Mukbaza

Ingredients

Fish

• 1whole red snapper, grouper or sea bream, about 1.2 kg, butterflied open through the back
• 2 tspsalt
• juice of 1 lemon

Spice paste

• 4garlic cloves
• 2cm ginger
• 2 tsphawaij spice mix (cumin, coriander, black pepper, turmeric, cardamom)
• 1 tspground chilli or 2 fresh red chillies
• 1 tbsptomato puree
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 1 tspsalt

Mukbaza (banana mash)

• 4very ripe bananas, skins heavily spotted
• 3 tbsphoney
• 40 gghee or butter
• half tsp ground cardamom
• a squeeze of lemon

To serve

• 4khubz or malawah flatbreads
• sahawiq (green chilli and coriander relish)

Directions

1. Butterfly the fish flat through the back so it opens like a book with the belly intact, and slash the flesh diagonally three times on each side.
2. Rub with salt and lemon juice and leave 15 minutes, then pat dry.
3. Pound the garlic, ginger, chilli and hawaij to a paste in a mortar, work in the tomato puree, oil and salt, and rub it deep into the slashes and all over the flesh side.
4. Get a charcoal fire down to steady, ashed-over embers, or heat the oven to its maximum with a heavy tray inside. Traditionally the fish goes against the wall of a clay tandoor-style oven called a mofa.
5. Cook the fish flesh side down first for 6–8 minutes to set the crust, then turn onto the skin and cook 12–15 minutes more, until the thickest flesh at the shoulder flakes cleanly from the bone and the skin is blistered black in patches.
6. While it cooks, mash the bananas in a warm bowl with a wooden pestle until completely smooth and slightly stringy, with no lumps left.
7. Beat in the melted ghee, honey and cardamom, and keep beating for a minute until the mash turns pale, glossy and thick. Sharpen with a squeeze of lemon.
8. Serve the whole fish on a board with the warm mukbaza in a bowl beside it. Tear off bread, scoop up banana mash and a flake of hot spiced fish in the same mouthful. That sweet-salt-smoky combination is the entire point of the dish.

Technique

• Mukbaza strictly means the banana mash; in Djibouti and Yemen it names the whole plate of fire-roasted fish with the mash alongside.
• The bananas must be genuinely overripe, almost black. Underripe fruit tastes starchy and refuses to go glossy no matter how hard you beat it.
• Beat the mash while it is warm and serve it warm. Cold mukbaza turns dense and claggy.

Substitutions

• No charcoal or clay oven: the fish on a preheated tray under a domestic grill at maximum heat, 15 cm from the element, gets you most of the char.

Variations

• Made with prawns or small whole fish instead of one large one, common along the Djibouti coast.
• A dessert-leaning version with dates blended into the banana mash and extra honey.

History

Adapted from Yemeni mukbasa: ripe bananas mashed into hot bread with honey and ghee, a legacy of Aden-Djibouti dhow traffic.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mukbaza?

Mukbaza is a main from Djibouti: yemeni-style grilled fish with mashed sweet banana paste. Adapted from Yemeni mukbasa: ripe bananas mashed into hot bread with honey and ghee, a legacy of Aden-Djibouti dhow traffic.

How long does Mukbaza take to make?

Mukbaza takes 25 min of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Mukbaza?

Yes, within limits. No charcoal or clay oven: the fish on a preheated tray under a domestic grill at maximum heat, 15 cm from the element, gets you most of the char.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mukbaza?

Serve the whole fish on a board with the warm mukbaza in a bowl beside it. Tear off bread, scoop up banana mash and a flake of hot spiced fish in the same mouthful. That sweet-salt-smoky combination is the entire point of the dish.