Cameroon – Pumpkin Leaves

by Nghonazie Annabel

Pumpkin leaves is such a delicious meal which many people fail to understand or neglect this meal as they say it irritates them and they cannot eat it. Pumpkin leaves is very nutritive and cheap to get. It grows behind the yard and can also be planted in small home gardens. In times of hardship and lack of what to prepare, pumpkin leaves will always be there to fill the gap. This meal is good for convalescence, breastfeeding mothers and the aging ones. This doesn’t mean that any other person cannot consume it. In fact pumpkin leaves is good for everyone but play a special rule in the body chemistry of the aforementioned category of people. Pumpkin leaves is eaten with bobolo, garri, coco yams, fufu corn, cassava, plantains. This meal doesn’t even need groundnut oil nor palm oil (since the egussi has natural oil), tomatoes and other main spices. This cuts a lot of cost and saves time as well.

Cooking method

This delicious meal is prepared by sautéing

Cooking ingredients

• Pumpkin leaves
• Canda
• Egussi
• Crayfish
• Onions
• White pepper
• Gallic
• Maggi and salt to taste

Cooking process

1. Put water in a pot and allow to boil, add a bit of limestone to the water. This helps to keep the pumpkin leaves green and to also avoid pouching effect
2. Slice the pumpkin leaves and put in the boiled water, stir and remove and put in a bowl of cold water
3. Wash the pumpkin leaves in cold water and allow to drain
4. Grind egussi and mix with water to make a thick paste
5. Put the paste in a pot and add small water. Allow to cook for 15-20 minutes
6. Now add canda, crayfish, onions, galics, white pepper salt and maggi. Mix well and allow to boil for another 5 minutes
7. Add the washed pumpkin leaves and mix, add small quantity of water, stir and cook for 10 minutes.
8. Remove and allow to cold

It is this easy and fast to prepare pumpkin leaves. Serve with bobolo and a glass of chilled palm wine will be good.

Bonne appetite