Ndole (Spinach/Bitterleaves and Peanut Soup)
Ndole – An aromatic Cameroonian spinach stew made of spinach and bitter leaves – flavored with garlic, crayfish and fortified with shrimp and beef. Comfort food at its best.
At the top of my favorite Cameroonian dishes is Ndole. Oh yes! A dish I learned to cook from my childhood friend Lawrence, who is an amazing cook.
If you attend a Cameroonian party it is always present and when cooked properly flies off the table. You know why?
It is absolutely irresistible!!!
A combination of peanuts, bitter leaves (substitute spinach), meat (stock fish, shrimp,) crayfish (dried shrimp) and oil. It tastes like stew spinach dip, but even better! With aromatic spices and meat. Can be prepared in so many ways with more or less vegetables and meat depending on personal taste.
If I could eat this every day I would, It is rich, high in calories and loved by many. Often referred to as the national dish of my home country Cameroon.
For my health conscious peeps; cut back on the the oil and peanuts. And go heavy on the spinach. (If you are watching your waistline.)
If using fresh spinach, wash the leaves well, rinse properly and then chop the spinach and blanch for 2 minutes. Frozen chopped spinach works just as well. If you can’t get a hold of bitter leaves then by all means use spinach.
Bitter leaf is one of those vegetables that can be cultivated anywhere as oppose to certain vegetables that can only flourish in certain temperatures and places.
So if you are a gardener you can plant it and enjoy fresh bitter leaf anywhere you are. True to its name, bitter leaf is very bitter. You have to wash it (rubbing the leaves together) thoroughly before cooking till most of the bitterness is gone. Using carbonated soda can also aid in this process.
Notes
- If using dry bitter leaves soak overnight and cook for 15 minutes using 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda. Rinse thoroughly and drain.
- You can use any combination of the meat. More or less according to preference
- Dry Crayfish can be bought in African Stores and if you are lucky you can get some at hispanic or asian markets. It is still delicious without it.
- Soak stockfish overnight to help tenderize the fish
- This dish is best with its time-honored mate, Miondo/Bobolo (fermented cassava) or how my niece calls it “bobolow” and is exciting in the company of Plantains (boiled or fried).
Ndole ( Spinach/ Bitterleaves and Peanut Soup)
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Maggi ( Bouillon)
- 1 large Onion ( sliced)
- 1 pound (about 2 cups )Groundnuts/Peanuts(Skinless)
- 1/2 pound shrimp
- 1/2 pound stockfish
- 1/2- 1 pound Stew beef (cut in chunks
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- 3/4 cup Crayfish (ground)
- 3/4 -1 pound Washed bitterleaves (sub frozen spinach)
- 2-3 cups oil
Instructions
- In a large pan season meat with salt, maggi and onions and boil until tender depending on the choice of meat. Meanwhile, boil stock fish with salt and water; add it to the boiled meat. You should have about 3 cups of stock from the meat and stock fish. Reserve the rest or freeze it.
- Boil peanuts for about 10 minutes in a sauce pan. Let it cool and blend/pulse in a food processor or blender into a fine consistency use water to facilitate the blending .Add to the mixture of beef and stockfish.
- Blend one onion and garlic into a fine paste and add to the mixture of peanuts and meat.
- Pour in the crayfish and let it simmer for 10 minutes stirring frequently to prevent burns. Season with salt and Maggi. You might have to add more later
- Add the bitter leaves or spinach to the pot. Stir and simmer for several minutes more
- While the pot of ndole is simmering, heat oil in a fry pan or, preferably a cast iron. Add the shrimp, stirring constantly until they just turn pink. Slice and add the remaining onions stir for a few more minutes.
- Finally incorporate the mixture of shrimp, onions and oil into the pot of Ndole. Stir for a few minutes and serve hot with any of the sides mentioned above.
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Thank God I discovered this today. Cameroon dishes here I come. J’adore
This is a dish I prepare for my husband when he has one of those ”homesick days”. I use your recipe and instead of beef, cook with goat. Makes for a village grade ndole.
Yum! Thank you, Mojca! Speaking of goat, have you tried my Goat Pepper Soup yet? 🙂
Hallo. I learned how to prepare this by my Cameroun Husband. You explained it so good and with love. Thanks. This is real African Citchen
Thank you, Michaela! 🙂
I had Ndole for the first time yesterday at a Cameroonian restaurant in Los Angeles. It was one of the happiest culinary moments I have had in years. Thank you for this recipe. I will try it at home. I could only eat half of it at the restaurant, and after seeing the calorie numbers here, I know why! Please keep spreading the word on West African cuisine. It is amazing and delicious.
