Recipes
Ndolè: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Ndolè is often called Cameroon’s national dish. It comes from the Sawa people of the coast around Douala and pairs bitterleaf (Vernonia), washed…
The Mboa Harvest blog
Recipes, stories and guides to Cameroonian foods, region by region.
144 articles
Recipes
Mbongo tchobi: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Mbongo tchobi is the great black stew of the Bassa people, between Édéa and the Sanaga-Maritime. Its deep colour comes from spices that are…
Recipes
Ndomba: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Ndomba is a way of steaming food in leaves that is popular all along the coast. The fish, coated in a spice paste, cooks in its own juices inside…
Recipes
Grilled fish with miondo: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Grilled fish is the star of Douala’s nightlife. At roadside grills and along the Wouri river, it is marinated in spices, grilled over charcoal and…
Recipes
Pounded taro with yellow soup: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Pounded taro with yellow soup is a celebration dish from the western Grassfields. Smooth, elastic pounded taro holds a bright yellow soup made by…
Recipes
Kondrè: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Kondrè is the plantain stew of the Bamiléké in the West. Green plantain cooks slowly with meat, often goat, in a thick sauce scented with calabash…
Recipes
Koki: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Koki is a cake of blended black-eyed peas enriched with red palm oil and steamed in banana leaves. Orange, soft and gently spicy, it is eaten all…
Recipes
Nkui with corn fufu: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Nkui is a slippery soup made from barks and spices, emblematic of the Bamiléké. It is traditionally cooked for a woman who has just given birth,…
Recipes
Ndjapche: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Ndjapche is a sauté of leafy greens in red palm oil with dried shrimp, much loved in the West. Quick and simple, it is an everyday dish that goes…
Recipes
Mashed potatoes & beans: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Pilé de pommes is a specialty of the Menoua around Dschang, potato country. Potatoes and beans are pounded together with red palm oil into a…
Recipes
Achu & yellow soup: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Achu is the signature dish of the anglophone North-West. Pounded taro shaped into a dome holds a yellow soup of palm oil and potash, served with a…
Recipes
Njama-njama & corn fufu: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Njama-njama is the North-West’s name for huckleberry leaves. Sautéed with onions and tomatoes and served with corn fufu, they make the region’s…
Recipes
Khati khati: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Khati khati is chicken grilled and then simmered in red palm oil, a specialty of the Kom people in the North-West. Smoky from the charcoal and…
Recipes
Corn chaff: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Corn chaff is a mix of corn and beans simmered in red palm oil, popular in the North-West and the West. It is a cheap, hearty, comforting dish…
Recipes
Eru & water fufu: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Eru is the flagship dish of the South-West, especially among the Bayangi of Mamfe. Finely sliced Gnetum leaves cook with waterleaf and plenty of…
Recipes
Ekwang: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Ekwang is a South-West dish: grated cocoyam rolled by hand in cocoyam leaves, then simmered in red palm oil with crayfish and smoked fish. It…
Recipes
Kwacoco & banga soup: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Kwacoco banga is the dish of the Bakweri, at the foot of Mount Cameroon. Kwacoco, grated cocoyam steamed in leaves, is served with banga soup, a…
Recipes
Pepper soup: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Pepper soup is a fiery broth made with fish, meat or chicken, loved all over Cameroon and especially in the South-West. Its spices (grains of…
Recipes
Okok: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Okok is a Beti dish from the Centre made from Gnetum leaves (the same plant as eru) cooked with groundnut paste. It comes in a savoury version…
Recipes
Sanga: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Sanga is a seasonal Beti dish, made when fresh corn reaches the markets. Corn, leaves and palm nut juice cook together into a soft, slightly sweet…
Recipes
Nnam ngon: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Nnam ngon, or egusi pudding, is a cake of ground melon seeds steamed in leaves and emblematic of the Centre region. Rich and fragrant, it…
Recipes
Bobolo with groundnut sauce: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Bobolo is the fermented cassava stick of the Beti people, wrapped in leaves. With a homemade groundnut sauce and meat or fish, it is one of the…
Recipes
Nnam owondo: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Nnam owondo is a cake of ground groundnuts steamed slowly in leaves, a specialty of the South. Dense and filling, it is shared in slices with…
Recipes
Ogbono soup: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Andok sauce, known as ogbono soup across West Africa, is made from the ground kernels of the bush mango (Irvingia). Slippery and silky, it is very…
Recipes
Kribi-style grilled fish: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
In Kribi, the South’s seaside town, fish is grilled on the beach as soon as the canoes come in. A marinade of njangsa, Penja pepper and chili: the…
Recipes
Kpem: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Kpem (or kwem) is a dish from the East made from pounded cassava leaves cooked slowly in palm nut juice. This old dish is found, under other names…
Recipes
Okra soup & cassava fufu: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Okra soup is one of Cameroon’s favourite slippery soups. In the East it is served with firm cassava fufu; dried okra means it can be made all year…
Recipes
Corn fufu & okra sauce: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
On the Adamawa plateau, cattle country, corn fufu with okra sauce and beef is the everyday staple. Potash gives the sauce its stretchy texture.
