Australian Aboriginal culture is known throughout the world for its art, music and dance, but much less is known about another key part of the culture — its cuisine.

From kangaroo meat delicacies to bush versions of coffee and tea, Aboriginal cooking can be incorporated into all sorts of meals for pretty much any occasion.

And it's easier to do at home than you might think.

Dale Tilbrook is an Aboriginal community elder who has dedicated her life to creating and maintaining inventive indigenous cuisine by making sauces and mixed spices from local ingredients — some of which you can find in your average suburban park or even backyard.

She has fond memories of this ingredient-gathering process as a girl, when the women in her life would begin the cooking preparations outside, picking the ingredients before bringing them back into the kitchen.

Ms Tilbrook said each region had specific flavours, with those closer to the coast providing foods that were naturally saltier, while inland areas often delivered foods with thicker, richer tastes, including ingredients such youlk — a root vegetable similar to radish.

If the kangaroo is chewy 'you've done it wrong'

Ms Tilbrook said cooking kangaroo was not as hard as some people thought.

She said kangaroo mince was the easiest to cook, and could be made into a patty for a burger, or kept as finger food — but steaks and fillets were the best cuts.

"For a good fillet, sear on both sides until it's browned, then add your bush herbs and seal it with alfoil on an oven tray, pop it in for 180 degrees Celsius for five minutes (or longer if you preferred your meat well-done) and then it will melt in your mouth," she said.

"Kangaroo shouldn't be chewy, if it is you've done it wrong. It should be cooked quickly and left for a long rest."

She added that when cooking meat from Australian animals it was best to use the herbs and spices from the land they lived on.

"There's just something familiar about the flavours and spices mixing together," she said.

Ms Tilbrook says many of the flavours of bush tucker ingredients can be replicated if necessary. ( Supplied: Anita McInnes/Echo News )

Some of her favourite dishes include wattle seed coffee, lemon myrtle tea and in particular a kangaroo slider dish.

Wattle seed (acacia seed) can be made into a coffee or baked in a biscuit. It's usually roasted, releasing a coffee, chocolate, hazelnut flavour.

In contrast, lemon myrtle has an aromatic, lemony taste which can be used for seasoning fish or creating sweet marinades for prawns, or left in its sweet form for teas and cakes.

Quandongs, or wild peaches, can be used for both sweet and salty dishes. ( Kendall Jackson )

The saltbush has a dry flesh that surrounds a crunchy seed, with a taste similar to a pomegranate. Its tart flavour has a distinct salty, cranberry, sour taste with grassy undertones.

The quandong is a fruit that has an initial sour, bitter taste but finishes with a sweet peachy flavour and can be used for both sweet and salty dishes.

Although these flavours are unique — with some only available in specialised outlets — they could also be recreated at home from everyday ingredients found in local supermarkets.

For example Ms Tilbrook's recipe for kangaroo sliders (see below) has a lot of traditional elements like native pepper bush leaf, native basil and bush parsley, but she says similar flavours can be recreated using sea salt, holy basil and parsley.

Kangaroo sliders and quandong relish with native spinach

Ingredients for sliders

Half a kilogram of kangaroo mince

Half a kilogram of kangaroo mince Half of one spring onion

Half of one spring onion 1 egg

1 egg 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup breadcrumbs Sea parsley (or parsley)

Sea parsley (or parsley) Native basil (or other basil)

Native basil (or other basil) Sea salt

Sea salt Native pepper bush leaf (or other pepper)

Native pepper bush leaf (or other pepper) Macadamia oil



Quandong sauce ingredients

2 cups quandongs, halved

2 cups quandongs, halved 1 apple, peeled and diced

1 apple, peeled and diced 1 cup water

1 cup water One youlk or radish

One youlk or radish Salt bush

Salt bush Handful native spinach or spinach

Handful native spinach or spinach Sugar to sweeten (optional)

Method: