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Senegalese Recipes

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by: gwydion
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Word Count: 486

Senegal is a country that I, personally know well. It's a country of many parts being almost desert in the North, tropical rainforest in the East and with an extensive Atlantic coast on the West. It also totally encompasses the tiny country of The Gambia.

Senegal was the capital of French West Africa for over a century and the country has a strong French flavour even today (French, along with native Wolof being the official languages) it is also politically stable and though poor in global terms it has a growing economy.

The cuisine of Senegal shows the influences of the French as well as having desert and rainforest influences as well. Fish is plentiful in the diet though just about any meat can be found (even pork, despite it's being predominantly a Moslem country).

Here I present two classic, but very different Senegalese dishes for you:

Senegalese Rice and Fish

Ingredients
225g aubergine (eggplant) 
1/4 small head of cabbage
 3 tbsp tomato paste
 4 hot chilli peppers, chopped (Scotch Bonnet for authenticity!) 
1 onion, chopped
 2 tbsp groundnut oil
 675g firm, white fish cut into 6 steaks 
180g rice 
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
 225g whole okra, topped 
1 green bell pepper, chopped
 3/4 tsp salt

Method:
Peel the aubergine and cut into 1cm dice. Heat the groundnut oil in a pan and fry the aubergine pieces until browned and soft then set aside. Meanwhile, bring 1l water to a boil in a separate pan, add the cabbage and boil for 10 minutes, covered. Drain the cabbage, allow to cool sufficiently for it to be handled then shred and set aside.

Bring 500ml water to the boil and add the rice, tomato paste, carrots, chillies, and okra. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the rice is tender (about 20 minutes). Add the onion and bell pepper to a pestle and mortar and pound to a paste. Heat 2 tbsp groundnut oil in a frying pan. Add the onion paste and salt and fry gently for 10 minutes before adding the fish pieces. Cover and cook gently for about 15 minutes, or until the fish is completely cooked through.

Stir the aubergine and cabbage into the rice. Allow to heat through then arrange on a serving tray or dish. Spoon the fish on top and serve.

Kima (Chopped Beef and Chilli Fry)

Ingredients:
  200g onions, finely chopped
 1 tsp garlic powder 
1 tsp curry powder
 1 tsp mixed herbs 
200g shredded coconut
 4 brids eye chillies, finely chopped
 120ml oil or butter 
900g chopped beef
 120ml evaporated milk 
500ml water
 120ml tomato juice 
60ml lemon juice

Method:
  Add the oil to a large saucepan before adding the onions, garlic powder, curry powder, chillies, herbs, black pepper, coconut and chopped beef. Fry gently until the meat begins to brown then add the evaporated milk, water, tomato juice and lemon juice. Simmer gently for 20 minutes then adjust the seasoning and serve on a bed of rice.

I hope that these recipes have given you a little taste of the foods of Senegal and that you are now prepared to find more.