Ingredients
Fish balls
- 800 gfreshwater fish fillets, boned
- 1onion, grated and squeezed dry
- 2 clovesgarlic, crushed
- 1egg
- 3 tbspbreadcrumbs
- 1 tspground ginger
- 1 tspsalt
- ½ tspblack pepper
- 2 tbspchopped parsley
Sauce
- 100 mloil
- 2onions, sliced
- 3 tbsptomato paste
- 3tomatoes, chopped
- 1whole hot pepper
- 1stock cube
- 750 mlwater
To serve
- bread, or rice
Directions
- Check the fillets carefully for pin bones, running a fingertip against the grain of the flesh. These are eaten whole, and a missed bone matters far more here than it would in a fillet on a plate.
- Chop the fish finely by hand, or pulse it very briefly in a processor. Do not reduce it to a paste: canda should have some texture, and over-processed fish turns rubbery.
- Squeeze the grated onion dry in your hands and discard the liquid. That water is exactly what makes fish balls collapse in the sauce.
- Mix the fish with the onion, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, ginger, salt, pepper and parsley, working it just until it holds together and no further.
- Wet your hands and roll the mixture into balls a little smaller than a golf ball.
- Fry them in hot oil in batches, turning them, for 3 to 4 minutes until browned all over, then lift them out onto a plate.
- In the same oil, soften the sliced onions, add the tomato paste and fry it for 4 minutes until it darkens, then add the tomatoes, the crumbled stock cube and the water.
- Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes to reduce and concentrate it.
- Return the fish balls, drop in the whole hot pepper, and simmer gently for a further 15 minutes.
- Do not stir once they are back in the pot. Shake it instead, because the balls are fragile and a spoon will break them apart.
- Serve with bread for mopping the sauce, which is how it is eaten in Chad, or spooned over rice.
Technique
- Squeeze the onion, chop the fish by hand, and shake rather than stir. Those three things carry the dish.
- It is made with fish from Lake Chad and the Chari river, and its purpose is to stretch a small catch across a whole family.
- The balls firm up as they sit in the sauce, so it is better made half an hour ahead than served the second it is done.
Substitutions
- Any firm white fish, freshwater or sea.
- A tin of sardines mashed into the mixture for extra depth when the catch is small.
Variations
- With peanut butter whisked into the sauce, which is common across the Sahel.
- With okra added to thicken the sauce.
- With dried fish soaked and added alongside the fresh.
History
Made with fish from Lake Chad and the Chari river, a way of stretching a small catch across a family.
Frequently asked questions
What is Canda?
Canda is a main from Chad: minced fish rolled into balls and fried, then simmered in sauce with bread. Made with fish from Lake Chad and the Chari river, a way of stretching a small catch across a family.
How long does Canda take to make?
Canda takes 30 min of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Canda?
Yes, within limits. Any firm white fish, freshwater or sea. A tin of sardines mashed into the mixture for extra depth when the catch is small.
What is the most important thing to get right in Canda?
Chop the fish finely by hand, or pulse it very briefly in a processor. Do not reduce it to a paste: canda should have some texture, and over-processed fish turns rubbery.
