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It is concerning that non-communicable diseases including diabetes, obesity, and related disorders are becoming more common. This high incidence is partially caused by the consumption of fat in meals, particularly those heavy in long-chain saturated fatty acids. Because of its high saturated fat level, palm oil which is widely consumed and utilized in many dishes has been proven to have contentious consequences on human health despite its strong antioxidant qualities. The aim of this study was to investigate the potentials of turmeric ethanolic extract (a natural colourant) in full and partial substitution of palm oil in some traditional dishes in Cameroon (koki (black eyed pea pudding of Vigna unguiculata) and kwacoco Bible (macabo cocoyam of Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.)) as one of the ways to reduce fat consumption. In this purpose, a survey was carried out in order to determine the ingredients, cooking processes and proportion of palm oil used in the preparation of dishes where palm oil is used at important quantity (at least 20%). To achieve this objective, curcuma extract, was characterized for its phytochemical composition and used to replace palm oil in the preparation of these two dishes. 9 samples each where obtained, Curcuma was used either alone at 4 proportions; 100% (Fk3 and Fkw3), 75% (Fk4 and Fkw4), 50% (Fk5 and Fkw5), and 25% (Fk6 and Fkw6) or in combination with palm oil; 75% curcuma & 25% palm oil (Fk7and Fkw7), 50% curcuma & 50% palm oil (Fk8 and Fkw8) and 25%curcuma & 75% palm oil (Fk9 and Fkw9). These dishes were prepared in the conditions used at household scale and compared to samples prepared using 100% palm oil (Fk2 and Fkw2), and without palm oil and curcuma (Fk1 and Fkw1). Result showed that, 63.73% of the studied population was enthusiastic with the fact that palm oil could be replaced with a low-fat substitute in the preparation of these dishes. Turmeric ethanolic extract was a good source of phytochemicals. Substitution significantly (p < 0.05) increased the carbohydrate (50–87%) content and decrease the lipid content (21.34–0.66%) and regardless of the dish, the substitution of palm oil does not significantly (P > 0.05) change the mineral content. The antioxidant capacity ranged 9.81–117.11 mg/g with a direct relationship between antioxidant activity and the proportion of palm oil in the different dishes. For the preparation of koki, fat reduction of 33.18%, obtained from the partial replacement of palm oil by curcuma at 25% does not significantly affect the sensory characteristics of the dishes. For the preparation of kwacoco, fat reduction of 21.01% and 50.02%, obtained from the partial replacement of palm oil by curcuma at 25% and 50% does not significantly affect the sensory characteristics of the dishes. In conclusion, turmeric reduced fat content of koki and kwacoco and partial substituted samples have better oil quality indices compared to dishes with 100% palm oil. These findings call for optimisation of palm oil reduction in the preparation of these dishes in order to better reduce these quantities of oil consumed, based on the obtained results.