Rondelles (country spice)
Also called: rondelle, country spice, épice du pays, rondelles d'épices
Rondelles are a Cameroonian country spice sold dried, in round slices that give them their name. Their aroma is warm and woody, and they belong to the group of spices that are mixed together for broths and traditional sauces. In Yaoundé markets you find them with the spice sellers, next to the pèbè.
Lumo has four recipes that use them: achu with yellow soup from the North-West, cow foot broth from the Centre, ekwang from the South-West and pork kondrè from the West. In three of those, they go into the pot alongside pèbè. They are usually toasted lightly in a dry pan, then crushed or ground before going in. Choose rondelles that are dry and fragrant, with no sign of mould, and keep them whole in a sealed jar somewhere dry. Grind them when you cook: like most spices, they lose their aroma once powdered.
Abroad, look in African grocery shops, Cameroonian ones especially, among the dried spices. The name changes from one seller to the next, so it helps to ask for the spices used in yellow soup or kondrè. There is no substitute with the same taste. If you cannot get them, cook the dish without them rather than reaching for a spice that does not belong in it.
Recipes with this ingredient
- Achu & Yellow Soup Nord-Ouest · 2 hr 10 min
A North-West signature: smoothly pounded taro served with the famous yellow soup, an emulsion of red palm oil and limestone (kanwa) loaded with spices and assorted meat.
- Beef Trotter Broth Centre · 3 hr 20 min
A slow-simmered Cameroonian broth: beef trotters cooked low and long with country spices into a thick, gelatinous, deeply savoury soup.
- Ekwang Sud-Ouest · 2 hr 30 min
A South-West speciality: grated cocoyam wrapped in tender cocoyam leaves and slow-cooked with smoked fish, crayfish and red palm oil.
- Kondrè with pig meat Ouest · 2 hr 25 min
A warming Western-Highlands stew: green plantains slow-cooked with pork and a generous blend of country spices.