Akara is a traditional snack from Nigeria that is also popular in Ghana, Togo, Benin, Mali and The Gambia. It is a fried cake or fritter, an everyday breakfast staple or street food in The Gambia. It is referred to as African Bean Fritters. It can be made with different beans, but the most common is black-eyed beans. Onions and spices are added for flavour and the Akara is served with a sauce made with onions, peppers and chilli sauce. It is a healthy dish as beans are rich in proteins, low in fat and high in fibre, which lowers cholesterol levels in the body and is 100 % vegan.
Nyebbeh is another traditional Gambian street food made with beans - a mouth-watering stew full of flavour. In addition to beans, the recipe calls for oil, onions, peppers, green peppers, black pepper, spring onions, seasoning cubes, garlic, tomato paste, and salt. Preparing Nyebeh takes time, but the result is worth it.
Tapalapa is a traditional bread shaped like a baguette. It is made with a mixture of wheat, cowpea, millet, and corn flour and is heavy and dense. The street vendors usually serve akara and Nyebbeh in tapalapa making it a filling and nutritious meal to begin your day with.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Akara.
Yassa is one of The Gambia's most common and simple-to-make dishes. Its main ingredients are rice, chicken/meat/fish and onions. Like any other dish, Yassa can be cooked in various ways with a choice of meats and spices, of which the hot pepper is a must.
Yassa is a marinade of lemon, oil, onion and mustard and is usually served with rice or couscous, as well as various vegetables.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Yassa.
Domoda, a beloved Mandinka dish, is a flavourful groundnut stew enriched with spices, meats such as chicken, beef or fish, and an array of vegetables. However, the dish can also be made without any meats.
This traditional delicacy has gained widespread popularity in both The Gambia and Senegal. If prepared less spicy, it is also the number one choice for many visitors to The Gambia. Domoda is best served with rice or couscous.
Domoda Farine is a variation of the original Domoda but is made with flour instead of peanut butter. It is a tomato and vegetable lemony stew with chicken, lamb, beef or fishballs and uses flour to thicken the sauce making it another iconic Gambian dish.
The ingredient that makes it stand out is peanut paste, which is usually freshly made in the market.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Domoda!
Benachin is one of the most favourite of the typical Gambian dishes. Benachin in Wollof means one pot, which tells us the whole recipe is prepared in a single pot. It is fried rice and can be made in red and white variations, red being done with tomato paste. It can be prepared with chicken or fish, beef or even without any meat. The choice of topping vegetables depends on the season or preference of the cook. No event is complete without Benachin - it is made for naming ceremonies, weddings, funerals, etc.
There is a special side sauce that goes well with benachin, called Rangha Bissap. The sauce is prepared from the green parts of the hibiscus plant. The leaves are boiled and pounded or blended into a fine paste. It can be a cherry on top of this amazing meal with a bit of salt and local seasoning.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Benachin!
Afra is a popular Gambian street food. It is made by sauteing pieces of meat or chicken with mustard and onions. It is best served with a fresh baguette and a side of mustard! Normally this is made on a grill but you can make this on the stove, in the oven or the instant pot.
It is a very popular evening meal and you will find vendors with their grills, searing delicious meats. Lamb is a popular choice but other meats are also used including bush meats. Afra is served in a paper bag to soak up all the extra drippings from the meat.
Ebbeh is a traditional African seafood soup originating from The Gambia. This chunky soup is made with vegetables (usually cassava, and sometimes sweet potatoes and coco yam), palm oil, chilli peppers, lime juice, stock cubes, water, tamarind, and seafood such as bonga fish, catfish, prawns, and crabs.
Ebbeh can be found everywhere in The Gambia and is one of the highest-selling foods. It is sold in schools, restaurants, work canteens, street stalls, and markets.
Supa kanja is an Okra stew made with palm oil, smoked fish, onions, okra, and pepper. It can also be made with beef, shrimp or crabs. It tastes amazing and can be served with rice or fufu, cooked cassava, or yam powder.
While it does take a while to cook, once you have a steaming bowl of super Kanja in front of you, you’ll know all the effort was worthwhile.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Supa Kanja.
Fouti is a traditional dish mainly associated with the Fula tribe, but almost all ethnic groups in The Gambia prepare it. It is a quick, easy and delicious food. The money and time you need to make fouti are not much, making it a very low-budget food that saves a lot of time and energy.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Foutti.
Another popular street food in The Gambia is a pan-fried crunchy pancake look-alike called fish cake served with a sauce topping. Because of mispronunciation, it is also known as fish ket. The sauces can be stir-fried onions, beans with stir-fried onions or smoked fish soup. The fish ket is sold with both types of sauces to suit the palates and moods of the customers.
