Favourite Gambian Recipes

Recipe for brewing Attaya

By Alhagie Njie EFA

In the afternoons in the Gambia it is a common sight to see a group of men sitting around enjoying, making and drinking this traditional tea

Alhagie frothing the brew

You will need:

Charcoal pot

Charcoal

Water

Small enamel tea pot

Small glasses

China Green tea (from the bitik)

Sugar

Clean the pot; add the water and the small box of Green tea.

Heat it to boiling on the charcoal pot; the leaves will turn in the water and then open out.

 Boil for 2 or 3 minutes.

Add a small glass of sugar and boil for a further minute.

Begin to mix by tipping the liquid from the pot, held high, into the small glass, to froth it. Tip the liquid back into the teapot and repeat for 5 minutes, adding small amounts of sugar to taste.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The saying is that if you brew Attaya on your own, before you drink it someone will join you. The same goes for the 2^nd and 3^rd brews.

Matarr Baldeh with the first glass.

To keep the company with you, keep the mixing process going. People may leave you as soon as they have had their tea so use this strategy to hang on to their company a little longer.

Subsequent brews are made by adding more water to the leaves and re-boiling but adding far  less sugar on these occasions. The first two brews are usually served to me;, the first to the “big man” but there are women who like these strong brews too. The 3^rd brew is traditionally for women and the 4^th (when it is done) for children, because they don’t like to feel left out of this traditionally social occasion.

                                                          ---------------------------------

Recipe for Fish Benechin

This is my favourite Gambian dish, especially when the fish is fresh as it often is along the coast south of greater Banjul area, at places like Tanji and Gunjur.

A delicious version was cooked for me by Jainaba and her mother Marie, with a little help from me.   Here is Jainaba’s recipe.

Ingredients

Onion                                                              White fish

Chili Pepper                                                     Rice (6 cups)

Black pepper                                                   Parsley (optional for stuffing)

Garlic                                                               Bay leaves                                          

Red tomatoes                                                  Oil (2 cups)

Cassava                                                           Salt to taste

Tomato paste                                                  Dry Fish (when available)

Aubergine                                                        Cabbage

Carrots                                                             Jumbo (traditionally used spice here in Gambia) optional

Jainaba, Head Chef

STEPS

1.      Clean fish and peel vegetables

2.      Prepare stuffing’s (pound parsley, chili, garlic salt, black pepper) , prick fish and stuff

3.      Wash pot and light the fire to heat the oil.

4.      Fry the fish on both sides until brown (the oil should be very hot in order to get the perfect colour)

5.      Whilst frying pound (using mortar &pestle) or Blend (using blender) the garlic, chili pepper, black pepper, onion and red tomatoes. Add the tomatoes paste.

sous chef

6.    Once the fish has been removed from the oil, add the pounded/blended stuff to hot oil and leave it to cook for 10 minutes.

7.      Add sufficient water to cook the rice, put in the fish, bay leaves, dry fish (if available) and vegetables (cabbage, aubergine, carrots, and cassava) and leave to cook for about 20mins.

8.      Clean and pre-cook rice in either a micro-waive or colander for about 8-10mins

9.      Remove all the vegetables and fish in a bowl or plate

10.  Then add the rice to the boiling pot to cook.

Marie with the finished dish

11.  Serve the dish in a large central bowl by putting the rice on first and then adding all the other ingredients together in the middle on the top.

12.  Everyone shares this food bowl by sitting around and helping themselves with either the fingers of their right hand or a spoon. Anyone lucky enough to have a sizeable piece of fish or carrot within their “portion” simply splits it and shares it out.

Farewell to Medina Sancha School

We set out at 7.30a.m. just as a downpour started. We had been hoping that the rains would hold off for a few more days, as access to Medina Sancha is by the South Road which is still sand for a considerable stretch. Our fears were groundless as it turned out because the rain, although heavy, did not last long and actually helped firm up the road surface.

Medina Sancha village lies at the end of a single sandy track, south of Kiaf, almost at the southern Gambian border with Senegal.  The drive took almost 4 hours and as we swerved and bumped along we could eventually make out, along the horizon, a line of huts to the right and school buildings to the left. Lamin was first to notice the straggling green line in front of the school. “The children have come out to greet you” he said.  He was right.

