makes
1 jar
prep
10 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
1 jar
serves
preparation
10
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 1 red capsicum (pepper)
- 2 mild/sweet red chillies
- 1 red onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 20 g (¾ oz) fresh ginger
- 1 tomato
- 1 celery stalk
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp soumbala powder (see Note)
Instructions
- Deseed the capsicum and chillies. Peel and roughly chop the onion, garlic and ginger.
- Roughly chop the tomato and celery.
- Using a blender, blend the capsicum, chillies, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, celery and herbs into a smooth paste. Add the soumbala and 3 tbsp water, then blend again.
- Keep the paste in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week. Add a layer of vegetable oil to the jar to prevent mould forming on top. To keep the paste for longer, use an ice-cube tray (that you use for nokoss only) and freeze the whole batch.
Note
• Soumbala is a traditional condiment used in West African cooking and is an ingredient tht is widely used, in the same way that fish sauce is used in South-East Asia. It is made by processing the seeds from the pods of the néré tree. It can be found with different names: nététou in Senegal, moutarde africaine in Togo, soumbala in Guinea and Mali, soumara in Ivory Coast and dadawa or iru in Nigeria and Ghama.
• There is nothing that can replace soumbala powder. Its taste is unique. If you can't get it, you will need to cook without.
Images and text from Saka Saka by Anto Cocagne & Aline Princet, photography by Aline Princet. (Murdoch Books, RRP $45)
Cook's Notes
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.
