Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Kanda ti Nyma
Central African meatballs simmered in a nutty tomato-and-okra sauce thickened with ground pumpkin seeds.
Central African · medium · serves 4
prep 25 min · cook 45 min
~612 cal · 49g protein · 18g carbs · 37g fat · 4g fiber · 7g sugars · 12g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Kanda ti nyma is a dish of the Central African Republic, meatballs (kanda) of meat (nyma) simmered in a nutty tomato sauce thickened with ground pumpkin or squash seeds, which lend the sauce a rich, savory body characteristic of Central African cooking. Ground seeds and nuts are a defining thickener across the region.
The pounded pumpkin seeds give the sauce its distinctive texture and earthy depth, and , the Central African Republic's most-loved vegetable, is stirred in to round it out as the meatballs cook down with tomato and aromatics. It is the kind of resourceful cooking that turns garden seeds into the heart of a filling meal.
Served with a starchy staple such as or rice in Bangui, kanda ti nyma is everyday home cooking.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.5 lb ground beef
1 egg, to bind the meatballs
1 cup ground pumpkin/squash seeds (kanda)
1 cup , sliced
4 tomatoes
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 chili
3 tbsp oil
Instructions
1
Mix the beef (or plant mince) with grated onion, salt, and the egg (or cassava flour) and roll into small meatballs.
2
Brown the meatballs in the oil, then set aside.
3
Cook the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chili, and okra down into a thick sauce.
4
Stir in the ground pumpkin seeds with a little water to make a nutty, thickened sauce.
5
Return the meatballs and simmer 20 minutes; serve over rice or cassava.
Bangui tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bangui. Cassava is used at every stage. The root is dried and milled into flour for fufu, fermented and steamed into chikwangue wrapped in leaves, and the leaves are pounded and cooked separately again. The Oubangui river supplies smoked fish, and the pepper is added by whoever is eating.
🗺️
Central African Republic. Gozo is the cassava dough and chikwangue the fermented cassava loaf wrapped and steamed in leaves, and the two are not interchangeable. Both come from the same root that also gives the pounded leaves, so a single crop supplies the starch, the greens and the keeping food in a country where refrigeration cannot be assumed.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Central African Republic
BeignetsCentral African breakfast doughnuts: puffy, golden yeasted fritters fried fresh at dawn and dusted with sugar, eaten with sweet coffee.
Gozo with Groundnut SauceSmooth cassava fufu served with a rich, savory peanut sauce, an everyday plate across the Central African Republic.
Bouillie de ManiocA silky Central African cassava porridge, whisked from the national staple flour and sweetened, often enriched with a spoon of peanut paste.
Browse all Central African Republic recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Rolling pin.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Central African Republic meal
Jus de TamarinDrink
Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters)Dessert
Gozo with Groundnut SauceLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Kanda ti Nyma?
Central African meatballs simmered in a nutty tomato-and-okra sauce thickened with ground pumpkin seeds.
Where does Kanda ti Nyma come from?
Kanda ti Nyma is a Central African dish from Bangui, Central African Republic.
Can Kanda ti Nyma be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kanda ti Nyma recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kanda ti Nyma safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Kanda ti Nyma take to make?
About 70 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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