Mbika
🥣 Ground edible squash or melon seeds set gently into soft pieces, then simmered with smoked fish and tomato sauce. Four servings, without starch.
Ingredients
- 200 g shelled unsalted edible squash or melon seeds for mbika, to grind
- 180 g deboned smoked fish flesh, to be cooked
- 250 g crushed ripe tomatoes
- 120 g finely sliced onion
- 6 g chopped garlic
- 20 g finely chopped celery stalk
- 15 g tomato paste
- 20 ml neutral vegetable oil
- 700 ml water: 150 ml paste, 450 ml cooking, 100 ml sauce; plus up to 200 ml hot reserve water if needed
- Up to 2 g salt initially, adjusted to fish
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
Check and finely grind seeds in short pulses. Mix with 150 ml water into a thick, spoonable paste.
Bring 450 ml water to a simmer in a wide pan. Gently deposit paste in four or five thick heaps; avoid a rolling boil.
Simmer gently about 45 minutes, partly covered. Check the bottom stays moist and add hot reserve water if needed; move heaps only after they set.
Meanwhile prepare vegetables. Carefully debone fish, weigh 180 g usable flesh and keep chilled.
In another pan soften onion in oil five minutes, garlic and celery one minute, paste two minutes, then tomatoes eight to ten minutes.
Add fish, 100 ml sauce water, nutmeg and turmeric; simmer five minutes, then transfer over cooked seed paste.
Gently divide large seed pieces and simmer together another 15 minutes until fish is fully cooked and sauce thick but supple. Add pepper and adjust salt.
Serve four portions with separately prepared starch. Cool promptly, refrigerate up to 48 hours and reheat thoroughly, loosening with water if needed.