- Bitterleaf, washed to tame the bitterness
- Peanut paste (ground peanuts)
- Shrimp, beef and pork rind
- Served with miondo (fermented cassava sticks) or ripe plantains
Ndole
Ndole with ripe plantains, the Sawa dish of Douala. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Ndole is Cameroon's national dish: a rich stew of bitterleaf cooked with peanut paste, shrimp, beef and pork rind. The bitterness of the leaf against the creamy peanut base is the whole point.
It is the dish of the Sawa peoples of the Douala coast, and it is served with miondo (fermented cassava sticks) or ripe plantains. No visit to Douala is complete without it.
Key ingredients
Where to try it
- Maquis restaurants across Douala.
- Littoral region restaurants everywhere; it travels well and is found countrywide.