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Sauce djoumgblé
Dried okra sauce with smoked fish
Djoumgblé: central Côte d'Ivoire's dark, slippery dried-okra sauce with beef and smoked fish
Baoulé cooks in central Côte d'Ivoire dry okra in the sun during the harvest, then grind it into the dark green powder that makes sauce djoumgblé. Stirred into a beef and tomato stew with flaked smoked fish, it thickens the pot into a deep brown, slippery sauce with an earthy, smoky flavour quite different from fresh okra soup. It is the classic partner for foutou banane or placali in Bouaké and in Abidjan's maquis, where each mouthful of starch is pulled through the sauce. Look for the powder as dried or ground okra in African grocers. Chef's tip: whisk the okra powder into cold water before it goes into the pot; scattered straight into hot sauce, it forms lumps that never break down.
- Total time
- 95 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 5
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb stewing beefcut into 3 cm pieces
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 2 onionsone chopped, one quartered
- 1 tbsp fresh gingergrated
- 5 cups water
- 10 ½ oz smoked fishhot-smoked mackerel or African smoked catfish; bones and skin removed
- 3 tomatoes
- 3 tbsp red palm oil
- 2 ⅛ oz dried okra powderor 250 g fresh okra, grated, for a lighter sauce
- 1 tbsp akpi (njansang) (optional)ground
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Put the 1 ⅛ lb stewing beef in a pot with ¾ tsp salt, the chopped 1 onions, 2 garlic cloves, the 1 tbsp fresh ginger and 1 litre of the 5 cups water. Bring to the boil, skim, cover and simmer over a low heat for 50 minutes until tender.
50 minStep 2: Meanwhile, soak the 10 ½ oz smoked fish in hot water for 10 minutes, drain and break into large flakes, removing any bones and skin.
10 minStep 3: Blend the 3 tomatoes, the quartered onion, the remaining garlic and the 1 Scotch bonnet chilli to a purée.
2 minStep 4: Add the purée and 3 tbsp red palm oil to the beef and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring now and then.
10 minStep 5: Whisk the 2 ⅛ oz dried okra powder into the remaining 200 ml cold water until completely smooth.
2 minStep 6: Pour the okra mixture into the pot, stirring, and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce turns dark and thick and draws into strands from the spoon.
10 minStep 7: Add the flaked fish, the 1 tbsp akpi (njansang) and the rest of the salt and simmer for 5 minutes until the fish is heated through and steaming. Serve with foutou banane, placali or rice.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 510 kcal
- Protein
- 35 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
- Fat
- 35 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sauce djoumgblé take?
- About 95 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 5 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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