Recipes From Cameroon!

I have had lots of fun experimenting with recreating two of my favorite dishes from my time in Cameroon! (After coming up with the right amounts, I have made it for my family several times. Everyone loves it!)

I thought I'd share the finished product with you so you can have a 'taste' of Cameroon from here!


Angeline’s Cameroon Recipes

Njamma-njamma
In Cameroon, Njamma-njamma is the name of the plant that this dish is made from. Here in Canada, other greens have to be substituted for Njamma-njamma leaves.
Ingredients:
2-4 tablespoons of olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. cayenne pepper, red pepper, or pepe pepper (to taste)
2 (or more) pounds of greens: collards, kale, mustard greens, swiss chard, or spinach; stems removed, cleaned, torn or shredded
1 cup water (or chicken stock)
salt to taste (optional, I prefer it without)

Preparation:
Heat oil in a large skillet or pot. Over high heat, sauté onions and garlic for a few minutes. (Until tender but not brown.) Add pepper and stir for a minute. Reduce heat.
Add greens to pot. Cook over medium heat for several minutes. Stir greens often, but keep the pot covered.
Add water or broth. Cover. Cook over low heat until greens are tender and have sweat down in bulk-- ten to twenty minutes or longer. Add salt if necessary. Serve hot with fufu.


Corn Fufu
(This makes four balls.)

Ingredients:
1 cup corn meal
Water (Boil 5 cups, you’ll use a bit less.)

Preparation:
1. Boil water in medium pot. Pour all but about 2 cups of water into a separate container after it’s come to a rapid boil.
2. Allow water in pot to continue to boil while adding the corn meal, stirring constantly with whisk. (After this, use a wooden spoon.)
3. Add some of the reserved water and allow the mixture to boil for about 15-30 seconds, then stir.
4. Add more water, boil, then stir. Keep doing this until you’re out of water or have reached the right consistency. Cook until you smell the scent of roasted corn. You don’t want the mixture to be too thick or too runny. Then reduce heat and cook for 3-5 minutes longer.

To make the Corn Fufu balls: Form into four balls. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and put them in a pot of already hot water on medium-low heat. This will keep Fufu hot until the Njamma-jamma is ready. To serve, place the Fufu balls in a serving bowl while still in saran wrap. Let people unwrap their ball when they are ready to eat, this will keep it piping hot!

To Eat Fufu and Njamma-njamma: This dish is eaten with the hands! The Njamma-njamma will be very hot, so a piece of the Fufu ball is pinched off and used to scoop up the Njamma-njamma.

Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think if you try it! :)