This was a sight I shall never forget.

The youngest children at the end of the welcome line

As we got out of the car, the children started singing and clapping a welcome.  Alieu Bouy, the young headmaster, strode forward to welcome us, his big smile splitting his face. The tiredness of his heavy workload showed on his face but his passion for the school, as always, lit up his eyes.

We walked along the “welcome” line, talking with bemused children who had not yet mastered English; Lamin assumed the role of gift bearer and Sarah that of photographer.  At the end we met the Alkalo  (the head of the village),  the equivalent of the Chair of Governors, Ustas which the title given to the Islamic teacher and  finally the Mothers’ Club.

After this warm welcome we gathered in a natural weave external room, the ultimate in demountable classrooms. This was the ECD (Early Years) class, but instead of the tiniest bodies, it was filled to capacity with the largest: parents and villagers. At the front were a line of chairs that signaled this was going to be a far more formal occasion than I had anticipated.  

Ustas,Chairman, Alkalo, me, Alieu with children

There were three speeches:  Mr Bouy’s, Alkalo’s and mine, during which we exchanged gifts, handshakes and laughter. Mr Bouy had to act as translator too and he did very well until I praised him as a wonderful leader, ideal to take his young charges into the future. “I can’t say that”, he said. When I told him to do as he was told, the villagers got the message without need of translation, and responded with applause. They think the world of him! Quite right!

I was the first to receive a gift. Laughter quickly broke out again as Mr Bouy could not resist helping me undo the shiny parcel. Inside was a tie die dress and wrapper skirt which were just my colours, if not quite my size!

The most obvious things I presented in return were large plastic boxes, a lidded bucket and a woven plastic carpet. These are all things I bought for myself when I came out last September, the carpet brightened the sitting rooms of both my homes and the boxes have made useful rodent proof storage for food and clothes. Now that I am leaving it is time to pass them on. The boxes contained useful bits and pieces for the ECD class: a ream of paper, card, pencils, glue, felt pens, blu tack, sticky backed plastic etc. I had also made a long concertina book, telling the story of a child growing up in an African village.

My second gift was not new either, having been pre-loved as is the saying these days. It was the reconditioned laptop donated by a Head teacher friend when I holidayed at home in February.  Originally this was intended for another head teacher but these plans were thwarted by the generous gift of a brand new one from an English university.

Mr Bouy was absolutely thrilled with this surprise gift. His archaic model became unusable some months ago and this more powerful, compact one will make his life so much easier. 
However there was another gift : a donation of 50,000 Dalasis.

A similar tank

This wonderful sum was raised through promises from friends back in the UK to support the water project for the school.  Thank you all so much. I do so hope you are as delighted as I am with the outcome. This will have an enormous impact in this extremely poor district, improving both pupil welfare and education.

Although not finished yet much progress has been made and the bore hole has been dug, inside the school perimeter fence, going down nearly 80 feet.  The money raised by us will erect a tall tower with a tank on the top, so that pupils can draw the water off by tap. This is quick, supporting hygienic practices and is also so much safer than a well. 
My intention had been to leave something here in memory of my late husband Keith. This project seemed ideal as all throughout our long marriage Keith’s hobby was plumbing  both in the house and outside in the garden..  Alieu Bouy knew all this and had a surprise in store for me.  

He led me over to the school fence and as I watched he planted a line of mango trees dedicated to Keith, on either side of the bore hole. In only two years they will provide the children with shade and delicious fruit, all thriving due to the new water supply.

Over these ten months I have often thought of how much Keith would have wanted me to stay safely tucked up at home. In fact his wonderful brothers: Les and Rob have often reminded me of what his views would have been.  

But I know they will understand now.  







People like Alieu and the community at Medina Sancha deserve our help. They are truly remarkable, determinedly overcoming the odds to improve the lives and futures of children.

Action Aid Adventure

At Kadijatou’s invitation I joined her organization’s work to support training at Albreda /Juffereh on the North Bank of the River Gambia.  Juffureh, an ex-slave trade port, is situated adjacent to a small island in the middle of a wide point in the river. In the past, this island made a convenient holding location for slaves until ships could take them off. Juffureh life is now centred on agriculture and tourism.