Recipes
Soya: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Soya are beef skewers grilled and dusted with kankan (suya) spice. Born in the Muslim north, they are now a fixture of every city in the country,…
Recipes
Sorghum fufu & roselle-leaf sauce: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
In the North, sorghum or corn fufu is served with a tangy sauce of roselle (sorrel) leaves, thickened with groundnut paste and seasoned with…
Recipes
Lalo: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Lalo is a slippery sauce made from jute leaves (kelen-kelen), common across the North and Far North. Quick to make, it is eaten with millet or…
Recipes
Millet porridge: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Gingery millet porridge is the breakfast of the Far North. Slightly sour and sweetened to taste, it is drunk hot in the morning or to break the fast.
Recipes
Baobab leaf sauce: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
In the Far North, dried baobab leaves ground to a powder make a green, silky sauce thickened with groundnut and locust beans. It accompanies…
Recipes
Millet fufu & dried okra sauce: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Millet fufu with dried okra sauce is the everyday pairing of the Far North. Okra is sun-dried after harvest, keeps all year and makes a stretchy,…
Recipes
Foléré drink: traditional recipe, origin and ingredients
Foléré is the Cameroonian name for hibiscus (bissap). Steeped with ginger and lemongrass, it makes a deep red, tangy, refreshing drink served…
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What is Oku white honey? Origin, uses and storage
Oku white honey, from the highlands of the North-West, is protected by a geographical indication. It is creamy and pale.
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What are hibiscus flowers? Origin, uses and storage
Foléré (hibiscus flowers) makes a tangy red drink served ice-cold.
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What is Western highlands arabica coffee? Origin, uses and storage
Arabica coffee from the western highlands is smooth and aromatic.
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What is cocoyam/taro flour? Origin, uses and storage
Taro flour lets you make achu and pounded taro with yellow soup without fresh taro.
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What is Penja white pepper? Origin, uses and storage
Penja white pepper grows on the volcanic soils of the Moungo. Protected by a geographical indication, it is sought by chefs for its intense aroma.
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What is Mbongo spice? Origin, uses and storage
Mbongo is the roasted spice that gives mbongo tchobi its black colour and smoky taste.
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What is bitterleaf? Origin, uses and storage
Bitterleaf (Vernonia amygdalina) is the leaf behind Cameroon’s national dish. We sell it washed, so already softened, and frozen to keep its colour.
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What is eru? Origin, uses and storage
Eru (okok) is the Gnetum leaf, finely sliced. Dried, it rehydrates in 20 minutes for eru or okok.
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What is egusi? Origin, uses and storage
Ground egusi (melon seeds) is used for nnam ngon and egusi sauce.
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What are bush mango seeds? Origin, uses and storage
Andok (ogbono) is the kernel of the bush mango. Ground, it makes a much-loved slippery sauce.