Fish ket is mainly sold in schools, but you can also find it being sold in front of some compounds.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Fish Ket.
Nan Mburu is a special Gambian dessert that is traditionally prepared on Good Friday, picnics, birthday parties, and sometimes in ceremonies. Almost all Christians in The Gambia prepare Nan Mburu to share with their friends and neighbours. It is also sold by street vendors and served in restaurants.
Nan Mburu is a cross between a pudding and a porridge and is made with baobab pulp, rice flour and sugar with optional ingredients such as essences, nutmeg, milk, fruit, raisins and coconut flour.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Nan Mburu.
Chura Gherte can be translated as groundnut and rice porridge. It is a Gambian dish commonly served for breakfast or dinner and is similar to oatmeal, but thicker with a slightly nutty taste.
Churra gerte is a simple dish, but immensely satisfying.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Chura Gherteh.
Wonjo juice is a delicious and refreshing non-alcoholic drink (with a taste similar to cranberry juice) made from hibiscus flowers and sugar. It has many names around the globe: In the Caribbean, they call it sorrel; in Egypt, it's called karkade; in Australia, it is known as roselle or rosella. Others may be more familiar with the name hibiscus. In The Gambia, we call it wonjo.
The calyces are used either fresh or dried; they are boiled in water, and the infusion is sweetened before chilling and enjoying it as a refreshing beverage. A special twist can be created by adding fresh mint leaves or ginger when boiling it.
Wonjo can be added to cakes, ice creams, jams and other desserts. But the flowers are not the only part of the hibiscus plant that can be used: the fresh greens are locally used as a leafy vegetable that adds a slightly sour taste and a whole array of vitamins to a hearty family meal.
In The Gambia, wonjo is locally grown without the use of artificial pesticides or fertilizers, making it a perfect choice of an organic and natural ‘superfood’.
Wonjo has a lot of health benefits. It is suitable for regulating blood pressure and reducing hypertension. It is also rich in vitamin C, which helps boost the immune system.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Wonjo Juice.
In The Gambia, baobab is popularly called Sitou in Mandinka and Bouyi in Wollof. It has pale brown fibre seeds, which can be used to produce non-alcoholic juice, which is very popular in the Gambia. A drink you will often see offered in The Gambia is wonjo-baobab, whereby the thick baobab juice is layered beneath the fruity red hibiscus infusion called wonjo.
Baobab juice is normally prepared by soaking the floppy brown fibre in water and then squeezing it well to remove the extract from the seeds. The liquid is then strained, and the whole process is repeated until only dark brown seeds remain in the sieve.
To add flavour to the juice, ingredients such as sugar, essence, sugar, and condensed milk are used. The juice is best when served fresh and cold is rich in vitamin C, fibre, and iron and is a probiotic food.
You can buy the baobab fruit at every local grocery store or market, usually as a ready-made powder or in the original form of dried pulp already removed from the hard shell.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Baobab Juice.
The orange to brown coloured fruit has a hard spherical shell that contains seeds which are coated with a soft and juicy yellow pulp. Its taste is similar to tamarind, and the flavour can be compared to mango. Its peel is green when raw. The kaba season starts at the beginning of June and lasts till September and it can be found being sold by street vendors
Kaba is eaten by sucking the juicy part of the seed and discarding the seed once all the flavour is gone. You can also add your preferred choice of seasoning like sugar or a mix of salt, pepper, chilli and seasoning cube. You can also make juice with it by leaving the seeds to soak in the water.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Kaba Juice.
Mangoes are a cherished part of Gambian cuisine and are available in a delightful array of varieties, each with unique taste and characteristics. So, if you find yourself in The Gambia during the mango season which is between May and August, indulge in the country's rich variety of mangoes. You can get it at almost every street vendor for a reasonable price.
The ripe fruits are the best choice when making juice. Cut fruits and simply put them in a blender. Mango is excellent in combination with passion fruit juice.
Other things that can be made with mango are jams, chutneys, porridges, fruit salad, ice cream, salads, cakes, smoothies etc.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on mangoes.
In The Gambia, attaya is so much more than just tea. It has a strong social meaning, especially in the male society.
Brewing attaya is part of a daily social life that connects people of different ethnic groups, families, backgrounds and nationalities. When people sit down to chat, they usually brew attaya to keep them busy. People brew attaya everywhere; in the streets, workplaces, homes, etc.
The older and important people are always offered the first cup since this is a sign of respect. The first round served is called lewal, and it’s the strongest one. Usually, it is followed by the second round brewed from the same pack of attaya and half the sugar. The third round is the weakest, and not everybody brews it. The attaya gradually loses its colour and strength with each successive serving.
Watch our VIDEO and read our ARTICLE on how to prepare Attaya.
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