I’m back, after a longer break than I expected. I just got really busy and I didn’t want to get back into my challenge without having enough time to research properly. I returned to African food this week with Niger, a country I honestly did not realize existed before this challenge (I only knew of Nigeria). Although Africa has admittedly not been my favorite region so far, I did find some food from Niger that I enjoyed.
Niger is the largest landlocked country in West Africa, with the majority of its land lying in the Sahara Desert. It takes its name from the Niger River, which runs through the west of the country.
Niger shows signs of human inhabitation as far back as 280,000 BC. The Sahara was wetter and more fertile around then, and provided favorable conditions for hunting, agriculture, and livestock herding. It wasn’t until around 4000-2800 BC that the Sahara began to dry out and become the desert it is today.
Some tribes learned to use camels to trade with people across the Sahara, and the frequent contact with North Africa helped facilitate the spread of Islam throughout the region.
The general area was invaded several times by the Arabs, which contributed to much of the population moving further south (I suspect the desert also had something to do with that). Several significant empires developed in the region from around the 8th-16th centuries, including the Kanem-Bornu Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire.
France eventually colonized Niger in 1922, which lasted until 1960, when the country obtained independence. The period since then has been rough, with five coups d’état and four periods of military rule. Niger is currently under a military junta and has been since the most recent coup in 2023.
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, and even some of the non-desert areas often go through periods of drought so food can be scarce. The country has struggled to develop, not just due to the political instability, but also because of its landlocked position, desert terrain, and rapid population growth.
What Do People Eat in Niger?
Typical Nigerien meals include a starch served with a sauce or stew. The most popular starch is rice, though millet is also common. The sauce or stew is often vegetable-based but may also contain fish or meat. A wide range of meats may be used, including beef, chicken, mutton, goat, and camel.
Other staple foods in Niger include cassava, sorghum, maize, and various types of beans.
Spices were brought to the region by Arabian travelers over the centuries and were quickly incorporated into meals. Some that are commonly used in Nigerien cooking include ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, saffron, and cloves.
What I Made
- Shinkafa da Wake (Black-Eyed Peas and Rice)
- Dambou (Couscous and Spinach)
- Djerma Stew (Chicken and Peanut Butter Stew)
- Dounguouri Soko (Lamb and White Bean Stew)
Scroll down to read about other popular Nigerien dishes I didn’t make!
Shinkafa da Wake (Black-Eyed Peas and Rice)
This dish has a few names; it is also known as ‘doungouri da mo’ or just ‘niebe’. It is very simple, made with just black-eyed peas and rice, but it’s typically served with other dishes. In this case, I also made a vegetable sauce to go along with it, which was in the recipe video I followed.
First, I cooked the black-eyed peas in water with a little baking soda. Then, when they were just about done, I added rice and salt and let that cook until the rice was cooked through. That was the main part of the dish done!
For the vegetable sauce, I added onion, bell pepper, and tomato to some oil and let it cook down. I added some water and chicken Better Than Bouillon and cooked a little more until the vegetables were soft and there was not too much liquid remaining.
Although this was very simple, I think it came out tasting good. I ended up mixing the vegetables with the rice and beans and I liked it better that way.
This recipe is from MyMafe Adventures on YouTube. It’s shown there alongside chicken which I know would also be a great accompaniment.
Dambou (Couscous and Spinach)
Dambou is a dish consisting of couscous combined with spinach and moringa leaves—another leafy green. The couscous can be made of semolina, rice flour, millet, or corn.
The recipe I was following had instructions for making couscous out of semolina, but I cheated and used store-bought semolina couscous. I cooked it according to the package directions, which involved boiling water, adding the couscous, and letting it sit for a while.
Meanwhile, I sautéed some onion in oil, and later added chopped green bell pepper and spinach (I omitted the moringa leaves). I added salt and pepper, and once the spinach was wilted I combined the spinach mixture with the couscous.
This made for a nice, easy side dish with some salmon, and it tasted pretty good too!
The recipe I used is from Afra Cuisine.
Djerma Stew (Chicken and Peanut Butter Stew)
Djerma stew is Niger’s national dish. It’s a meat stew (usually made with chicken) flavored with peanut butter.
I started by seasoning chicken thighs with salt and pepper and browning them in oil. Then I blended tomato, onion, and garlic, and poured the puree over the chicken. I added smoked paprika, curry powder, a bay leaf, and chicken Better Than Bouillon for seasoning.
I let the chicken simmer until cooked through, then added water, parsley, carrots, and chives. A few minutes later, I removed some of the liquid and whisked it with peanut butter, then added that back into the pot.
After a few minutes more, the stew was ready to serve. I ate it over steamed rice as suggested. I thought this was pretty good! I was expecting to like it though since I’ve generally been a fan of all the peanut stews I’ve made so far for this challenge.
This recipe is from National Foods.
Dounguouri Soko (Lamb and White Bean Stew)
This is a simple stew made from white beans, lamb, and vegetables. Supposedly, it is often served with mayonnaise on the side, which I find kind of odd and hard to believe, but all the sources I found mentioned this.
I soaked navy beans overnight, then boiled them with a little baking soda until tender. In Niger, they would add natron to help soften the beans. It’s a naturally occurring mixture of various types of sodium, including sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Since that isn’t so common around here, I used a little baking soda instead—I usually add it when cooking beans anyway since I feel it helps speed up the cooking.
I browned chunks of lamb in oil in a large pot, then added onion and both green and red bell pepper. After a few minutes, I added tomato and garlic, then a few minutes later I added tomato paste. Once I’d cooked that a bit, I poured in some water. The recipe said to add the beans at this point but I chose to start this while the beans were still cooking. I drained the beans when they were done and added them to the rest of the stew for the last 15 minutes or so of cooking.
I did try some of this with mayonnaise but I didn’t feel it was necessary. This was super delicious on its own and even better when I had it for lunch the next day.
The recipe I used is from 196 Flavors.
Other Popular Nigerien Dishes
- Masa – fermented rice cakes, a bit like small pancakes. They are usually served alongside a main meal with a spicy pepper sauce, but they can also be enjoyed as a snack.
- Kopto – a dish made from various types of greens. In Niger, whatever is readily available would be used, such as moringa leaves. The greens are cooked with onion, garlic, and peanut butter.
Final Thoughts
The dishes I made this week were all pretty good but my favorite food from Niger was definitely the dounguouri soko; it was so flavorful!
Next week, I will be cooking food from Nigera. I may be pretty patchy over the next couple of months with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and also moving at the end of December. I’ll try not to miss too many weeks and just know that, however many I do miss, I will see this challenge through!