On Thursday we heeded advice to avoid the Banjul-Barra crossing which had once again been reduced to one ferry, meaning long, hot and uncertain delays. So we headed off along the indirect route: eastward along the south road to the mid-country ferry crossing at Farafenni , and then the north road back westward towards Juffureh.

This meant that our excursion became a journey down memory lane for me.  By memory lane, of course I mean the red sandy soil landscape and often  red sandy road surface too. The few downpours we have had are not yet sufficient for green to become the dominant colour but it won’t be long now.

We even stopped to eat lunch in Soma, where I originally lived for a while.  But the journey in a 4x4 Toyota was a world away from my geli-geli trips. The Action Aid vehicle was fast, comfortable and spacious with air conditioning and an excellent driver, Massay. Wonderful!

Sadly our unexpected diversion via Soma left no time to make calls on ex-colleagues and friends, so we pressed on, stopping only for lunch and to buy 21 fresh mangoes for 50D (just over £1). Our route change gamble paid off, helped by catching the arriving ferry at Farafenni;  just over  6 hours after we left Kanifing, we arrived  at the Kunte Kinte Guest House at 7.30p.m. Gambian Tourism businesses are rare and sadly this one had obviously seen better times but we were able to make the best of it and settle in to our individual round huts.

Later in the evening in the guest house bantaba, we met with the two cluster monitors, KK and Seho, who had requested support with the training. Over hot tea we planned the schedule for the next two days  aimed at supporting community participation in education for 20 delegates: four each from five schools. We set a task to make clear each school’s score card. This is a new country wide initiative to encourage greater community involvement in local schools. The A4 size score cards give a range of information about standards in the school, district and region.

We stopped work and went to bed at 10.30 p.m. I had forgotten how much hotter and airless it is up-country – especially as the guest house generator went off at 11 p.m. This meant a night with no fan and no light!

Breakfast on Friday was bread with raw onion and a shrimp (prawn) omlette.  

The training, in the bantaba of another nearby guest house, started only a little late, immediately half the delegates had arrived.  It pays not to be too pedantic with time in Gambia; people’s lives are fraught with difficulties, as a result of underlying poverty. On this occasion it meant most people walking for many miles and well over an hour to get to us. Gradually, with the training underway, latecomers arrived without embarrassment and greeted each of us in turn, as is the tradition, before taking a seat. The concrete bench seats were set within the open circular walls of the bantaba, as four curved arcs.

Automatically women grouped together on one side and men on the other.  All the three teachers with us were young men. Their help was invaluable as with only one exception, the others were illiterate. Because of low literacy rates, registration at the training was by thumb print and all the score card information is given pictorially.  The intention of our training was to explain these symbols so they could be remembered and used, enabling each delegate to transfer this new knowledge to their own school, understanding strengths and weaknesses. Presentations by delegates on planned action, making changes to improve matters at each school brought the training to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon.

We had no flipchart stand but Seho improvised with one plastic table on its side on top of another, using  my blutak to hold up sheets of paper. He also used the roof supports as display spaces when needed.

Increasingly, throughout the two days, Seho and KK became more skillful in making their training truly participatory, endorsing the overall purpose.  Delegates also became involved and confident; making contributions and presentations. In many cases their joy at “reading” symbols was as tangible as the realization that they had suggestions for solutions to problems too.

This made the training a success for KK and Seho and a pleasure for Kadijatou and me: a small endorsement of  VSO plans for greater integration with other NGOs in future.

Ensuring everyone was well fed on both days was important. A breakfast of sardine and raw onion tapalapa sandwiches was served at 10 30a.m. arriving in the traditional way: a large dish balanced on the head of the delivery woman.  A bucket of sweet tea came too. This was scooped out in plastic mugs and distributed.

Both days ended with shared food bowls of sauce on rice. On Friday Kadijatou and I enjoyed chicken benechin with everyone but on Saturday , we elected to make a quick exit to give us a better chance on the Barra to Banjul ferry. We were in luck and our entire trip home, despite over an hour on the river, took only 3 hours.

