Border Snack · Peanut & Wild Orchid
Chikanda (Kikanda / Wild Orchid Cake)
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Chikanda's meat-like, sliceable texture earned it the nickname 'African polony' — despite being made entirely from ground wild orchid tubers and peanut flour, with no meat at all.
Dried, ground tubers from wild terrestrial orchids are mixed with peanut flour, chili and water into a slurry, then boiled and set into a firm loaf that's sliced cold or pan-fried, sold by vendors in Lubumbashi's markets near the Zambian border.
Why it's made this way: The dish crossed into southeastern DRC from Bemba communities in northeastern Zambia, and cross-border vendors still carry it into Katanga's markets today — a rare Congolese snack built around a foraged, conservation-threatened wild orchid rather than a farmed crop.
More from DR Congo
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Primus
Brochettes
Liboke (de Poisson)
Chikwangue (Kwanga)
Mikate (Congolese Beignets)
Poulet à la Moambe (Chicken in Palm Nut Sauce)
Brochettes
Liboke (de Poisson)
Chikwangue (Kwanga)
Mikate (Congolese Beignets)
Poulet à la Moambe (Chicken in Palm Nut Sauce)
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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Photo credits.