Njama Njama (huckleberry), is a staple dish from the Northwest region of Cameroon. Njama Njama is traditionally made using huckleberry leaves, but we subbed them out with what we could find local to us – turnip greens – and we couldn't be happier with the results.
It's a favorite from the Northwest region of Cameroon, commonly served with fufu corn and Khati Khati (spicy fire grilled chicken in a tomato base sauce). Food blogger Elsie Kritz of Afrovitality Eats shows us how to make her Njama Njama, and recommends having it with boiled plantain, sweet potatoes, or just by the spoonful!
Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
4 bunches fresh turnip greens
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers
3 tbsp canola oil
Salt to taste
Thoroughly rinse turnip greens in cold water 2 to 3 times. Remove the large, tough veins and slice greens.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Prepare an ice bath and set to the side of the pot. Add greens and cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until just tender.
Transfer into the ice bath. Once cool to the touch, strain with a colander, and squeeze out as much water as you can. This yields about 3 cups of cooked greens. Set aside.
Heat a large skillet or frying pan on medium heat. Add the onions and diced tomatoes in and bring to a gentle simmer. Toss in the peppers, with the stalk still attached. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are reduced into a chunky sauce, roughly 10 minutes.
Raise the heat to high and add in canola oil and fry for 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, remove peppers and set aside. Season to taste with salt.
Stir in greens and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes or until you reach the desired tenderness of the greens. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Serve with the whole peppers as garnish.
Notes: The traditional vegetable used for Njama Njama is the “Huckleberry plant”. We are substituting with Turnip greens, but another great option is collard greens, spinach, or watercress.
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