Rich in colour and ritual, Gambian cuisine is a delight to explore. On a sliver of sand tinged land that creeps to the east along the river Gambia itself, you’ll find The Gambia. It’s not a huge country. In fact, it ranks as the smallest country on mainland Africa, a fact that you’ll hear again and again. But, as they say, size isn’t everything. With miles of sun-soaked coastlines, plus rich and fertile land in the interior, Gambian cuisine offers more flavour, texture and fun than you might expect. At least, it did to me.
While many of the tourist resorts serve a wide range of European and American food, most chefs can rustle up some traditional, homemade Gambian cuisine if you ask nicely. And if you venture out to the markets and eateries beyond the resorts, you will, of course, find even more. I know that people say that the phrase “an explosion of colour” is overused. But in The Gambia, it seems it isn’t used enough.
The Gambia is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited in my life. It is a place that I now call home. Everything is beautiful about The Gambia, but mostly its people. Gambians have a very special place in my heart because they are the most kind and welcoming people ever.
The Gambia is located in West Africa, and it is the smallest country in mainland Africa. It is named after the Gambia river, which flows through the center of the country. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to enter the region, but it wasn’t until 1765 that the country was colonized by the British Empire. The country did not regain independence until 1965. English is the official language due to the long British occupation, though many native languages are still spoken today.
The most common ingredients found along The Gambia River are rice, tomatoes, cassava, peanuts, and spicy peppers. The Atlantic ocean proffers a rich variety of fish pulled daily straight to the sand. Gambians traditionally serve food in one bowl right in the middle of the table. If there are larger pieces of meat or vegetables that have been left whole, you also use your right hand to break them into smaller pieces. Lastly, don’t lick your fingers until you are fully done eating.
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Must-Try Traditional Gambian Dishes
Gambian cuisine is part of West African cuisine and includes the culinary practices and traditions of the nation of The Gambia. Common ingredients include fish, rice, peanuts, tomato, black-eyed peas, lemon, cassava, cabbage, potato, pumpkin, garden egg, lettuces, rice, couscous, corn, findi, onion, chili, and various herbs.
Here are some of the most popular and flavorful dishes you should try when visiting The Gambia:
Domoda
As the national dish of Gambia, domoda (pronounce duh-MAR-da) is a rich stew made with peanuts or ground nuts and popular across West Africa. The recipe varies from region to region: some places use unsweetened peanut butter for the peanut sauce, whilst others add flour to thicken the sauce instead of peanut paste. Made from ground peanuts, onions, garlic, and tomato sauce, it is cooked with meat, vegetables, and spices. There are also versions with fish or just vegetables.
Domo means 'to eat' and dàa is the word for a stew pot.
Benachin (Thieboudienne)
THE BEST JOLLOF RICE | Gambian - Senegalese Benachin | How To Make Jollof Rice
Benachin (benna cin, 'one pot'), a slightly different version of thieboudienne, (both names used in Senegal for the same dish), is an originally Wolof dish traditionally cooked in one pot (the practice giving it its name). Benachin, also known as Jolof rice, is an iconic meal featuring fluffy, tender rice enveloped by a colorful array of fresh vegetables and morsels of succulent fish, chicken, or beef. The traditional protein of choice is sardinnela (also spelled “sardinella”). The dish can be prepared in white and red varieties, with the signature tomato paste giving the latter a vivid red hue.
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In fact, the term "Benachin" derives from the Wolof language, translating literally to “one pot,” an apt description of its preparation method. Traditionally, all the ingredients come together in a single pot, allowing flavors to meld and develop into a robust, mouthwatering dish that embodies the essence of communal cooking.
What makes Benachin special is how it transcends the boundaries beyond Senegambia where it was originally found. Today, you’ll find variations of Benachin throughout West Africa. In Nigeria and Ghana, it is known as Jollof rice. Despite its many variations, the heart of the dish remains the same: rice, vegetables, and either fish or meat.