Thank you, Steve! 🙂
I am eager to make this but it’s quite the calorie bomb. Good thing I only ate it infrequently when I was in Yaounde for several weeks 25 years ago. But I think I can risk it once and I’ll give you a full report.
Yes you have too! It is SOOO worth it
I tried this in Bamenda a few years ago and finally did it! It’s delicious, although I think I should have washed the frozen bitter leaf a bit more hahah. Of course I did too much. Does it survive in the freezer?
Hi Juan! I have one commenter here who made more and froze them, still turned out great 🙂
Why do you add spinach? Our Cameroonian recipe of ndole doesn’t include spinach. Only bitter leave as a green and you will enjoy it. That’s why it called ndole.
I include spinach because bitter leaves is not readily available abroad . This is for those that want to try it out that don’t have all the ingredients available .
Hi where can I buy groundnut peanut? I suppose it’s not peanut butter right?
You are right it is not peanut butter . It is skinless raw peanuts. It is mostly available in Asian or Indian markets.
Hi,
Your recipe is very interesting. Now I want to know a number of grams for 668 kcal/serving.
Thank in advance.
Hi is the 668kcal per meal/servings or for the whole pot ??
Hi Carmen. It is per serving.
Hello,
I really want to try this. I really miss my home food & have forgotten to cook everything from home. Almost 20 years since I made this dish. My cooking is so bad now my fiancé doesn’t even eat my food lol. It bothers me and I need help.
Where do you get/buy the peanut? Is the skinless peanut the same as roasted peanut here? I live in California.
I am having trouble finding raw skinless peanut. Is it raw, roasted or boiled you buy?
I am thinking of making it with fresh spinach for a start as I don’t have ndole readily available and the last time I tried a yr ago w Ndole it was extremely bitter and not edible… I also used peanut butter… u can imagine what kind of disaster that was.
Thank you so much.
I need help.
Hello Sandrine,
I hear you ! The peanuts I use are skinless and are available at Indian or Asian markets. Ask one of the associates , if you can’t find it. Spinach is a good replacement, if good quality bitter leaves is not available.
Hope this helps.
Thank you very much! I’ll try looking at Indian or Asian markets. Will let you know if I find anything and will definitely let u know if my cooking is successful. Thank you !!!!
Great! Looking forward to your feedback, Sandrine :).
Hi. So I tried the recipe. Turned out good but I may have put too much peanuts. Thankfully I had some spinach to add on top of bitter leaves. Does the 2 pounds refer to the grinder peanuts or raw state? Just want to know for next time when I make it.
Thank you.
Hi dear! I am glad this worked out for you an that you knew how to improvise :). So next time, use 1 pound (2 cups) of raw unground peanuts. Happy cooking!
What an amazing webpage! I’m so stoked that I found this gem.
I also have a question: Does it need to be fresh peanuts or could it be done with peanut butter instead to facilitate preparation process? Many thanks!
Hi Maria. Welcome to my Blog! So excited to have you here 🙂 !
For this recipe, I am afraid fresh peanuts are a must. That is what gives it its authentic taste! Do let me know how this turns out for you. Happy cooking!!
I’m definitely going to try this. I’ve been looking for this recipe for sometime now. Well this one and another one I think called Jamma Jamma. I don’t know if I’m saying it right. When my ex-husband made it, it was so good. That man can cook. Anywho, I’m definitely going to try it and get back to you.
Yes, please. I would love to hear how this one turned out for you. Thank you.
What is stockfish? When i google it, it says cod. Cant wait to try.
It’s dried cod fish. Omit if it’s not readily available .
Thank you!
Hi Jenny!
This recipe is amazing! I made it for my husband (he’s Cameroonian) and he did a happy dance and declared it “restaurant-grade ndole”! 😀
Awesome! Thank you for that wonderful feedback. 🙂
You want to aim for Grannie or Mama grade Ndolé. That’s the gold standard Keep it up though.
Non-African who is trying her hand at new foods from different countries. I tried preparing this recipe and while it tasted delicious, the dried bitter-leaf I used stayed very stringy and in a tangled mass in the stew pot. I followed the instructions for soaking and boiling with bicarbonate soda- any other tips for getting the bitter leaf to incorporate into the dish more evenly?
Hi Sarah, sorry to hear about this. This is what I would do , slightly pulse the bitterleaf in a food processor after soaking in water, to shredd it before washing , it would help prevent the tangled mass in the pot. Hope this helps
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe! My local African store has both smoked and unsmoked dried fish. Which would you recommend? Thanks very much!
I would perhaps go with with smoked one, but either of those two is fine.
I’ve been looking for an Ndole recipe for a long time. Can you make a video of you making it.
Thanks so much!
I’ll add this to my list. Thanks for stopping by.
serves 15
How much is one serving of Ndole?
serves 15