VeSoko African Marketplace
Shop African groceries, fashion, beauty, hair care, home goods, and gifts from verified sellers serving the African diaspora.
Igisura is the Kinyarwanda name for stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), a hardy wild green that grows in damp soil. Sold here dried, it is a nutrient-dense leaf — rich in vitamins A, C and K and folic acid, and high in iron, magnesium, calcium and potassium. Once dried or cooked it no longer stings. Simmer it like spinach or isombe with onion and a little oil as a side dish, add it to soups and stews, or steep a spoonful in hot water for several minutes as a herbal nettle tea. Rinse before use; store the dried leaf sealed in a cool, dry place.
Githeri masala is a savoury Kenyan spice mix for seasoning githeri — boiled maize and beans — and other one-pot meals. Fry onion and tomato, stir in the masala, then add the cooked maize and beans and a splash of water and simmer until it comes together. It also works in mukimo, beef and vegetable stews and rice. See pack for net weight; reseal and keep away from heat and moisture.
A blue melamine kitchen serving spoon shaped for dishing up staples — the wide, shallow, teardrop bowl scoops cooked ubugali, rice, matoke, grains, pasta and salad without crushing or squashing them. The short handle has a twisted, textured grip and a hanging hole for storage. Made from durable, food-safe melamine: lightweight, shatter-resistant and dishwasher-safe, and it will not scratch non-stick pots. Please confirm the exact length and colour shade with the store.
Dried rosemary leaves — woody, piney and aromatic. Use them with roast meat, chicken and potatoes, in marinades and rubs, in bread and focaccia, and in tomato-based stews and soups; a few leaves also make a fragrant herbal tea. Crush lightly before adding to release the oils, and use sparingly as the flavour is strong. See pack for net weight; keep sealed, cool and dark.
All-purpose wheat flour — ifu y'ingano — a kitchen essential for East African home cooking and baking. Use it for soft chapati and layered chapati, mandazi and half-cake, bread and buns, cakes and biscuits, and for thickening stews and gravies. Sift before use for the lightest results. See pack for net weight; store sealed in a cool, dry place and use within its best-before date.
Concentrated tomato paste for building the base of stews, jollof rice, pilau, pasta sauces and soups. Fry a spoonful with onion, garlic and pepper until the raw edge cooks off and the colour deepens, then continue with your recipe. A store-cupboard essential that adds body, colour and a savoury tomato depth. See pack for net weight; refrigerate after opening.
De Rica double-concentrated tomato paste in a small tin — the right amount for a single pot of jollof rice, stew or sauce. Made in Nigeria from 100% Roma-style tomatoes with only citric acid added and no preservatives. Rich, thick and deeply flavoured; fry with onion and pepper to build the base of almost any West African dish. Refrigerate any leftover paste in a covered container.
Attote Original is a traditional West African beverage from Côte d'Ivoire, prepared from a blend of natural plants, leaves, bark and roots using preparation methods passed down through generations. It is plant-based and comes as a pack of two bottles. Serve as directed on the label. Note: this product is not marketed as a dietary supplement or medicinal product and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. See bottles for net volume and any preparation guidance.
Pounded cassava leaves — known as pondu, sombe, isombe, saka-saka or matembele depending on the country — in a 2.2 lb pack, ready to cook. Simmer slowly with palm oil, onion, leek, aubergine and either peanut butter, smoked fish or meat until tender and rich. Serve with rice, fufu, ubugali or plantain. A green vegetable dish at the heart of Congolese, Rwandan and Angolan home cooking; naturally gluten-free.
Nestlé Nido instant full-cream milk powder in a 900 g pack. Made from full-cream cow's milk with a soya-lecithin emulsifier for quick mixing, and fortified with vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc. Stir about three spoonfuls into 250 ml of warm or cold water for a glass of milk, or use it in tea, chai, porridge, mashed potato, baking and cooking. Contains milk and soya. A long-life pantry staple — reseal and keep dry.
