Cameroon – Mboh

by Verdzekov Bernard

The preparation of food is one of the hubbies I like and love to do when I am free. When we go for outings or little gathering, I often prefer to be in charge of cooking. Not that it is easy, but because I love it. It is beautiful when you see someone eating what you have cooked and enjoys it. What I hate is washing the plates. It is usually very tiring after cooking. You start cleaning the utensils you used for cooking. The dish am about to write about today is a wonderful dish. It is usually seen as a sister or brother to Egusi pudding. This dish is groundnut pudding. It is made from groundnut. Groundnut is the main ingredient. It is usually called Mboh. Mboh is a wonderful meal and it is usually eating with boiled ripe plantains or with bobolo. So delicious and simple to prepare. Just follow the steps I will give you below. Mboh has just very few cooking ingredients. 

Kitchen tools you likely to use

• A blender 
• A pot
• Knife
• Plate

Ingredients

• 10 cups Groundnuts
• Dried fish
• Crayfish
• Maggi
• Salt to taste
• Water
• Plantain leaves

Procedure

• Warm your plantain leaves on a three stone fire side. Cut it rectangle shapes and put aside.
• Using a processing machine, grind your groundnuts all. Put in a bowl and set aside. Blend with 2-3 table spoon of water.
• Using your hands, scatter your dry fish. 
• Using another pot, hit up water.
• Sprinkle some maggi, pinch of salt. Stir well. 
• Add in your dry fish and cray fish and stir well. 
• Using an eating spoon, scope some of the paste and put it on your plantain leaves. Rap the plantains into a cone shape and tie with a little rope. Do same for all. When you done tying, cut some leave and form the base of the pot. Turn in your warm water on the leaves that is on the basement of the pot and start placing your groundnut pudding on the leaves until they are finish. 
• Close pot and allow for about 45min under intensive heat. After 45min, remove one and open to taste. Sure, it will be ready by 4tmin. 
• Remove and serve with ripe plantains or lobolo. You may serve with both. 
• This preparation is best on a three stone fire side.

Enjoy…

Mboh has another way which It can be prepared. If you don’t prefer to put your Mboh in leaves, you can still prepare it by adding up your ingredients gently. What do I mean, the preparation of Mboh where by you put the Mboh in leaves, all ingredients are prepared and put in the leaves and put in the pot where it is going to get ready alltogether. But with this other means of preparation;

• Put your groundnuts in a fry pan. Make sure you don’t add water. Using spatula, stir. When you see the outer layer of the groundnut dark, remove and allow to get cold for some time. Make sure you don’t blow off the outer layer of the groundnut or pilled it off. why I say this is because that outer layer is helpful to the body and also, it helps to give the pudding a brown presentable color. 
• When it comes to grinding, you may add some water, about 2-3 table spoon of water to help ease the grinding and to prevent the paste to be too dry.
• Scatter your dry fish and put in the pot, together with your ground crayfish. Add about a cup or two, of water and allow for 15min for it to boil. 
• Add your maggi, salt to taste, pepper and stir. 
• Add your groundnut paste and stir well. 
• Add half cup of water and stir well. Allow your groundnut paste to boil well until the natural oil starts to emit from the paste.
• Stir well and serve with Bobolo.

Note that, this second step thou often prepared that way, it is not the traditional style of preparing Mboh. The traditional style of preparing this wonderful delicacy is the first above.