- Sumbala
Sumbala or soumbala is a
condiment used widely acrossWest Africa . It is usually prepared by women over the course of several days, traditionally from "néré" ("Parkia biglobosa ")seed s. It can be made from other kinds of seeds, and the use ofsoybean s for this purpose is increasing due mainly to inadequate supply of néré seeds.The fabrication process involves boiling, cleaning and then packing away to ferment - the fermentation process giving it a pungent smell. Salt can be added to the finished product to facilitate storage life.
This condiment is traditionally sold in balls or patties that can be kept for several months at a time in the case of the best quality. It is a traditional ingredient used across
West Africa , especially in cooking.The traditional production now faces strong competition from low-quality
stock cube s due to heavypublicity . Sumbala is rich inprotein s and a variety ofdietary mineral s, which are completely absent from these "bouillon cubes". In the recent years, however, good quality commercial production has allowed the product to make a comeback into everydaycuisine .Names in different languages
"Sumbala" (or in French transcription "soumbala") is a loan from Manding. Names and variants in several different languages of the region include:
*Manding languages : sumbala, sunbala, sungala, sumara
*Hausa: dawadawa, daddawa
*Yoruba: iru
*Wolof: netetouReferences
* [http://www.greenstone.org/greenstone3/nzdl;jsessionid=2818D949147C6837BD89B5344237C2F7?a=d&d=HASHdee10c9b85605053eeb12f.8&c=fnl&sib=1&dt=&ec=&et=&p.a=b&p.s=ClassifierBrowse&p.sa= Netetou - a typical African condiment] : Food and Nutrition Library, United Nations University and the Humanity Libraries Project (2000)
* [http://www.santediabetemali.org/newsite/recette4.htm Traditional recipe from "Sante diabete Mali"] .
* [http://www.espace-sciences.org/science/10065-sciences-ouest/20106-Annee-1993/10235-93/10881-dossier-du-mois/16938-la-nutrition-en-bretagne/16943-le-nere-d-afrique-etudie/index.html LE NÉRÉ D'AFRIQUE ÉTUDIÉ À PLOUFRAGAN] , Sciences Ouest, 1993, No. 93.
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