Beef Calulu

Calulu it is a typical dish from Angola and São Tomé e Princípe.

It can be made with dried and fresh fish or dried meat. Other ingredients include tomatoes, garlic, okra, sweet potatoes, spinach, zucchini and palm oil.

In Angola, the fish calulu is prepared in a pan, in which layers of dried fish and fresh fish are mixed with the other ingredients. It is cooked over medium heat and served with funge and beans with palm oil. In São Tomé and Príncipe, the fish calulu can also be prepared with shrimp.

The meat calulu is prepared with pre-soaked dried meat. It is also cooked over medium heat and served with funge and beans with palm oil.

Source

In Angola kulúlu is the name given by the bakongo, to the portion of food separated at the end of the meal, by women, to be left to their husbands and is considered by many linguists to be the true origin of the word. However, certain references point to a non-African origin of the dish's name.

There are dictionaries that record the word “calalu” to refer to various vegetables, such as yam leaves. In Brazil, “caruru”, a word derived from the Tupi-Guarani "caaruru", refers to a type of amarantu endemic or native to America from the South, but also very popular in Africa. In this country, the dish called Caruru is similar to the calulu from Angola.

On the other hand, this term seems to have Arawak origin and will have entered the European language via South American Spanish, and apparently, the plant (yam, as well as okra) would have been taken to the Americas by African slaves, but the name , both from the plant and from food, would have been imported from that region to West Africa. However, it should be noted that several linguists refer that the word appears in this region, originally from the Tupi-Guarani .