Njanga Rice

Njanga (crayfish) rice

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It is strange how a dish like Njanga rice is particularly interwoven with the nation of Cameroon, with the riverine cultures of the coastal regions, and with class stratification in the country. As an authentic Cameroonian dish, Njanga rice was our jollof rice before jollof rice from West Africa became popular and was enthusiastically embraced by Cameroonians.?

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Njanga rice is simply rice cooked with crayfish (njanga), onions, tomatoes, and palm oil. When the Portuguese first came to Cameroon in the beginning of the 16th century, they marveled at a life volcano spilling out hot lava that rode down the edges of Mount Cameroon all the way into the sea. They called it in awe, the Chariots of the Gods. Wanting to explore the hinterland of the estuary with their ships, they discovered to their amazement that their boats could not move. They were blocked by millions of prawns on the river Wouri. They had never seen anything quite like it. They called the river, Rio dos Camaros - river of prawns from which Cameroon took its name.?

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Prawns are the bigger version of the shrimp, and the shrimp is the residual left in the baskets of the fishermen after the fishes and giant gambas have been selected. What was left in the basket was then sold, for a song and dance, to poor people who took it home and dried it in the sun. When dried, the njanga as the tiny shrimps were called, could be kept for 6 months or more. Secondly, when dried it gave a concentrated pungent, fishy smell. When grinded before use, it disappears into the soup and any other food it is cooked with, leaving behind only the tantalizing taste in the mouth and the intriguing smell of fish.

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As an alternative, dried anchovies can be used to make njanga rice, if crayfish is not readily available and, in some cases, the dish is even tastier than the one made with the original recipe.? Watch our cooking show on YouTube to see how this simple but flavorful rice is made, contact us and we will make it for you if you do not want to cook it yourself. Pescatarians will love this dish.