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?

Yes. This Dambou recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Dambou take to make?

About 60 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Dambou — a Niamey, Niger recipe

Name: Dambou
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Nigerien
Ingredients: 2 cups coarse semolina or fine millet; 3 cups moringa leaves (or spinach), chopped; 2 tomato; 1 onion; 3 tbsp oil; to taste salt; 1 chili (optional)

Africa → 🇳🇪 Niger → Niamey

Dambou

Nigerien · medium · serves 4

prep 20 min · cook 40 min

~418 cal · 15g protein · 66g carbs · 11g fat (estimated, per serving)

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Steamed grain flecked green with moringa leaves

🇳🇪 Niamey

Dambou is a cherished dish of Niger, a fine steamed grain (semolina or millet) layered and steamed with moringa leaves until fluffy, then dressed with a simple tomato-onion sauce and oil. Nutritious and gentle, it showcases moringa — the "miracle tree" leaf central to Sahelian cooking.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 4 —

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2 cups coarse semolina or fine millet

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3 cups moringa leaves (or spinach), chopped

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2 tomato

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1 onion

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3 tbsp oil

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to taste salt

•

1 chili (optional)

Instructions

1

Moisten the semolina (or millet) with a little salted water and rub into loose grains.

2

Toss with the chopped moringa leaves.

3

Steam the grain and leaves together over water until fluffy and tender.

4

Make a quick tomato-onion sauce in the oil.

5

Toss the steamed dambou with the sauce and serve warm.

Niamey tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

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Niamey. A Niger River capital of steamed dambou.

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Niger. A Sahel nation of millet, moringa, and rice sauces.

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Africa. Fifty-four countries of tagines, stews, and fire-kissed grills.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →