What to Eat in Banjul: Domoda Peanut Stew, Benachin, Yassa and Wonjo Juice

Because The Gambia's fertile riverbanks have cultivated groundnuts (peanuts), swamp rice, cassava, mangoes and citrus for centuries while the Atlantic estuary teems with ladyfish, barracuda, snapper and mangrove oysters, Gambian cooking is deeply flavourful without relying on overwhelming heat. Whether you eat on a cliff terrace in Bakau or a garden courtyard in Kotu and Kololi, these are the classic dishes and drinks to order.

Five signature Gambian dishes to try

1. Domoda (Groundnut Stew): universally loved as The Gambia's national comfort dish. Tender beef, chicken, fish or sweet squash is simmered slowly in a rich, velvety sauce of freshly ground roasted peanut paste (degeh), crushed tomatoes, onions, garlic and lemon juice until the peanut oil rises gently to the surface, served ladled over steamed white rice.
2. Benachin ("One Pot"): the Wolof name for the beloved West African dish that inspired jollof rice. Fish or meat is browned in oil with tomato paste, onions, garlic, bay leaf and nutmeg, then cassava, carrot, cabbage and aubergine are cooked in the seasoned stock before the rice goes into the exact same pot to absorb every drop of flavour.
3. Chicken Yassa or Fish Yassa: marinated for hours in freshly squeezed lime juice, black pepper, garlic, chilli and vinegar, chargrilled over wood embers to give the skin a smoky crust, and braised in a golden sauce of slowly caramelised onions and mustard.
4. Superkanja and Mangrove Oyster Stew: superkanja is a thick, savoury emerald stew of finely chopped okra, spinach or sweet-potato greens, red palm oil, smoked fish and beef; along Oyster Creek and Lamin Lodge, try freshly harvested mangrove oysters grilled or simmered in onion-and-tomato sauce.
5. Tapalapa Bread and Chakery: at breakfast, look for crusty boat-shaped loaves of local tapalapa bread (baked from a blend of wheat, millet, maize and cowpea flour in earthen ovens) stuffed with spiced black-eyed peas or mayonnaise and egg; finish dinner with chakery, steamed millet couscous folded into sweetened creamy yoghurt with nutmeg and fruit.

Wonjo, Bouye and Ditakh juices

Skip imported fizzy drinks and order a tall chilled glass of ruby-red wonjo (sweetened hibiscus flower infusion scented with mint or ginger) or velvety white bouye made from the tangy, vitamin-rich pulp of baobab pods.