Benachin is eaten as a main meal. In Gambia, we can eat it for lunch and dinner and eat the leftovers the following day as breakfast. We never get enough of it.
However, this dish in its original form is now in danger of disappearing as a result of a potent brew of challenges: overfishing of sardinnela, climate change, and Western cultural influences.
Chew Yappa
Chew yappa is a stew that is typically made with beef, but fish can also be used.
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Nyambeh Nyebeh
The name literally translates as cassava and beans, which form the main ingredients. What sets nyambeh nyebeh apart from other Gambian dishes is that it is cooked in three different pots. The beans and cassava are boiled separately, drained, and salted. In a third pot, a stew made from white onions, spring onions, and pepper is prepared. When everything is perfectly cooked, the beans are added over the cassava and topped with the stew.
Afra (Dibi)
If you go out at night in the big cities of The Gambia, you’ll find the streetside grills or dibiteries cooking Afra. Also known as Dibi, this dish consists of lamb, beef, chicken, fish, or bushmeat rubbed with stock cubes and grilled to perfection.
Fish Cakes
Another popular late night street food are these fish cakes, which have precisely zero fish in them. The dough is made from flour, salt, and fat, rolled and then cut into circles. The vendor will fry them for you on the spot and serve them with an incredible sauce made from onions, salt, pepper, and jumbo.
Ebbeh
If you ever feel like ordering soup, Ebbeh is your best choice. Chunky and hot, with lots of vegetables and seafood, this dish feels like heaven after you’ve completed a hiking trail in one of The Gambian natural parks.
Nyambeh Nyebeh
This popular Gambian food is based on rice, tomato paste, chilli peppers, tomatoes, and onions, all cooked together in one big pot. When everything is simmering in a delicious spicy sauce, salt and spices are added for even more flavour.
Mbahal
For such a small country, Gambia has a surprising number of versions of Mbahal, a mouth-watering local dish cooked with smoked, salted fish, groundnuts, black-eyed beans, and okras. Some recipes also include fresh chillis, bitter tomato, and spring onion.
Chewi Kong
Yet another example of traditional African cooking, Chewi Kong started in The Gambia and quickly became popular in Senegal and other West African countries. The main ingredient is catfish, which is washed with lime and hot water before being added to a simmering pot of onions, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, cassava, and garlic, previously fried in vegetable oil. The base includes a mixture of garlic, lemon juice, mustard, and hot pepper, in which the fish is left to marinade.
Okra Stew
A simple dish found both in urban and rural areas, this okra stew is both nutritious and delicious. You will find many versions of it across The Gambia and West Africa, but the base for all is a mixture of okra and fish boiled in palm oil.
Cherreh
The tiny, steamed millet balls of cherreh soak up flavours and juices really well. Often described as a kind of spinach blend, you’ll find it as a side dish served with a mash of okra and onion.
Bread and Accompaniments
Tapalapa
Most stews in The Gambia are served with a local bread called tapalapa. At first sight, it looks like a French baguette, but the texture is completely different. Tapalapa is made from a mixture of millet, wheat, cowpea, and maize flour, which makes it dense and heavy.
Tapalapa is a bread shaped like a baguette, but with a denser texture. It is made from wheat flour, millet flour, and black-eyed peas, in addition to water, salt, and yeast. The bread is baked in a special tapalapa oven.
Akara
Akara, are West African deep-fried fritters made from ground black-eyed peas seasoned with salt, pepper, and onion.
Fufu
Fufu are balls made from flour from plantain, yam, potato or cassava.
Fish Ket
Fish ket are flat fried discs made out of flour, salt, and water.
Traditional Gambian Drinks
Days at the beach are hot in The Gambia, but don’t go for the classic lemonade or soda which you can try all around the world. Instead, try some local drinks:
Wonjo Juice
Order a glass of Wonjo juice, also known as sorrel, bissap, hibiscus, or zobo juice. This non-alcoholic drink is made with hibiscus flowers, sweetened with sugar, and served cold.
