Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Pondu (Saka Saka)
Cassava leaves pounded and simmered with palm oil, eggplant, and smoked richness, the Congo’s daily green.
Congolese · easy · serves 5
prep 20 min · cook 60 min
~778 cal · 16g protein · 142g carbs · 18g fat · 11g fiber · 37g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Pondu, also called saka saka, is the daily green of the Democratic Republic of Congo, leaves pounded to a fine mash and simmered slowly with , onion, eggplant, and often smoked fish or meat until velvety and rich. The plant feeds Central Africa twice over: its root for starch, its leaves for this ubiquitous stew.
Preparing it is patient work; the tough leaves must be pounded and cooked long enough to become tender and digestible, and the smoky, palm-rich sauce that results is a cornerstone of Congolese home cooking. Nearly every household in Kinshasa makes some version of it.
It is eaten with a staple starch, chikwangue ( paste), , rice, or , pinched up by hand. Nutritious, cheap, and comforting, pondu is the everyday taste of the Congo, the green that shows up on family tables day after day.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- 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 5
2 lbs leaves (frozen, from African markets) or collard greens, finely chopped
1/3 cup red
1 cup, flaked smoked fish (or dried fish)
1 eggplant, diced
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
3 green onions, sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 chili, minced
for 5 , rice, or boiled , to serve
Instructions
1
If using cassava leaves, boil 30 minutes first (they must be thoroughly cooked); collards need only chopping fine.
2
Sweat the onion, garlic, leek, and chili in half the palm oil.
3
Add the greens, eggplant, and enough water to nearly cover; simmer low 40 minutes, stirring now and then, until dark, soft, and thick.
4
Fold in the smoked fish (or tofu) and remaining palm oil; simmer 10 more.
5
Season and serve with fufu or rice, the pot traditionally stays on the stove for whoever comes hungry.
Kinshasa home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Kinshasa. Cassava gets used twice over in the same household. The root is fermented and pounded into fufu or wrapped and steamed into chikwangue, while the leaves off the same plant are pounded fine and simmered for hours with palm oil into pondu, which is the vegetable half of the meal.
🗺️
DR Congo. Poulet a la moambe is often named the national dish and is the same palm-nut preparation Gabon calls nyembwe, the pulp of the palm fruit boiled and pressed into a thick orange sauce. Pondu, pounded cassava leaves, has cousins under other names across the region, saka-saka, Rwandan isombe, Sierra Leonean plasas, so it belongs to a wide belt rather than to one country.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from DR Congo
MikateSweet Congolese fried dough balls, golden, pillowy, and dusted with sugar, for breakfast with tea.
MadesuWhite beans simmered in a savory palm-oil, onion, and tomato sauce, an everyday staple of the DR Congo table.
Ndizi wa Nazi (Plantains in Coconut Milk)Ripe plantains simmered gently in spiced coconut milk until soft and creamy, a sweet from the DR Congo table.
Browse all DR Congo recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
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 DR Congo meal
Tangawisi (Congolese Ginger Tonic)Drink
Ndizi wa Nazi (Plantains in Coconut Milk)Dessert
MadesuLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Pondu (Saka Saka)?
Cassava leaves pounded and simmered with palm oil, eggplant, and smoked richness, the Congo’s daily green.
Where does Pondu (Saka Saka) come from?
Pondu (Saka Saka) is a Congolese dish from Kinshasa, DR Congo.
Can Pondu (Saka Saka) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Pondu (Saka Saka) 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 Pondu (Saka Saka) 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 Pondu (Saka Saka) take to make?
About 80 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 60 minutes cooking), serving 5.
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