Cameroon – Bouillon de pomme de terre

by Wirba Brice Divine Ransinyuy

Bouillon e pomme de terre is a special meal being eaten for specific gatherings and reasons. It cannot be eaten anyhow or at any moment. It is eaten during jovial moments as well assad moments. This is the case during sport activities. Footballers in particular and sportmen in general often drink bouillon de pomme de terre after a game activity as a way of unifying their ties that together. This sharing is known as the brotherhood sharing. It is a common activity among the youths and the elderly. This ritual often take place on Saturdays and mostly on Sundays. It is a way for them to share the bonds that tie them together as they believe, they live just once and not twice, so they make sure to make the utmost best out the moments and time they spend together as brothers of the same fraternity. The cooking of bouillon de pomme de terre is practiced in Cameroon.

COOKING METHOD

The cooking method here is by boiling.

COOKING INGREDIENTS FOR BOUILLON DE POMME DE TERRE

• Half bucket of pomme de terre.
• Three kilos of meat or half kilo chicken
• Four hot red or yellow pepper or a mixture of the the two species of pepper
• Five tomatoes.
• Ten litres of water
• Much celeri
• Much percil
• A glove of garlics
• Four gingers
• Poivron
• Poiro
• Two onions
• Groundnut oil

INGREDIENTS FOR SEASONING

• Maggi
• Salt
• Maggi arome
• Maggi crevette.

COOKING PROCEDURE

1. Wash your tomatoes, your onions and cut into small sizes.
2. Peel off your pomme de terre.
3. Wash it very well and place in a cleann bowl of water.
4. Depending on what you decide to cook as meat, the first thing to do is to wash it.
5. Cut it into smaller portions.
6. Boil adding salt to it.  Add just enough salt for it not to be too sweat nor less sweat, let it just be enough.
7. Wash your celeri and percil put in a molinex
8. Peel off the skin of the ginger and garlics, then put in a molinex.
9. Cut the poivron and poiro into smaller portions, then put in the molinex.
10. Take the other ingredient such as the tomatoes and the onions and put in the molinex.
11. When everything is set, add a little bit of water and grind.
12. After thirty minutes, check wether your meat is ready. If it is ready, remove from fire. Make sure to keep the stuck water.
13. Having prepared everything, go straight forrward to the cooking itself.
14. Begin by putting groundnut oil on fire
15. Pour in the grinded spices alongside with tomatoes and the others like onions, garlics, ginger, poiro and poivron.
16. When the spices begin to steam, put the meat into the pot.
17. The next thing to put is the maggi and salt.
18. Stir the food for a period of five minutes.
19. The next thing that follows is the pomme de terre. Put the pomme and stir.
20. After that pour in like five to ten litres of water and stir.
21. After ten minutes on fire, pour in another2 litres of water.
22. After this allow the food on fire for a period of twenty minutes.
23. After a period of twenty minutes on fire, remove pot from fire.

Your Boullon de pomme de terre is ready waiting for you.