Cameroon – Pepper Soup Snails (Nyama or Congo Meat)

by Nghonazie Annabel

Snails are a good source of protein with low amount of fat, a good source of iron, calcium, vitamin A and other vital minerals. Pepper soup snails is thus a very delicious and nutritive dish which is somehow neglected by most people in Cameroon because they believe that snails come from dirty environments and they find it not pleasant to the eye talk less of eating it. Snails which is commonly called “nyama Ngoro, Congo meat or boneless meat here in Cameroon is very common in the south west region of Cameroon as many people are seen picking up these snails from where they usually come out very early in the morning and in the evening when places are cold enough. In the south west region, snails farming is very common and these farmers make a lot of money from this snail farming as many people buy to prepare in their homes, some buy to sell, some even dry them and packaged to be send oversees or kept in shops for sale. A typical southwestener cannot prepare eru without snails inside as well as they cannot by pass hawkers selling snails in buckets and they don’t buy. Most people prepare pepper soup snails for economic reasons since they can go into the bushes around the house and pick snails, it is therefore considered as a very cheap and affordable meal. Pepper soup snails can be eaten with well boiled unripe plantains or yams.

Cooking method

Pepper soup snails is prepare by boiling

Cooking ingredients

• 2kg of dry or fresh washed snails
• White pepper
• Black pepper
• Njansang
• Pebe
• 4 corner
• Onions
• Garlic
• Pepper
• Crayfish
• Washed bitter leaves (optional)
• Maggi and salt

Cooking process

• Wash the nyama and put in a pot, add a pinch of salt and a cup of water and take to the fire
• Ground all the spices together and keep
• Allow the nyama to cook until all the water dries off. In case the snails gets ready while there is still water in the pot, drain off the water
• In a different pot, put like two liters of water, add all the ground spices to the water and put on the fire. Allow to boil for 5 minutes
• Now put the already boiled nyama in the boiling spices, add onions, crayfish, maggi and the washed bitter leaves
• Allow to cook again for 15 minutes.
• Remove and serve in a plate

NB: Pepper soup nyama can as well be served empty like that with enough soup. When you drink enough of the pepperish soup, it will require that you drink enough water too to cool the pepper so it makes you belly full.

Good appetite and enjoy your meal