Dish
Mbongo Tchobi
How it's prepared
Mbong Tchobi (Cameroonian Spicy Black Stew)
Mbong tchobi is a popular Cameroonian dish. It has a unique colour and taste. It can be served with ripe plantain or any complimentary dish of your choice. If you are seeing this stew for the first time you can be taken aback by its black colour, but if you give it a try it can become one of your favourite meals.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds white fish or catfish, cleaned and cut into steaks
- 10 njansan seeds
- 1 medium-size onions, neatly chopped
- 2 medium-size green onions, neatly chopped
- 5 large tomatoes, neatly chopped
- 5 medium-size garlic cloves, neatly chopped
- 1 cup basil
- ½ cup parsley
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 6 tablespoons mbongo spice
- 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
- Salt to taste
Method
- Lightly fry the njansan for about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Blend the onions, green onions, tomatoes, njansan, garlic, basil, and parsley together in a blender. You can add some water to the blender to facilitate its blending to a purée.
- Place a saucepan on the fire and heat it with a little oil. Add the blended mixture with very little water and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Mix in the mbongo spice, fish, bouillon powder, and salt. Simmer for another 15 minutes or until the fish is fully cooked through. Add a little water if necessary to prevent prevent the stew from getting burnt.
- Adjust the seasonings as desired. Enjoy warm with boiled plantains or any complementary dish of your choice.
Notes and variations
- If using catfish, place the fish in a sink and pour hot water over it. Soak for 60 seconds, then rinse the fish, clean it, and set aside. This removes the sliminess of catfish.
Mbongo Tchobi (Cameroonian Black Stew)
Mbongo tchobi is type of stew popular among the Bassa people of Cameroon, though it is also eaten in other countries. It can be eaten with rice and yam.
Ingredients
- Large fish of choice, filleted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large (or 4 small) tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 7 garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ inch ginger root, peeled
- ½ leek stem , chopped
- ½ celery stalk, chopped
- 2 seeds African nutmeg, peeled
- 30 njangsa seeds
- 4 teaspoons ground mbongo spice
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 habanero chile pepper
- 3 small seasoning cubes
Method
- Lightly salt the fish fillets, and set aside.
- Combine the tomatoes, half the onions, garlic, ginger, leeks, celery, African nutmeg, njangsa, mbongo spice, and ½ cup water. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the mixture over the fish, and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a pot. Add the remaining onions and cook until aromatic. Add the fish, marinade, and peppers, then season with salt and stock cubes. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes.
- Uncover and check the seasoning. Thin with water if necessary, then cook for another 5 minutes.
- Serve with boiled plantains, rice, or yams.
From Wikipedia
Mbongo Tchobi is an African cuisine commonly made by the Bassa people of Cameroon. It is a black soup made from the burnt mbongo spice, usually cooked with meat or fish and served with steamed ripe plantains.
Origin
The food is a traditional Cameroonian dish. It is a dark, aromatic stew made with fish or meat and roasted spices. It is commonly served with staples such as plantains, cassava, yams, or rice.
The dish originates from the Bassa people of Cameroon. The term mbongo refers to the dark spice mixture used in the sauce, while tchobi is commonly used locally to refer to fish in certain dialects.
Ingredients
The mbongo spice is the major ingredient. Other include palm oil, onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes. Itnis cooked with catfish, though beef, chicken, or goat meat are commonly used.
Preparation
The spice mixture is roasted until ot becomes dark, then it is ground into powder. It is combined with palm oil and other ingredients to form a thick, dark sauce.
This record is provisional: it was compiled from the cited sources but has not yet been checked by an InsideKamer editor.
Sources
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
