Kwanzaa Culinarians

Recipes and Food Stories from the African Diaspora

Fried Okra

Fried Cornmeal Okra

Okra is originally from West Africa, for it was introduced to the American South by the Atlantic Slave trade. Traditional African-American recipes mix okra with tomatoes, lima beans and corn. … Continue reading →

December 11, 2011

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Learn more about Kwanzaa

The word "Kwanzaa" comes from the phrase, "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first-fruits." Kwanzaa's extra "a" evolved as a result of a particular history of the Organization Us. It was clone as an expression of African values in order to inspire the creativity of our children. In the early days of Us, there were seven children who each wanted to represent a letter of Kwanzaa. Since kwanza (first) has only six letters, we added an extra "a" to make it seven, thus creating "Kwanzaa." To learn more about Kwanzaa, visit the Official Kwanzaa Website.