10 Top congolese dishes
Food unites us and helps us experience certain cultures, places, and ideas in taste without even having to travel to that particular country. African food is no exception. African foods are rich in taste, culture, and ingredients. This page spotlights some of the best dishes across African countries:
The continent of Africa is the second largest landmass on Earth, and is home to hundreds of different cultural and ethnic groups. African food is diverse and full of flavour and with thousands of different ethnic groups across Africa, there are plenty of unique recipes. Recipes were traditionally passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, which has changed today. People love food so our ancestors also used food to illustrate lessons about life. Here are some typical Congolese recipes we put together for you
SOMBE/PONDU
Congo, a country so famous for its natural resources, is known for its consumption of cassava leaves. While most people consume the cassava plant tuber, in Congo, the leaves are part of their traditional dishes. Other countries like Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, and Liberia are also known to be leading consumers of this amazing plant. Though most people pay much attention to the tuber, studies have shown that consuming cassava leaves offer health benefits to the body.
INGREDIENTS
3 lbs cassava greens (or feuilles de manioc), or substitute kale, collards, turnip greens, spinach, or similar, stems removed, cleaned, and cut or torn into pieces 3 tbsp red palm oil, Moambé Sauce, or any cooking oil 1 onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 1 sweet green pepper and/or sweet red pepper, chopped (optional) 1 small eggplant, peeled, cubed, rinsed, and salted (optional) 24 okra pods, chopped (optional) baking soda, or salt, to taste 1 piece of dried, salted, or smoked fish; or one can of pilchards; or one can of sardines
INSTRUCTIONS
Thoroughly crush, mash, or grind the greens in a mortar and pestle or with whatever you can improvise. (roll them with a rolling pin, crush them in a heavy bowl with the bottom of a sturdy bottle, etc.)2
Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add greens and cook for 30 minutes or more (much more if using cassava leaves).3
Add all the remaining ingredients to the greens and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer. Do not stir. Simmer until the water is mostly gone and the greens are cooked to a pulp.
Serve as a side with a chicken, meat, or fish main course, with Fufu.
NGAI NGAI WITH FRIED FISH
Ngai ngai are the young leaves from the Rosella shrub (related to hibiscus). They can be steamed or stir-fried and are known as red sorrel in the Pacific. A bunch of sorrel can be substituted for ngai ngai and will compliment any Australian freshwater fish.
RECIPE
1 whole fish, cut crossways into 2 inch segments
Marinade
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 knob ginger, grated
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 bunch ngai ngai
1 large tomato, chopped
¼ onion, chopped
2 tbsp palm oil
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Instructions
Marinate fish in a mixture of garlic, ginger, turmeric and salt.
Wash leaves, remove the little stems and chop leaf finely. Place onion, tomato and the chopped leaves into a saucepan with about 120 ml of water and simmer. When the leaves have reduced and turned brown, add palm oil and salt to taste and cook for a few more minutes.
Fry fish pieces in olive oil. Place fish pieces on serving dish and spoon mixture over the fish. This mixture is often eaten on its own.