1
Boil cocoyam
Boil whole cocoyams until tender, then peel while hot.
boil cocoyam
45:00
Cameroon | Main dish
Achu and Yellow Soup
Cameroonian pounded cocoyam served with yellow palm-oil soup, kanwa, spices, meat, and fish.
Country
Cameroon
Region
Central Africa
Time
120 min
Serves
6
Level
hard
Recipe overview
What to know before you cook
Achu is a ceremonial and everyday favorite from Cameroon's Northwest: soft pounded cocoyam eaten with a bright yellow soup made from palm oil, limestone water, spices, meat stock, and proteins.
What the dish tastes like
Cameroonian pounded cocoyam served with yellow palm-oil soup, kanwa, spices, meat, and fish.
When to cook it
Best for Best for Sunday meals, cultural gatherings, and serious comfort food., with a hard cooking level and about 120 minutes total.
What to serve alongside it
Boiled beef, tripe, cow skin, smoked fish, or hot pepper.
Regional lane
Cameroon national table. A verified Cameroon dish in the AfroKitchen archive.
Chef watch-outs
- Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
- Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
- Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
How you know it is ready
- The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
- The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
- Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
Pantry lane
bitter leaves, groundnut, eru leaves, waterleaf, palm oil
Recipe photos
See the dish before you cook
Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.
Chef board
Build the table around Achu and Yellow Soup
Boiled beef, tripe, cow skin, smoked fish, or hot pepper.
Best route from here
Cameroon national table
Collections to keep cooking
How to cook it
Step-by-step method
Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.
4 steps
120 min total
hard
2
Pound smooth
Pound cocoyam into a smooth stretchy mound and keep warm.
pound
15:00
3
Make yellow soup
Whisk hot stock, palm oil, kanwa water, achu spices, pepper, and salt until emulsified.
soup
10:00
4
Serve with proteins
Arrange achu with meat and ladle yellow soup around it.
serve
05:00
Yellow soup spice blends vary by family, but palm oil, kanwa, meat stock, and pounded cocoyam stay central.