Cameroon – Foumbot Vegetables With Sliced Plantains

by Wirba Brice Divine Ransinyuy

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The Foumbot vegetables is renowned typeof vegetables known by all Cameroonians from all the regions, though it is highly appreciated by Anglophones and the Bameleke due to the fact that there is a belief surrounding the cooking of the Foumbot vegetables on particular occassions. The Anglophones enjoy cooking this vegetable because for them, it is a way and opportunity of gathering for the entire family to gather around the table in order to share the delicious meal of foumbot vegetables with sliced plantains. As for the Bamelekes, the cooking of the foumbot vegetables is a meal being prepared to welcome people coming to see the newborn baby in the house. It is called Njabshew. It is a meal highly appreciated by the Bameleke and the people who come and visit the family of the newborn baby. The taste of the food, that is the Foumbot vegetables is either bitter or watery, but with the mixture of the species, a sweat taste is what you feel when swallowing the food at the end.

Cooking method

The cooking method here is stewing.

Cooking Ingredients

• Foumbot vegetables
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Groundnut oil
• Crayfish
• Mbonga
• Ripe plantains

Seasoning ingredients

• Maggi crevet
• Maggi cube
• Maggi arome

Cooking process

1. Cut the vegetables into small slices
2. Wash it thoroughly, cleansing it three or four times. After washing it, keep it in a clean bowl. After doing this, the next thing to do is the boiling of the Foumbot vegetables.
3. Boil the vegetables for a period of thirty minutes. No matter that is being boiled, it remains thirty minutes and it should go above thirty minutes so as not to make it turn too soft. Highest is thirty minutes in case you forgot it on fire. It should not also be less than thirty minutes. The minimum is twenty-five minutes.
4. Wash the onions and tomatoes, then slice it into small pieces.
5. After doing this, keep it in a clean bowl.
6. The next thing to do is to start preparing the groundnut oil.
7. Pour in the groundnut oil in the pot and wait for a few seconds.
8. When the groundnut oil is about to steam, that is after a period of two to three seconds, pour in the tomatoes and the onions into the pot.
9. Stir the pot for a period of five minutes. Wait for the tomatoes to become ready before you do anything further. When it is ready, you can now proceed with the next thing, that is the stewing of the Foumbot vegetables.
10. Wash the Foumbot vegetables for the last time, then squeeze it. After squeezing it, place it in a clean bowl.
11. After doing this, throw the vegetables into the pot.
12. Put in Maggi, then followed by salt.
13. Stir the food on fire.
14. Pour in small water and allow the food on fire for a period of 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove food from fire. 
15. Your foumbot vegetables is ready.

Cooking method of ripe plantains

The ripe plantains is being cooked by boiling.

Cooking method

1. Peel off the skin of the ripe plantains
2. Boil for a period of 15 to 25 minutes.
3. After this, remove boiled ripe plantains from fire.

Serve the boiled ripe plantains with the foumbot vegetables together like the case in the picture below.

Make sure to enjoy the Meal. It is a very delicious meal.