🍽️ DINNER
Dambou
Steamed grain tossed with moringa leaves, tomato, and oil, a light, nourishing dish of Niger.
Nigerien · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 40 min
~522 cal · 19g protein · 68g carbs · 20g fat · 12g fiber · 3g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Dambou is a light, nourishing dish of Niger, steamed grain (often of or rice) tossed with moringa leaves, tomato, oil, and seasonings. Moringa, a fast-growing, nutrient-dense tree leaf, is a valued food across the Sahel, and dambou is one of its most cherished preparations.
It combines a steamed staple grain with vitamin-rich greens that thrive in a harsh climate.
Often made for special occasions and communal gatherings in Niamey and rural Niger, dambou is a comforting reminder of how Sahelian cooks build satisfying meals from , moringa, and simple seasonings.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and dairy-, 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 4
- 2 cups coarse or fine
- 3 cups moringa leaves (or spinach), chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
- 1 cube vegetable bouillon (or a spoon of vegetable powder)
- 3 tbsp oil
- to taste salt
- 1 chili
Instructions
- 1Moisten the semolina (or millet) with a little salted water and rub into loose grains.
- 2Blanch or steam the moringa leaves until tender, then squeeze out any excess water.
- 3Steam the grains for 20 to 30 minutes, until fluffy and tender, then break them up with a fork.
- 4Fold the moringa through the hot grains along with the raw chopped onion, chili, crushed peanuts, crumbled bouillon, oil, and salt.✎ Chef’s noteThe aromatics go in raw at the end rather than being cooked into a sauce. Dambou is a dressed steamed grain, not a stew, and the crushed peanut is what carries it.
- 5Toss well and serve warm, with meat or fish alongside for a festive version.
Niamey tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Niamey. Dambou is festival food rather than an everyday plate: it belongs to the Zarma and Songhai of the southwest and it appears at weddings and naming ceremonies. The moringa leaves are boiled first, then folded through the steamed grain with peanut and oil.
🗺️
Niger. Dambou is steamed couscous of millet or another grain with boiled moringa leaves, peanut and oil, and it is not made from cassava. It belongs to the Zarma and Songhai of the southwest and is festive rather than everyday. Fura da nono is the Hausa and Fulani drink-meal: millet balls crumbled into soured milk and drunk from a bowl.
🌍
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 Niger
Fura da NonoSpiced millet dough balls broken into cool soured milk and sweetened, the iconic Hausa-Fulani breakfast drink-meal of Niger.
Dan WakeSoft bean-flour dumplings tossed with oil, spice, and onion, a popular Hausa street lunch of Niger.
Alkaki (Fried Wheat Sweet)Crushed wheat kneaded with milk and butter, shaped, fried and soaked in tamarind sugar syrup, a Zinder speciality.
Browse all Niger recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer.
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 Niger meal
Kunun Aya (Tiger Nut Milk)Drink
Alkaki (Fried Wheat Sweet)Dessert
Dan WakeLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Dambou?
Steamed grain tossed with moringa leaves, tomato, and oil, a light, nourishing dish of Niger.
Where does Dambou come from?
Dambou is a Nigerien dish from Niamey, Niger.
Can Dambou be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Dambou recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Dambou 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 still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), 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 Dambou take to make?
About 60 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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