An extra and unexpected lovely memory to bank, just before I leave.

Preparing to Leave

It is June, the month I can say I shall be returning home; even if my plane will be taking off literally at the 11^th hour of the last day of the month. I marked the turn of the calendar by giving thoughts to packing up. As is customary I will distribute or throw away things I brought or bought when I first came out last September.

It feels akin to drawing up a list of bequests.

In the main my clothes have survived well, considering the harsh conditions – especially the floor scrubbing brush that Awa uses to clean them and the Soma practice of drying them on bushes. Never-the-less I will discard many, with Awa’s help. They will either be passed on for extra wear or relegated to cleaning cloths. As the mother figure to an extended family, Awa will also put my linen to good use.

 

Awa, ready to go home and changed out of her work  clothes
 

My two pairs of leather sandals have been ideal African foot soldiers and have much life left in them still, thanks to the excellent repairs undertaken here. These valiant soles (sorry!) will be coming home with me.

Spare medicines and my unused first aid kit will go to a VSO friend who is an under-resourced A & E doctor at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in Banjul.

After Lilli’s relocation from Basse and her marriage to Kebba, she says she will make good use of all the kitchen equipment in their flat in nearby Kotu.

It is highly likely that Sarah too will be moving down to Kombos from Basse. She has applied for a second year, to continue her very successful Early Years work. No doubt it would make her life easier to inherit some of my things, rather than transport a load from up country.

Other possessions will be leaving gifts to neighbours, work colleagues and friends.

Although I am making these plans now, I will not enact them until the last two days; Friday 29^th, my last day at work and Saturday 30^th. The reason is that nothing is a luxury; none of it can be spared while I am still here.

So on my last Saturday, 30^th , tea and biscuits will be on offer throughout the day at the Pink Palace with the guarantee that no visitor will leave empty handed!

The Pink Palace: sadly my part is the lower floor, behind the formidable wall.  

 

I have always tried to maintain a positive view of life throughout my time here and to reflect this in these blogs, either ignoring or making light of the inevitable challenging side. However, I will never again take for granted feelings of personal safety and the social systems that promote order, care and opportunities for the individual.

The challenges do ensure that every VSO volunteer leaves the Gambia the better, having discovered new personal strengths and abilities, as well as an appreciation for what is truly valuable.

All that sounds rather stuffy so here are some other thoughts:

I have been sustained by:

1.     Samsung notebook (Thanks Dom)

2.     Contact with home : Emails (Thanks to so many wonderful folk), Skyping (thanks Greg /Sarah and Agnes), letters (thanks Mum), Parcels from home (thanks Mum, Janet and Chris).

3.     Gambian friendships both in Soma and Kanifing

4.     VSO friends, their humour and the unstinting support network they provide.

5.     Radio (especially marvelous Radio 4),

6.     Books (I’ve never read so much in so little time– sadly mostly by torch or candle light, necessitating a visit to the optician a.s.a.p.)

7.     Pink bucket (just wide enough for my long feet!)

8.      PG Tips

9.   Work.  Practices at work are very different to those I’m used to but progress still brings huge satisfaction

I am looking forward to:

1.     Getting picked up at Heathrow

2.     Meeting up with so many people I love and miss.

3.     Hearing “Hello Gran”.

4.     Walks: countryside, beaches, cities, Hadrian’s Wall (part of)

5.     English weather (the novelty will probably soon wear off)

6.  British culture – all levels from pubs to theatres/ galleries but especially Village Hall events and The Rex

7.     Resuming hobbies (especially U3A, cooking, sewing and gardening)

8.     The Olympics, mostly on TV but the Marathon “in the flesh”.

9.     Ordinary life – which I will never view as quite so ordinary in future.

 As Andrew Marr says “It is an incredible piece of good fortune to be born British”.  I would also add “and a privilege to live in Britain”.

The above list notwithstanding, it has also been a privilege and piece of good fortune to have worked here in Gambia for 10 months, especially as my placement brought both up country and urban experiences. 

A few of my neighbours here in Kanifing

 I would say to anyone with the chance to do something similar “Do it”. Just make sure you have the back up in place to sustain you while you are here and to return to when it is all over.

Life will never be quite the same!