Ndole
Overview
Ndolé is Cameroon's national dish, bitter leaves cooked down with a thick paste of ground peanuts, with meat, fish or prawns, and it is what appears when an occasion needs marking. It comes from the Sawa people of the Littoral province, around Douala, and it has travelled from there to become the dish most associated with Cameroon anywhere in the world. The source's description of its standing is not overstated: it is treated with the seriousness of a flag. The two components are what make it. Ndolé itself is bitter leaf, the same Vernonia amygdalina used in Igbo ofe onugbu, washed repeatedly to draw out the bitterness. The ground peanut paste is the counterweight, giving richness and body that turns what would be a sharp green into something deep and heavy. Getting the balance right between the two is the whole skill of the dish. Too little washing and it is harsh; too much peanut and it is cloying. Prawns, beef, fish or a combination go in, and it is served with plantain, miondo or rice. **Contains peanut**, unavoidably, it is half the dish.
AFN Heritage Note
Ndolé originates with the Sawa people of Cameroon's Littoral Province and is widely regarded as the national dish. It combines bitter leaf, Vernonia amygdalina, with a ground peanut paste that offsets the bitterness.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
In a deep pot at a medium fire, bring your meat to Boil with 1/2 onion, afro-fusion seasoning, Maggi bouillon (cube) and salt.
- 2
Cook until the meat is tender. Reserve.
- 3
In a blender, blend to paste peanuts previously boiled with ginger,1/2 onion, habanero and leek, celery and garlic (3 cloves). Reserve this paste
- 4
In a new pot over medium fire, add the peanut oil, sauté 1 onion diced, meat previously boiled without the juice, and add the peanut paste mixture. Cook for 25 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes to prevent burning down.
- 5
Taste the salt and season as needed.
- 6
Add the crayfish (crushed dried shrimp).
- 7
Add the Ndole (bitter leaf) and cook 10-15 minutes until you obtain a thick paste ” Casserole”.
- 8
The Base of your Ndole is Done. Serve Hot
Africook’s Notes
- Wash the bitter leaf thoroughly but not exhaustively, some bitterness has to remain or the balance is lost.
- Grind the peanuts to a genuinely smooth paste. Coarse paste stays gritty and never fully incorporates.
- Add the peanut paste gradually and let it cook in. Dumped in at once it clumps.
- Do not let it boil hard once the peanut is in, it catches on the base easily and scorches.
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