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What is red palm oil? Origin, uses and storage
Unrefined red palm oil gives eru, achu, koki and kpem their colour and taste. Ours is guaranteed free of added dyes.
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What are thin cassava sticks? Origin, uses and storage
Miondo is the thin, long version of the cassava stick, a specialty of Douala and the Sawa country. It is the classic partner for ndolè and grilled…
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What is robusta coffee? Origin, uses and storage
Robusta coffee from the Littoral is strong and rich in caffeine.
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What is cocoa beans / powder? Origin, uses and storage
Cocoa beans and powder come from the forest regions of the South and Centre.
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What is Cameroon black tea? Origin, uses and storage
Black tea from Djuttitsa and Ndu grows on the highlands.
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What is lemongrass? Origin, uses and storage
Dried lemongrass flavours infusions and hibiscus drink.
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What is dried corn? Origin, uses and storage
Dried corn is cooked with beans for corn chaff, or milled into flour.
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What is corn flour? Origin, uses and storage
Corn flour makes corn fufu, the base of many meals in the North-West, West and Adamawa.
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What is fermented corn paste? Origin, uses and storage
Fermented corn paste (ogi, akamu, pap) is cooked into a breakfast porridge.
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What is millet? Origin, uses and storage
Millet is the grain of the far north. As flour, it makes millet fufu and spiced porridge.
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What is red sorghum? Origin, uses and storage
Red sorghum is milled into flour for the sorghum fufu eaten with lalo and roselle sauce.
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What is fonio? Origin, uses and storage
Fonio is a tiny ancient grain, naturally gluten-free, that cooks in minutes like couscous.
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What is Ndop rice? Origin, uses and storage
Ndop rice is grown on the plains of the North-West, a local rice valued for its taste.
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What is plantain flour? Origin, uses and storage
Plantain flour, naturally gluten-free, makes plantain fufu or baked goods.
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What is yam flour? Origin, uses and storage
Yam flour (elubo) makes amala, a smooth brown swallow for soups.
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What is Penja black pepper? Origin, uses and storage
Penja black pepper, picked before ripening, is woodier and hotter than the white.
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What are njangsa seeds? Origin, uses and storage
Njangsa seeds thicken and flavour sauces and fish marinades.
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What is calabash nutmeg? Origin, uses and storage
Calabash nutmeg has a warm, aniseed aroma. It goes into mbongo, pepper soup and kondrè.
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What is grains of Selim? Origin, uses and storage
Grains of Selim come as smoky, musky pods. Crushed, they flavour pepper soup.
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What is alligator pepper / grains of paradise? Origin, uses and storage
Alligator pepper (grains of paradise) has a peppery, citrusy heat.
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What is prekese? Origin, uses and storage
Prekese (Aidan fruit) is a fragrant pod that perfumes soups.
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What is country onion? Origin, uses and storage
Country onion adds a garlic-and-onion taste to stews.
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What is Nkui spice mix? Origin, uses and storage
The nkui spice kit contains the barks and seeds, pre-measured, for nkui soup.
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What is Achu soup spice mix? Origin, uses and storage
The achu (yellow soup) spice mix is measured for 6 people.
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What is pepper soup spice mix? Origin, uses and storage
The pepper soup spice mix brings together the broth’s warming spices.
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What is dried / ground chili? Origin, uses and storage
Dried chili, whole or ground, adds heat to every sauce.
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What is dried / ground ginger? Origin, uses and storage
Ground dried ginger flavours porridge, hibiscus drink and marinades.
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What are fermented locust beans? Origin, uses and storage
Soumbala (dawadawa) is a powerful condiment of fermented locust beans, typical of the North.
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What is potash? Origin, uses and storage
Potash (kanwa) makes okra sauces stretch and gives achu soup its yellow colour.
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What is baobab leaf powder? Origin, uses and storage
Baobab leaf powder makes the green, silky sauce of the Far North.
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What is moringa leaf powder? Origin, uses and storage
Moringa leaf powder is added to sauces, juices and smoothies.
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What is waterleaf? Origin, uses and storage
Waterleaf brings the moisture and softness that eru needs.
