• Dzigbodi Akyea, grew up in Ghana and has lived in Madison for 25 years. She is an Academic Advisor at Madison College. She describes herself as a real foodie who loves to experiment with foods from different cultures. “It’s my therapy,” she says.
• Emilie Songolo, who grew up in Cameroon, is a bibliographer for African Studies, Social Sciences and Francophone Studies at UW Madison. She loves sharing her recipes and memories of Africa with local friends during the holiday season.

• Christmas in Africa
• Cameroon Cuisine
• Ghana Cuisine
• The Africa News Cookbook: African Cooking for Western Kitchens

• 4 cups wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup margarine
• Pinch of salt
• Sugar to taste
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• Oil for deep frying

1. Sift flour and rub in margarine
2. Add coconut, sugar, salt and nutmeg, distribute evenly
3. Beat eggs and fold into flour mixture
4. Bind into a stiff paste.
5. Roll out on a floured hard surface or board.
6. Cut into small 1 inch. shapes.
7. Deep fry until golden brown.
8. Drain and serve cold.

• 2 to 4 pounds (4 to 8 large) white or yellow yams (not sweet potatoes)

1. Scrub the yams. Place them in a large pot and cover them with water.
2. Bring the water to a boil and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until the yams are soft. (The skins will be easy to cut through with a fork or knife.)
3. Drain yams into a colander, and run cold water over them to cool them.
4. Remove peels from yams and return them to the pot.
5. Using a potato masher or wooden spoon, mash and beat the yams for 10 to 15 minutes until completely smooth. (A helper can hold the pot steady while the yams are being beaten.)
6. Shape the fufu into balls and serve with stew, sauce, or gravy.

Nkono Ngond

Nkono is the cooking process.

Ngond is the word for pumpkin seeds.

Nkono Ngond originated from the Basaa of the coastal region of Cameroon. Many other ethnic groups have learned to make it and use it during special events.

Pumpkin seeds are widely used in Cameroon for special occasions. The seeds symbolize riches, fertility, growth, development. To get ready for a special occasion, people will start shelling the seeds months and months before the event. Nkono Ngond is prepared for special occasions such as rites ceremonies, naming ceremonies, baptisms, weddings, funerals, Christmas, New Year, Coronations, and clergy ordinations. It is also prepared for special guests. The one made for weddings takes days to cook and can be as big as a large drum. The cutting of Nkono Ngond is a very spectacular moment filled with suspense. When the Nkono is cut and people see that it is well done, the person who cut it gives some money to the woman or women that cooked it as a token of appreciation.

(Recipe for 4 persons)

• 4 cups ground pumpkin seeds (make sure to shell the seeds before grinding them)
• 1 lb boneless beef cut in small pieces (Optional)
• 4 cups water
• 1 lb dried herring or any other firm fish (shredded)
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Hot red pepper (optional)
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 whole eggs
• Whole Large banana leaves flambé (i.e. run each leaf over a flame to soften it in order to be able to give it a container shape)
• Regular cotton string

Preparation : 1h
Cooking time: 3h

In a medium-size pot, cook the beef, covered, in 1 cups water with salt and onions over medium to low heat for 45 minutes. Add the smoked fish and cook for another 15 minutes. Save the stock once the beef and fish are cooked.

Beat the eggs in a small bowl as if you were making an omelette.

In a large bowl, mix the gound pumpkin seeds and beef stock in small increments, stirring with a wooden spatula. Continue stirring until you obtain a homogeneous paste. Make sure the paste is not liquid. Add the beef and dried fish. Add the beef bouillon cube, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Add the beaten eggs and mix well.

In another large bowl, delicately double up the banana leaves and line the bowl with the leaves. The leaves should take the shape of the bowl to be able to contain the mixture.

Pour the mixture in the bowl-shaped leaves. Then gather the edges of the leaves at the center over the bowl and tie the whole thing securely with the cotton string about 3 inches from the edges of the leaves.

Line the bottom of a stock pot with banana leaves. Boil 3 cups of water in the pot. Carefully place the tied nkono inside the pot and cook in a bain-marie for 2 hours. If you have a double-boiler with the top part deep enough to hold the nkono, you can use it.

Serve hot or cold with minyondo, or bobolo, or steamed yucca (cassava), or steamed or fried plantains.

Note: Minyondo and bobolo are made with fermented yucca that has been pounded and steamed in leaves. They are also called cassava sticks.

Ndole

(Recipe adapted from Afropop Worldwide )

Ndole is the national dish of Cameroon. It originated from among the Douala people along the Atlantic Coast, but it is now widely eaten throughout the country. Ndole is prepared for special occasions such as naming ceremonies, baptisms, marriages, funerals, Christmas, New Year, Coronations, and clergy ordinations. It is also prepared for special guests.

Ndole (Vernonia amygdalina) itself is not available in the States, and is a very bitter leaf that requires a complicated and fascinating process of "washing", in order to reduce the bitterness. Kale, mustard greens, or turnip greens can be used if ndole is not available. In Cameroon, It is common to hold ndole cooking competitions. My sister Dora has won many of these competitions. I wish you could sample her ndole one day.

• Kale, mustard greens or Turnip Greens (10 quarts when still raw), Raw
• Skinless peanuts (2-4 cups)
• Tomatoes (6)
• Garlic (4-7 cloves)
• White Pepper (35 peppercorns)
• Leek (1)
• 2 large onions, sliced
• Bouillon Cubes (3)
• Salt (to taste)
• Hot Peppers (Scotch Bonnets, if possible)
• Fresh Celery Leaves and Parsley (to taste)
• Meat (2 pounds) or Fish (Cameroonians often use Cod)
• 1 pound shrimp (unless one is allergic to shellfish)
• 1 cup dried crayfish (unless one is allergic to shellfish)
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil

Clean the greens, removing the stems, and cut into small pieces.

Soak the peanuts in plain water for 30-45 minutes. While they are soaking, cut the meat into pieces, and boil with ½ the onions and a small quantity of salt, until well cooked. Note that once the meat is cooked, you will drain it and save the stock. Blend the tomatoes and 1/2 leek (the white part). Cut 1/2 onion, a bit of parsley, and a bit of celery leaves into small pieces. In your food processor, grind the other 1/2 leek, white pepper, hot pepper, ginger, and garlic. Now, drain the peanuts and puree in a blender with 1/2 onion and just enough water for the blending.

Heat the oil until very hot, and add the remaining sliced onions, parsley and celery leaves. After a couple of minutes, add the blended tomato mix. Let this cook for several minutes, and then add the meat. Now, take half of the ingredients that you ground in the food processor, and add to the sauce, along with some of the meat stock. Let this cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring periodically, and then add the blended peanut mixture, along with a bit of salt and the cubes. A note on the blended peanuts -- you want the peanuts to be noticeable in, but not dominate the sauce, so experiment with the quantity that seems appealing.

Add a small amount of meat stock (or plain water if the stock is insufficient) and the greens. Let this cook for a few minutes, and then add more water as needed, and the rest of the ground ingredients. Add salt to taste, and stir with regularity so that the sauce doesn't burn. I recommend a medium heat. As with many sauces in Cameroon, Ndole is thick and not watery. Let the sauce cook another 5 to 10 minutes, again stirring.

At the end, some people add oil which has been heated in a frying pan, so that you can see the oil floating on the surface of the sauce.

Ndole is great with plantains, rice, yams, and fufu. In Cameroon, it is also served with boiled tubers, or fermented cassava that has been pounded and steamed in leaves.