Pounded Taro · Grassfields Ceremonial Dish
Achu and Yellow Soup
Photo: Destiny DEFFO / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
The soup's bright yellow colour comes from palm oil whisked with 'limestone' — a natural potash called kanwa — until the oil emulsifies into a thick, creamy sauce.
Cocoyam and unripe plantain are boiled until soft, then pounded into a smooth, stretchy grey paste. It's mounded in a bowl of vivid yellow soup — palm oil, limestone water, spices and meat, tripe or fish — and eaten by scooping with the fingers.
Why it's made this way: Achu is the signature dish of the Bamenda Grassfields, historically served at royal courts, and it remains the centerpiece of Northwest weddings, funerals and title-taking ceremonies.
More from Cameroon
Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.