A purple serving scoop for soup (isupu), stew, sauce and porridge. The deep, flat-bottomed bowl lets you portion evenly and spread sauces and toppings, while the short handle gives a secure grip and ends in a hanging hole for storage. Made from durable, break-resistant food-safe plastic — lightweight and easy to wash. Please confirm the exact capacity, material and colour shade with the store.
Unrefined red palm oil, 1.1 L — a household size for cooks who make African food regularly. Deep orange-red with a rich, earthy taste, it brings colour and flavour to banga and palm-nut soup, egusi, ogbono, jollof rice, beans and Central African greens such as pondu. Warm the bottle briefly if the oil has set. Store away from heat and light and reseal after use.
Fufu flour for making the classic West and Central African swallow at home, without the pounding. Pour into hot water and stir continuously, then knead over low heat for a few minutes to a smooth, stretchy dough. Serve hot in balls alongside egusi, okra, ogbono, groundnut or pepper soup, or with vegetable and meat stews. A pantry essential for anyone who grew up on fufu, eba or pounded yam; naturally gluten-free. See pack for net weight and exact preparation ratio.
Akanozo composite flour — ifu y'imvange, a mixed flour of soya beans and cereals — sold by weight. High in plant protein, B vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium, it is used to cook a nourishing porridge (uji) for children and adults and to enrich plain maize or millet porridge. Whisk into water or milk and simmer, stirring, to a smooth consistency; sweeten to taste. Store sealed in a cool, dry place.
Pate Jaune yellow maize flour in a wholesale 50 lb sack (umufuka). Milled from yellow corn, which carries more natural colour and beta-carotene than white maize, it cooks into a warm-toned ugali, posho, nsima or bugali to serve with greens, beans, meat and fish stews, and also makes a rich yellow maize porridge for breakfast. Add to boiling water and stir firmly until thick and smooth, then let it steam a few minutes. Naturally gluten-free. Bulk size for large families, caterers and resellers; store the sack sealed in a cool, dry place away from moisture and pests.
Pilau masala is the warm Swahili-coast spice blend — typically cumin, coriander, black pepper, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon — that gives pilau rice its aroma. Fry it with onions, garlic, ginger and meat before adding the rice and stock, so the spices bloom in the oil. It also lifts beef and goat stew, biryani, roast potatoes and marinades. See pack for net weight; keep the jar closed and away from heat to hold the aroma.
Bulk 10 kg bag of fine cassava flour from Rwanda's Kinazi Cassava Plant (KCP) — the economical size for large families, caterers and resellers. Wet-milled from freshly harvested tubers grown by Rwandan smallholders and certified gluten-free by the Rwanda Standards Board. Stir gradually into boiling water and work until firm for ubugali; also for fufu, porridge and gluten-free baking. Store sealed in a cool, dry place away from moisture.
Yellow split peas — vatana or watana — cook down soft and creamy in about 30–40 minutes with no soaking needed. Use them for dhal, thick pea soup, kunde-style stews and samosa filling, or simmer with turmeric, cumin and onion for a comforting side. A quick, filling source of plant protein and fibre; naturally gluten-free. Sold by weight — store somewhere cool and dry.
Chicken masala is a balanced curry-style blend — coriander, cumin, turmeric, chilli, ginger, garlic and warm spices — for chicken stew, curry, marinades and roast rubs. Rub it onto chicken pieces with oil and salt before frying or grilling, or fry it in the base of a tomato-and-onion sauce. It works equally well with fish, beans and vegetables. See pack for net weight; store sealed and dry.
De Rica is a premium Nigerian double-concentrated tomato paste made from 100% Roma-style tomatoes with only citric acid added — no preservatives, no artificial colour. Thick, deep red and intensely tomatoey, it is the base for jollof rice, obe ata, buka stew, pasta sauce and soups: fry a few spoonfuls with onion and pepper to start the dish. Large tin. Once opened, transfer any unused paste to a covered container and refrigerate.
