Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Superkanja
The Gambia's rich okra stew with palm oil, smoked fish, and meat, spooned over rice.
Gambian · medium · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 60 min
~392 cal · 29g protein · 11g carbs · 25g fat · 4g fiber · 3g sugars · 7g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Superkanja is The Gambia's rich stew, cooked down with red , smoked and fresh fish, and meat into a thick, savory pot spooned generously over rice. stews slicked with are a defining thread of coastal West African cooking, and this is the Gambian standard-bearer.
The combination of fresh and smoked or dried seafood builds a deep, layered savoriness, while the lends color and richness and the gives the stew its characteristic body. It is generous food meant to feed a family well.
Served over rice in Banjul and across the country, superkanja is an everyday and Sunday dish, turning abundant local seafood and into a satisfying communal meal.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, 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 6
1 lb beef
6 oz smoked fish
1.5 lb , chopped
1/3 cup red
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1
1 Maggi cube
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Simmer the beef (or mushrooms) until tender, then add the smoked fish (or tofu).
2
Stir in the palm oil, onion, garlic, and Scotch bonnet.
3
Add the sliced okra and cook 30 minutes, until the stew turns thick and silky.
✎ Chef’s note
The okra is the thickener here. As it cooks down it releases its natural body, giving superkanja its signature silky texture.
4
Season with Maggi and salt to taste.
5
Serve in a mound over white rice.
Banjul tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Banjul. Banjul sits at the mouth of the Gambia River and is devoted to superkanja, a thick okra stew with palm oil, smoked fish, and meat over rice. Groundnut stews, benachin one-pot rice, and river fish are everyday.
🗺️
The Gambia. Supa kanja is the headline dish: okra stewed with palm oil, smoked and dried fish and meat, poured over rice, and thick enough to pull. Benachin, the one-pot rice, sits in the same family as Senegalese ceebu jen, and domoda is the groundnut stew, sometimes spelled domodah. Jute leaves, locust beans and bitter tomato are the pot's other regulars.
🌍
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 The Gambia
TapalapaThe Gambia's daily bread: a crusty, dense baton of mixed millet, maize, and wheat flours, baked in a clay oven and torn open for breakfast.
DomodaThe Gambian groundnut stew: meat simmered in a thick, tangy peanut sauce with tomato and pumpkin, served over rice.
ChakerySteamed couscous folded through sweetened, vanilla-scented yogurt with raisins and pineapple, a cool Gambian celebration dessert.
Browse all The Gambia recipes →
Good to know
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 The Gambia meal
Bouye (Baobab Smoothie)Drink
ChakeryDessert
DomodaLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Superkanja?
The Gambia's rich okra stew with palm oil, smoked fish, and meat, spooned over rice.
Where does Superkanja come from?
Superkanja is a Gambian dish from Banjul, The Gambia.
Can Superkanja be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Superkanja 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 Superkanja 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 Superkanja take to make?
About 80 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 60 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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