Cameroon – Mbongo Tchobi

By Verdzekov Bernard

A cuisine is a traditional cooking habit. Traditional cooking habits are usually characterized by local or traditional cooking habits, local tools at times, and in particular, traditional ingredients used in the preparation of any dish. I often call this dish ‘’magic soup”. That is the mbongo tchobbi. This is because of the black nature of the soup. The soup is dark in color, but yet it is classified as one of the best sources when it comes to taste, nutritional values and presentation. This dish is common with the Bassa people of Cameroon. How this source derives its black look will be explained below beginning with it ingredient, then the procedure.

Ingredients

• 7-8 table spoon Mbongo spices
• Fresh fish
• Groundnut oil
• Onions
• Njangsa (one glass)
• Tomatoes (6)
• Garlic (4)
• Lix
• Salt to taste
• Maggi 4/5

Procedure

• Prepare spices
• Wash and fix fish, slice tomatoes
• Grind njansa, country onion and mbongo spices
• Put pot on the fire, allow it to dry
• Put groundnut oil inside the pot allow it to heat up for about 2min, put in your tomatoes, and fry together with onions.
• Allow it to fry for some time like 3-4min then you add water about 5-7 cups, leave it for some time, then you add mbongo spices, njangsa, country onions, salt to taste, maggi. and allow it to boil. Add your fresh fish, allow it to boil letting the stock mix with the fish for about 20min. taste and remove.

NOTE: If you will use cat fish in the preparation of this dish, make sure you put it into hot water on it or you steep it into hot water for about 1min then you remove. This is to help remove the slippery nature of the fish. But you could use any other fish if you which. Fish is best for the preparation of this dish not meat.

To conclude, this dish could be served with ripe plantains or white yams or boiled rice.

ENJOY……