame) sauce to add flavour. Dried or smoked beef is often eaten with peanut or groundnut sauce and may be made into a stew with bamia. A small amount of chicken is included in the diet, whilst pork is rarer as it has to be imported. Some communities eat fish from the rivers and swamps, and dried fish is oft en added to kajaik (a popular type of stew) or to aseeda (sorghum porridge) to give added flavour. A popular roadside snack is rolled eggs. There are relatively few desserts and sweets in South Sudan, although if you find them it is definitely worth trying the delicious, chewy macaroons made from peanuts, known locally as ful Sudani.

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