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What are amaranth leaves? Origin, uses and storage
Folong (amaranth) is a tender leaf, cooked in sauces or sautéed.
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What are huckleberry leaves? Origin, uses and storage
Njama-njama (huckleberry leaves) is the North-West’s favourite green, sautéed with onions and tomatoes.
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What are zom leaves? Origin, uses and storage
Zom leaves, loved in the Centre and South, go into sanga.
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What are jute leaves? Origin, uses and storage
Kelen-kelen (jute leaves) makes the North’s slippery lalo sauce.
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What are sweet potato leaves? Origin, uses and storage
Sweet potato leaves are cooked in sauces, like spinach.
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What are fluted pumpkin leaves? Origin, uses and storage
Ugu (fluted pumpkin leaves) is cooked in sauces and soups.
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What are roselle / sorrel leaves? Origin, uses and storage
Roselle (sorrel) leaves make the North’s tangy sauce.
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What are wrapping leaves? Origin, uses and storage
Wrapping leaves are used to steam koki, nnam ngon, ndomba and bobolo.
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What are shelled groundnuts? Origin, uses and storage
Shelled groundnuts are the base of groundnut sauce, ndolè and nnam owondo.
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What is groundnut paste? Origin, uses and storage
Ready-made groundnut paste thickens okok, groundnut sauces and roselle sauce.
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What is unshelled egusi? Origin, uses and storage
Unshelled egusi is shelled by hand before grinding, for a fresher taste.
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What are red / white beans? Origin, uses and storage
Red or white beans go into corn chaff, pilé de pommes and stews.
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What are black-eyed peas? Origin, uses and storage
Peeled black-eyed peas are the key ingredient of koki.
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What is Bambara groundnut? Origin, uses and storage
Bambara groundnuts are cooked in stews or mashed.
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What is kola nut? Origin, uses and storage
Kola nut has a special place in Cameroonian culture: it is offered at weddings, bride-price ceremonies and visits as a sign of hospitality.
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What is bitter kola? Origin, uses and storage
Bitter kola is chewed as it is and valued for its bitterness.
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What is African walnut? Origin, uses and storage
African walnut (coula) is eaten roasted or boiled in season, as a snack.
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What are palm nuts? Origin, uses and storage
Fresh palm nuts give the red juice of banga soup and kpem.
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What are sesame seeds? Origin, uses and storage
Sesame seeds from the North are used roasted, as a paste or in sauces.
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What is coconut? Origin, uses and storage
Desiccated coconut is used in cakes, coconut rice and sauces.
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What is palm kernel oil? Origin, uses and storage
Palm kernel oil, pressed from the kernel, is dark and very fragrant.
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What is artisanal groundnut oil? Origin, uses and storage
Artisanal groundnut oil has a pronounced peanut taste, ideal for frying.
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What is shea butter? Origin, uses and storage
Food-grade shea butter is used for cooking in the North.
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What is palm nut cream? Origin, uses and storage
Canned palm nut cream lets you make banga soup, kpem and sanga without pressing the nuts.
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What is okra? Origin, uses and storage
Dried or powdered okra lets you make okra soup all year round.
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What is garden egg? Origin, uses and storage
Garden egg (African eggplant) is eaten raw or cooked in sauces.
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What is fresh hot pepper? Origin, uses and storage
Fresh scotch-bonnet-type pepper is very fragrant and very hot.
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What is African plum? Origin, uses and storage
Safou (African plum) is cooked for a few minutes in water or on embers until soft. A much-awaited seasonal fruit.
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What is fresh ginger? Origin, uses and storage
Fresh ginger flavours marinades, juices and porridges.
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What is pineapple? Origin, uses and storage
Dried pineapple is a snack or an addition to desserts.
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What is avocado? Origin, uses and storage
Avocado from the West goes with corn chaff and salads.
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What is cassava stick? Origin, uses and storage
Cassava stick (bobolo) is fermented cassava dough cooked in leaves. It is reheated by steaming and served with okok, ogbono and groundnut sauces.
