Kati kati and Cameroonian Style Turnip greens

Cameroonian Style Turnip Greens, kati kati and fufu corn. My complete Camair plate! I gave my mom a curious look when I saw her grabbing bunches of turnip greens at the store. “E de like njama njama” she says. Njama Njama, as we call it, is the African huckleberry plant. A well loved green by most back home especially those from the north west province. Traditionally, it is steamed and sauteed with some palm oil, salt and pepper. Sometimes others doctor it up with tomatoes, meats and other condiments.

My mother definitely opened the way with turnip greens in our home. I must say I had never worked with turnip greens before. Nowadays, its rare that I don’t grab at least a bunch or two each grocery run.

Grab the freshest bunch. Yes, you will find me digging through to grab the bottom bunch. Sometime in March, per my very generous neighbor, we will have some turnip greens from his garden. We will be featuring those on our Launch Party menu this summer. Keep up the communications if you’re here in Tennessee. You may just win a free pass to sample some amazing West African staples.

Treating these as I treat njama njama, we start off by washing and slicing. This is then cooked, not just blanched because we want it a little softer and will need more than a couple minutes in boiling water. Transfer into an ice bath ( never did this with njama njama).

Use both hands to squeeze out excess water. At this point you are ready to sautee or freeze for future use. Kept it simple with some Onions, roma tomatoes and a little canola oil.

Trust me, if your turnip greens were boring before, you’ve found your fix with this recipe. So simple , yet each bite makes you wonder how something so simple could taste so good. I still remember my mother cooking Njama Njama. We’ll call it “poor man njama njama”, with just palm oil, salt and pepper. Yet , our plates were wiped clean in record time. No “eat your greens ” fight necessary, we loved it.

Kati Kati or Khati Khati

Another favorite. Fire grilled chicken, cooked in palm oil and tomato base sauce boasting some wonderful traditional flavors. I can’t get enough of Kati kati. I’ve gone as far as making tacos with this chicken recipe. My corn tortillas become my fufu corn. That simple, we try it all with the same amazing taste.

We use the whole chicken, but here I’m using some drumsticks. Make sure you grab bone-in for whatever you use. Considering it goes from the grill back to the palm oil sauce, you will definitely dry out boneless chicken breasts.

FUFU CORN

The third part of my Camair plate. I love everything corn. Boiled fresh sweet corn. Charcoal roasted corn, koki corn; our Cameroonian corn pudding. Corn is definitely a staple in West African Cooking. Fufu corn is simply described as a dough made with ground dried corn. Like MASA if you’re familiar with it but just corn, nothing else. Get your biceps ready because you’ll be needing some muscle. My mother will make a pot big enough to feed 10 mouths. Thank goodness I have just three mouths to feed but its so worth it.

With this trio on the plate, I feel at home. I may not have access to the African huckleberry but this Cameroonian Style Turnip greens and kati kati is as good as what I ate as a child. Hope you get to cooking turnip greens a different way than you normally do; the Cameroonian way.

West African Turnip greens and Kati Kati

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Course Main Dish

Cuisine Cameroon

Ingredients

  

Turnip Greens

• 4 bunches fresh turnip greens
• 4 roma style tomatoes diced (About 2 cups)
• 1/2 small onion sliced
• 2 habanero peppers
• salt to taste

Kati Kati Chicken

• 6 chicken thighs bone in
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp cameroonian pepper (or hot c ayenne)
• 1 maggi cube (or chicken bouillon)
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
• 3 Tbsp palm oil
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 3 roma tomatoes
• 1/4 yellow onion

fufu corn

• 2 cups white/yellow corn meal
• 5 cups of water
• foil or seran wrap

Instructions

 

Turnip greens

• Fill up a large bowl or kitchen sink with cold water and thoroughly rinse turnip greens. (About 2-3 times) Remove large, tough vein and slice greens. Then bring a large pot of water to boil. Add greens and cook for 7-10 minutes until just tender.
• Transfer into ice cold water. Once cool enough to touch, strain with colander and then use your hands to squeeze out as much water as you can. Set aside.
• Add sliced onions and diced tomatoes into a large skillet or fry pan. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally until tomatoes are reduced into a chunky sauce.. Then add in canola oil and fry for 3-5 minutes. Season to taste (or slightly over) with salt. Stir in greens and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until desired tenderness of greens. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

kati kati

• Pad dry chicken thighs with a paper towel and transfer into a bowl. Add in all dried spices, maggi, salt and canola oil. Thoroughly rub chicken until completely coated. Let marinate for 15-20 minutes.
• Grill on all sides for about 3-4 minutes, ensuring you get a slight char.
• Blend tomatoes and onions with little to no water. In a medium sauce pan, heat palm until it just starts to smoke. Add in tomato paste and blended onions/tomatoes. Stir and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Season to taste. Add in grilled chicken with a cup of warm water. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked and sauce reduced. Serve with greens.

fufu corn

• Bring 2 and a half cups of water to a gentle simmer in a medium sauce pot. In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups of cornmeal with about 2 cups of room temp water. Carefully add into simmering water. Reduce heat to medium and use a strong wooden spoon to stir occasionally. Cook for about 7 minutes; it will thicken. Then add in 1/3 cup of warm water, cover and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Use dominant hand and mix thoroughly, breaking any chunks until smooth.
• Cut seran wrap or foil paper big enough to wrap fufu corn. Place on chopping board or flat surface. Set aside a bowl with warm water. Dip ladle in water (prevents sticking), then scoop dough or fufu unto seran wrap. Carefully raise edges into a bundle, twist 1-2 times and place on a plate twist side down. Repeat until all dough is used. Let cool for a few minutes to solidify. Unwrap and serve with kati kati and turnip greens.

Keyword kati kati, west african turnip greens