#31 - Cameroon

Cameroon seems like an interesting place. Geographically it is midway between the Arab influences of North Africa and Bantu influences of Southern Africa. It was colonized by the Germans, and then divided between France and England after WW1. It truly is a cultural melting pot, and that seems to come through in the foods that they eat. For our Cameroonian meal we had Ndole, Fufu and Gateau (which is really not cake-like at all, but rather donut-like fried dough balls)

Fufu - a thick, sticky, paste-like consistency with absolutely no flavour. Yuck

I'm likely writing this too soon after the experience..... the smell of this meal had my stomach turning and so by the time it came to eat it I was not ready to find it even a little bit enjoyable. Ndole is described as a spinach stew and the quintessential Cameroonian comfort food. It's essentially a peanut base with spinach, smoked fish, dried crayfish, ground beef and shrimp. I am not a fan of smoked anything, so the smell of smoked cod mixed in a peanut paste was pretty nauseating. Add to that the fact that fufu (which is a plantain-flour mixture) turned out to be more like glue-glue and the meal was a disaster. The gateau would normally have been a miss as well, but in this meal it was the single edible aspect.

The "Gateau"- sticky dough balls fried in oil

Interestingly, Andrew & Ruth didn't mind the Ndole. And my parents who joined us tonight also didn't mind it. Perhaps they should have written this post!