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What is palm-oil cassava loaf? Origin, uses and storage
Mintoumba is a cassava loaf enriched with red palm oil and cooked in leaves, typical of the Littoral.
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What is gari? Origin, uses and storage
Gari is grated cassava, fermented and then toasted. It is eaten as a swallow (eba) with eru, or soaked in sweetened water.
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What is cassava flour? Origin, uses and storage
Cassava flour is used to make firm, smooth cassava fufu to go with slippery soups.
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What is water fufu? Origin, uses and storage
Water fufu is a fermented cassava dough with a slightly sour taste, essential with eru.
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What are dried cassava chips? Origin, uses and storage
Dried cassava chips are pieces of dried cassava to grind into your own flour.
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What is cassava starch? Origin, uses and storage
Cassava starch thickens sauces and desserts and is used for flatbreads.
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What are pounded cassava leaves? Origin, uses and storage
Pounded cassava leaves are the base of kpem (kwem), also called saka-saka or pondu in Central Africa.
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What is dried shrimp / crayfish? Origin, uses and storage
Dried shrimp (njanga) brings a savoury, sea taste to ndolè, ndjapche and nnam ngon.
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What is smoked fish? Origin, uses and storage
Smoked fish (sea bass, carp) flavours eru, kpem and sauces.
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What is smoked catfish? Origin, uses and storage
Smoked catfish has firm flesh and is much loved in sauces.
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What is salted dried fish? Origin, uses and storage
Salted dried fish from Lake Chad is soaked before being cooked in sauces.
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What is green plantain? Origin, uses and storage
Green plantain is the most eaten staple in Cameroon. Boiled, fried as chips or simmered in kondrè, it goes with almost every dish.
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What is ripe plantain? Origin, uses and storage
Ripe plantain, with yellow skin spotted black, is sweet and soft. Fried, it is the classic side for ndolè and grilled fish.
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What is cooking banana? Origin, uses and storage
Cooking banana has a firm, barely sweet flesh. It is boiled or cooked in stews.
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What is sweet banana? Origin, uses and storage
Sweet banana, grown notably around Penja, is eaten fresh as a fruit.
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What are plantain chips? Origin, uses and storage
Plantain chips are Cameroon’s favourite snack, to nibble any time.
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What are roasted groundnuts? Origin, uses and storage
Roasted groundnuts are eaten as a snack, often with a banana.
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What is chin chin? Origin, uses and storage
Chin chin is a small, crunchy fried biscuit, a must at parties.
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What is koki? Origin, uses and storage
The koki mix combines peeled black-eyed peas and spices: just add palm oil and water.
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What is kwacoco? Origin, uses and storage
Frozen ready-made kwacoco is reheated by steaming for banga soup.
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What is ready-made ndolè? Origin, uses and storage
Ready-made frozen ndolè reheats in minutes.
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What is cocoyam? Origin, uses and storage
Cocoyam (new cocoyam) is a white-fleshed tuber, firmer than taro. Boiled, fried or grated, it is the base of kwacoco and cocoyam in sauce.
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What is taro? Origin, uses and storage
Taro (old cocoyam) has a grey, melting flesh and is essential for achu and pounded taro with yellow soup. Pounded, it turns into a smooth, elastic…
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What is white yam? Origin, uses and storage
White yam keeps for several weeks. Boiled, fried or pounded, it goes with slippery soups and stews.
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What is yellow yam? Origin, uses and storage
Yellow yam has a more coloured flesh and a stronger taste than white yam. It is cooked boiled or in stews.
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What is water yam? Origin, uses and storage
Water yam is softer and moister than other yams. It is grated for dumplings or cooked in stews.
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What is fresh cassava? Origin, uses and storage
Fresh cassava, peeled and frozen, is boiled or steamed to go with sauces and grills. Freezing stops it spoiling within days.
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What is sweet potato? Origin, uses and storage
Sweet potato, sweet and soft, is eaten boiled, fried or roasted. Its leaves are also cooked in sauces.
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