Palm Wine
If you want to try something boozy, order a glass of palm wine. The colour and taste can vary greatly depending on when the juice was collected. If you’re not feeling adventurous, start with freshly collected palm wine: it is lighter and sweeter and has a cloudy white colour, somewhat like milk.
Baobab Juice
If you are visiting The Gambia with kids, they will love this refreshing drink made from the brown fibre seeds of the baobab tree. And, quite possibly, so will you. The baobab seeds are left to soak in water and then squeezed to obtain a milky juice. Sometimes, that’s the end of it, but often people add in sugar, condensed milk, and either banana or coconut to make things a bit more palatable.
Ginger and Lemongrass Drink
As the name suggests, this non-alcoholic drink zings with ginger and lemongrass. But beware. It is punchy and can be super strong.
Local Herbal Tea
A delicious, mellow local tea made not from tea leaves but other herbs instead.
Attaya
Attaya, a sweet green tea traditionally triple-brewed with a small kettle on an African charcoal pot, adding more sugar and pouring the tea from each cutting tea glass to another with each brew.
Bouyi or Baobab Juice
Bouyi or baobab juice, a drink made from the baobab fruit, milk, and sugar.
Cooking Classes with Ida Cham
If there’s one thing and one thing only you should do in The Gambia, it’s to meet Ida. Ida Cham runs the cooking school at Yabouy in Tanji and she is, quite frankly, a force of nature. On one level, you’ll have a relaxing day learning how to cook the traditional Gambian cuisine of your choice in a gorgeous courtyard, chatting and making friends and learning how to play wuri. On the other, you’ll be challenged to think a little harder about the way you live your life and see the world through new eyes.
The experience starts with a trip through the Tanji fishing market - dressed in traditional Gambian clothes. As it happens, I’d visited the market just a day or two before. No stranger to markets around the world, even Tanji surprised me with its intensity. Flowing coloured cloth, jostling elbows, tired plastic buckets and bowls on heads, wilting leaves, silver gleaming fish, spice mountains and smoke. It’s a crowded, raw, real expression of exactly what it takes to get those basic ingredients from the shore and fields to our baskets and then on to our plates.
With Ida, I saw a different view. In part because we were actually shopping with a purpose instead of simply walking through. But in no small part because Ida is tall, visible and seems to know everyone from stall to shore. And finally? The outfit. I would have never risked wearing a traditional outfit like this out on my own. What if I was wearing it wrong? What if it was seen as offensive? What if it all fell off or fell down? The reality was that it made me less “other “and I received fewer stares. People chatted to me as a person, rather than just the next faceless foreigner who would be here today and gone tomorrow.
Of course, as with most of these cooking classes, guests roll up their sleeves and get involved. But someone else handles the washing up. We sat on traditional wooden stools, crushing herbs and vegetables with a giant kind of pestle and mortar.
Benachin is a slow recipe, one which takes patience and time. Allowing plenty of opportunities to talk to the women about their lives, their businesses and their ideas. Ida worked initially in the hospitality industry and spent a stint of time in London before opening up her cooking school. She has ambitious plans and has won many awards, with her Certificate of Recognition on the wall as an example. But most of all, she is just good fun. Warm, welcoming and as passionate about the power of travel to good as me.
Where to Find Traditional Gambian Food
You can find most international food in the main hotels but it’s sometimes a little harder to track down some traditional Gambian dishes.
- Ida’s Cooking Class - it’s just that good!
- Lamin Lodge will serve hot Gambian doughnuts with Gambian mbor mbor tea.
- You can pick up smoked fish at Tanji fishing market.
- The gorgeous Mandina Lodge arranges day visits with time on the water and in the jungle. They also serve, on request, traditional Gambian dishes.
- The Calypso Bar in the tourist area of Cape Point offers all the traditional Gambian drinks and you can watch the sun set over a crocodile pool.
