Smoked fish infos/recipes

Method and ways of cooking catfish in Africa.

West African cuisine encompasses a diverse range of foods that are split between its 16 countries. In West Africa, many families grow and raise their own food, and within each there is a division of labor. Indigenous foods consist of a number of plant species and animals, and are important to those whose lifestyle depends on farming and hunting.

The history of West Africa also plays a large role in their cuisine and recipes, as interactions with different cultures (particularly the Arab world and later Europeans) over the centuries have introduced many ingredients that would go on to become key components of the various national cuisines today.

Though there are obvious differences among the local cuisines in West Africa, there are also many commonalities, mainly in the ingredients used. Many dishes are enriched with a base of tomatoes,onions and chili peppers.^[1] Considered an essential and even "sacred" cooking technique in the region, the combination of these three ingredients sauteed in oil is analogous to similar concepts such as theholy trinity of Cajun and Creole cooking in the United States, sofrito used in the Spanish-speaking world, soffritto in Italy, and the mirepoix of France. The most prevalent cooking oil is palm nut oil, traditionally associated with the coastal regions and contributes a distinctive colour, flavour and texture to food, while shea butter is more commonly used in the Sahel. Called karité in French, which comes from the Arabic word ghartī, it is prized for the rich mouthfeel it imparts.

There are certain ingredients that go with certain countries as well. In Nigeria, the most commonly used ingredients are hot pepper, ginger, and maize. Ghanaians use hot pepper because they believe the hot peppers will cool the body and cleanse/purify it. (Salm, 106-108). In Senegal, the main ingredients are among many others gumbo, hot pepper, rice, millet, peanut, ginger, tamarind leaves, and baobab fruit, and cooking oil (Ross, 75). Those are the few that have a slight difference of what they commonly use for their dishes. For an overall view of West Africa, according to Fran Osseo-Asare, the common ingredients for the West African region are the leaves from a baobab tree, cereal grains: sorghum,millet, and fonio, Cola nuts, egusi seeds, guinea fowl, melegueta pepper, oil palm, okra, and rice. Other ingredients used are okra (thickener) basis for soups stew, black-eyed peas, and sesame according to Harris in High on the Hog.

Seasonings

Spices play a relatively less prominent role in West African cooking compared to say, North African cuisine. Cooks use spices and herbs like ginger, coriander, and thyme sparingly but knowingly. Chilli peppers however are immensely loved in West Africa, both in fresh or dried and powdered form, particularly in the more hot-and-humid lands of the region. Introduced to Africa probably sometime soon after Christopher Columbus sailed to America by European sailors, it is said that the sweating induced by the spicy heat of chilli helps to air-conditions your skin. More than in other regions of Africa, West Africans utilize Scotch bonnet chile peppers with a liberal hand in many of their sauces and stews. The bite and fire of these extremely hot peppers (Scoville rating 200,000 – 300,000) add a unique flavor as well as heat. The chilli is also supposed to help preserve food, as well as adding flavour to relatively bland tropical staples like root vegetables.

The seeds of Guinea pepper (Aframomum melegueta; also called grains of paradise or melagueta pepper), a plant indigenous to West Africa, are also widely used. This native spice tastes and looks somewhat like a peppercorn, but has cardamom and coriander seed flavor notes. The grains of paradise was once a prized commodity reaching Europe through North African middlemen, during theMiddle Ages.

Sumbala or soumbala is a flavouring used widely across West Africa, used in a manner not unlike abouillon cube. It is usually prepared by women over the course of several days, traditionally from néré (Parkia biglobosa) seeds. It can be made from other kinds of seeds, and the use of soybeans for this purpose is increasing due mainly to inadequate supply of néré seeds. The fabrication process involves boiling, cleaning and then packing away to ferment - the fermentation process giving it a pungent smell and at the same time a rich, deep umami or savory flavour is developed. Salt can be added to the finished product to facilitate storage life. This condiment is traditionally sold in balls or patties that can be kept for several months at a time in the case of the best quality. It is a traditional cooking ingredient used across West Africa, although the less traditional bouillon cube, specifically the Maggi brand rivals it in popularity. African potash (potassium carbonate) is a native salt used for flavoring and to expedite the cooking time for some foods by cooks, it is made from wood-fire ashes in an ancient process that was once used by pioneer settlers in North America.

Vegetables

Vegetables are a part of any West African meal. Some commonly eaten vegetables include black-eyed peas, eggplant, pumpkin and other squashes, okra, as well as a staggering variety of both farmed and foraged green leafy vegetables, little known or used outside of the African continent. Baobab leaves, pumpkin leaves, rosella leaves, sweet potato leaves, and cassava leaves (which contain cyanide in their raw state, and are always blanched with boiling water before use to remove the toxins) are just some of the greens that are commonplace in a West African kitchen. Black-eyed peas form the basis for a popular fried snack, the well-loved akara fritter.

Starchy tubers and root vegetables are used as staple food, to be served with their meat and vegetable dishes, often as a foil to the hotness of the peppers. Cassava, cocoyams, sweet potatoes, plantains, and yams are ubiquitous in the local diet, and they are usually boiled and then pounded with a pestle and mortar into a thick starchy paste called fufu.

Other starch staples eaten throughout West Africa besides root vegetables and tubers include fonio,rice, millet, sorghum, and maize.

Pepper Soup

Although West Africans ate far more vegetables and much less meat in the past, today their diet is heavier in meats, salt, and fats. Seafood is especially popular along the coast and many dishes combine both fish and meat. Dried and smoked fish flavor a number of sauces, stews, and other dishes, including condiments, in much the same way that anchovies and bacon flavour food in a number of other cuisines. It is often flaked and fried in oil, and sometimes cooked in sauce made with the base of hot peppers, onions and tomatoes, various spices (such as Cat fish peppersoup) and water to produce an incredible combination of subtle flavors. Chicken is eaten nearly everywhere and chicken eggs are a common food and source of protein. Guinea Fowl eggs also popular. In some inland areas,beef and mutton are preferred, with goat meat being the dominant red meat. Suya, a popular grilled spicy meat kebab flavored with peanuts and other spices, is sold by street vendors as a tasty snack or evening meal and is typically made with beef or chicken.The pepper soup come in different recipe, some cook with macaroni or fresh leaves.

It now depends on how spicy you want it,its either you want it middle hot (meaning - fairly spiced with hot pepper) or full hot (meaning - fully spiced hot).And is widely enjoyed in a bar,hotels and street joints.

Complied by Shodiya Babatunde