Igisura is the Kinyarwanda name for stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), a hardy wild green that grows in damp soil. Sold here dried, it is a nutrient-dense leaf — rich in vitamins A, C and K and folic acid, and high in iron, magnesium, calcium and potassium. Once dried or cooked it no longer stings. Simmer it like spinach or isombe with onion and a little oil as a side dish, add it to soups and stews, or steep a spoonful in hot water for several minutes as a herbal nettle tea. Rinse before use; store the dried leaf sealed in a cool, dry place.
Githeri masala is a savoury Kenyan spice mix for seasoning githeri — boiled maize and beans — and other one-pot meals. Fry onion and tomato, stir in the masala, then add the cooked maize and beans and a splash of water and simmer until it comes together. It also works in mukimo, beef and vegetable stews and rice. See pack for net weight; reseal and keep away from heat and moisture.
A blue melamine kitchen serving spoon shaped for dishing up staples — the wide, shallow, teardrop bowl scoops cooked ubugali, rice, matoke, grains, pasta and salad without crushing or squashing them. The short handle has a twisted, textured grip and a hanging hole for storage. Made from durable, food-safe melamine: lightweight, shatter-resistant and dishwasher-safe, and it will not scratch non-stick pots. Please confirm the exact length and colour shade with the store.
Dried rosemary leaves — woody, piney and aromatic. Use them with roast meat, chicken and potatoes, in marinades and rubs, in bread and focaccia, and in tomato-based stews and soups; a few leaves also make a fragrant herbal tea. Crush lightly before adding to release the oils, and use sparingly as the flavour is strong. See pack for net weight; keep sealed, cool and dark.
All-purpose wheat flour — ifu y'ingano — a kitchen essential for East African home cooking and baking. Use it for soft chapati and layered chapati, mandazi and half-cake, bread and buns, cakes and biscuits, and for thickening stews and gravies. Sift before use for the lightest results. See pack for net weight; store sealed in a cool, dry place and use within its best-before date.
Concentrated tomato paste for building the base of stews, jollof rice, pilau, pasta sauces and soups. Fry a spoonful with onion, garlic and pepper until the raw edge cooks off and the colour deepens, then continue with your recipe. A store-cupboard essential that adds body, colour and a savoury tomato depth. See pack for net weight; refrigerate after opening.
De Rica double-concentrated tomato paste in a small tin — the right amount for a single pot of jollof rice, stew or sauce. Made in Nigeria from 100% Roma-style tomatoes with only citric acid added and no preservatives. Rich, thick and deeply flavoured; fry with onion and pepper to build the base of almost any West African dish. Refrigerate any leftover paste in a covered container.
Attote Original is a traditional West African beverage from Côte d'Ivoire, prepared from a blend of natural plants, leaves, bark and roots using preparation methods passed down through generations. It is plant-based and comes as a pack of two bottles. Serve as directed on the label. Note: this product is not marketed as a dietary supplement or medicinal product and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. See bottles for net volume and any preparation guidance.
Pounded cassava leaves — known as pondu, sombe, isombe, saka-saka or matembele depending on the country — in a 2.2 lb pack, ready to cook. Simmer slowly with palm oil, onion, leek, aubergine and either peanut butter, smoked fish or meat until tender and rich. Serve with rice, fufu, ubugali or plantain. A green vegetable dish at the heart of Congolese, Rwandan and Angolan home cooking; naturally gluten-free.
Nestlé Nido instant full-cream milk powder in a 900 g pack. Made from full-cream cow's milk with a soya-lecithin emulsifier for quick mixing, and fortified with vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc. Stir about three spoonfuls into 250 ml of warm or cold water for a glass of milk, or use it in tea, chai, porridge, mashed potato, baking and cooking. Contains milk and soya. A long-life pantry staple — reseal and keep dry.
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