Mbaxal Dieune
Also known as mbaxal diw tiir this is a traditional Senegalese dish that’s essentially a riff on thiéb bou dieune bou wékh except that less rice is used. This recipe also incorporates dikhatou, sometimes known as African aubergine, a bitter member of the solonaceae family that is a feature of Senegalese cookery.
Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 90 minutes/Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 large fish, cut into steaks (thiof, nile perch, tilapia) + 1 small sardine, gutted and scaled
250g rice
1 piece of yët (fermented and dried mollusk)
1 piece of dried and salted fish (guédj) [stockfish]
Vegetables:
3 okra
1 cabbage
1 cassava
2 diakhatous
1 carrot
2 onions
6 garlic cloves
A few parsley sprigs
200g fresh tomatoes
ground black Pepper and chilli powder, to taste
2 spring onions
3 green bell peppers
1 Scotch bonnet chilli
3 bay leaves
120g of nététou (fermented and smoked locust beans)
1 lemon
For the tamarind sauce:
80g tamarind pulp (dak’kar)
1 pinch of chilli powder
For the beuguethie:
100g bissap (hibiscus) leaves
1 lemon
1 pinch of salt and chilli powder
Other accompaniment:
200ml of red palm oil
Method:
Wash the rice well, place in a bowl, cover with 1l (4 cups) water and set aside to soak for 1 hour.
In a mortar, pound the parsley leaves, 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder, a pinch of black pepper and a pinch of salt until you have a paste. Rub this paste all over the fish then season the fish with salt.
Bring 1.5l (6 cups) water to a boil in a pot. Add the piece of yët.
Wash and peel/prepare all the vegetables. Add the vegetables (carrot, peeled cassava, okra, diakhatou, cabbage cut in half). Wash and add the piece of guédj (salted and dried fish). Finally dd a teaspoon of salt along with the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes over medium heat.
Dice an onion and mix in a mortar with 3 cloves of garlic, 1 green bell pepper, 1 spring onion, 2 green bell peppers. Add half of the nététou (reserve the remainder for the ‘soule’). Pound to a paste then add the mixture to the pot.
Blanch the fresh tomatoes by immersing for a few minutes in a bowl of hot water. Then remove the skin with a knife. Chop the peeled tomatoes and add to the cooking pot along with the fresh chillies. Continue cooking for another 20 minutes.
Remove the fish from the pot. Also remove the carrot, cabbage, cassava, okra, diakhous, fresh peppers and the pieces of yët and guedji. Set aside until later. Taste the sauce then adjust the seasoning (salt, pepper, chilli to taste.
Reserve a ladleful of the sauce for the preparation of the tamarind sauce.
Drain the rice and add to the cooking pot, mixing well to combine. Cover and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat. At this point prepare nététou ‘soule’: Use the remaining 60g of the nététou and mix with a finely chopped onion, a minced clove of garlic, a generous pinch of chilli, a pinch of black pepper and a pinch of salt. Shape this dough into a ball.
Fluff the rice with a fork, then form a well in the centre and add the ball of nététou. Cover with rice and continue cooking. After 10 minutes, remove the ball of nététou and set aside.
Preparing the tamarind sauce: Add the tamarind pulp to the reserved ladleful of sauce. Mix well, then add a pinch of chilli powder. Mix again to combine.
Preparation of the beugueuthie: Boil 100ml of water in a saucepan. Add the washed bissap leaves and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Drain the bissap leaves then mix with a pinch of chilli powder, a pinch of salt and the juice of a lemon. Whisk with a fork to break up the leaves, then set aside.
To serve: Arrange the rice on a dish and set the fish on top. Arrange the vegetables (cabbage, carrot, diakhatous, cassava, okra…) around the fish. Add small quantities of the nététou ball on both sides. Add the beuguethie.
Cut lemon lemon in half and use to garnish the dish. Add the fresh peppers on top.
Enjoy with the tamarind sauce and palm oil (heat the palm oil before serving).
