Cameroon – Kokono Soup With Plantains

by Joella Eve

Kokono soup with plantains has a special entity in that it talks about the history of the Kokono people which is a village that talks of the people that believe so much in their tradition. The cooking of this meal is like a form of initiation the new born adults in the culture of the Kokono. In order to be initialized into the culture of the Kokono. This is done by a whole process of preparation till the cooking process of Kokono soup with plantains. This initiation is done in order to make the newly initialized to become a man and adult in the society. After this, the man can decide to become to do whatsoever he wants to do in the society. This is a process of adulthood that is necessary and important for the child in the society. Kokono soup with plantains tradition comes from the Akonolinga inhabitants in Cameroon.

Cooking method

Kokono soup with plantains is cooking by stewing.

Cooking ingredients

1. A bunch of sweat leaves
2. Get one quarter of chicken
3. Five fingers of ripe plantains
4. Groundnut oil
5. A cup of white groundnut
6. Maggi cube
7. Salt
8. Tomatoes and onions

Cooking process

1. Remove the sweat leaves from your bag
2. Cut the sweat leaves into smaller shares.
3. After cutting it, wash it using salt and a little bit of hot water.
4. The hot water used to wash the leaves should not be too hot, it should just be moderate. Better still, it should be lukewarm
5. Having washed the leaves, boil the groundnut you will use in stewing the food. Boil the leaves after washing it.
6. Remove the peelings off the boiled groundnut. Wait for the groundnut oil to become lukewarm before you begin the removing the peelings.
7. Grind the groundnut adding little bit of water when grinding it.
8. Wash the tomatoes and the onions, then slice it and grind it.
9. Add little bit of water when grinding the tomatoes and the onions.
10. Fry your one quarter chicken using groundnut oil. You could still decide to cook using olive oil. It all depends on you. On the list, groundnut oil is being mentioned. Though, olive oil can still be used.
11. Put groundnut oil on a frying pan that does not stick together.
12. The tomatoes and the onions that have been grinded should be put in the frying pan, then followed by the fried chicken, the sweat leaves and maggi with salt.
13. A little bit of water is enough to cook the Kokono soup. But if the water is not enough, you can still add the water. If it is not enough, do not add it. Just allow the one that you first put.
14. Allow it on fire for ten minutes, turning it from time to time.
15. After cooking the soup, boil the ripe plantains.
16. Remove the peelings of the plantains and wash.
17. Boil the plantains and serve your food as served in the picture below.