This is another classic Thiébou dish from Senegal. Here, a blend of fish and vegetables are served on a bed of rice that’s finished with a spicy fish ball sauce (the diaga).
Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 120 minutes/Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
1 large fish steak or tail (captain, hake)
4 tbsp of tomato purée
150ml of oil
1l of water
6 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 chilli, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
cauliflower, divided into florets
cassava, peeled and chopped
aubergine (eggplant), cubed
3 okra, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 guedj (dried fish)
3 white bissap leaves (big ones)
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
salt, freshly-ground black pepper and chilli powder, to taste
2 Maggi cubes
1kg of long, fragrant, rice (Thai Jasmine, for preference)
For the diaga sauce, you will need:
300g mixed vegetables, finely chopped
small fish balls (personally, I make large and small ones every 3 months, which I fry and keep in the freezer)
2 onions
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 Maggi cube, cumbled
1 hot chilli (habanero or Scotch bonnet)
a little vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon of tomato purée.
Method:
For the fish stuffing, pound together the parsley, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 chilli and a little salt in a mortar to a coarse paste.
Clean and gut the fish if necessary, cut a hole to the backbone then stuff this with the parsley mixture.
Thoroughly clean the guedj (dried frish) and wrap it in the bissap leaves, securing these in place with food-grade thread.
Peel all the vegetables, place in a bowl, cover with water and set aside.
Finely chop 1 onion, the remaining garlic, hot chilli and place in a bowl. Crumble over the remaining Maggi cube and set aside.
Place a cast iron casserole (Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add the oil and when hot stir in 1 tbsp of the onion mixture. Fry for 2 minutes then dilute the tomato purée with a little water and stir in. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Pour in 1l water then add all the vegetables as well as the dried fish. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes then add the stuffed fish and the remaining onion (minced). Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 50 minutes over low heat.
In the meantime wash the rice thoroughly (until the water runs clear) then drain well. Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl, place in your microwave and cook on FULL power for 4 minutes.
Remove the vegetables and fish from the sauce liquid. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes then transfer to a jug or bowl. Add the rice to the pot then pour in just enough sauce to cover.
Cook over high heat for 5 minutes so that the rice absorbs the sauce then reduce the heat to minimum. Cover the pot with kitchen foil, sit the lid on top and steam for 10 minutes. After this time, turn the rice over and repeat the steaming for 10 minutes more.
The rice should now be tender.
For the diaga sauce: Heat a little oil in a pan, and use to brown the onions for about 8 minutes. Dilute the tomato purée with a little water and pour in with the onions. Add the garlic, chilli, Maggi cube, and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Now drop in the fish balls and 200ml water. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes then add in your choice of vegetables and vinegar to taste. Return to a simmer and cook for about 5-8 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
To serve, arrange the rice on a serving dish, arrange the fish and vegetables on top then spoon over the sauce.
