Fetri dessi

Ingredients

Okra

• 600 gfresh okra
• or 500 g frozen sliced okra

Base

• 2onions, chopped
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato paste
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 tablespoonsred palm oil
• or 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2stock cubes
• 2chillies, chopped
• 1 litrewater
• salt and black pepper

Protein

• 300 gsmoked fish, flaked
• 150 gdried fish, rinsed
• or 400 g fresh fish, in pieces
• 2 tablespoonsground crayfish, optional

To serve

• akoume, maize dough
• or banku or fufu

Directions

1. Cut the okra rather than leaving it whole. Grate some of it for even more. Add it late rather than early. Do not add acid until the very end. Stir it as little as possible once in. Preparing the okra takes a few minutes. Rinse the okra and pat it dry. Trim off the tough stem ends only. Do not cut into the pod when trimming.
2. Slice it into thin even rounds. Some cooks grate about a third of it. Set it aside until the sauce is ready. Warm it gently to melt it before use. Never let palm oil smoke or bleach in the pan.
3. Rinse the dried fish thoroughly. Soak it in warm water for twenty minutes. Check it very carefully for bones. Flake the smoked fish and check it too. Warm the palm oil gently in a large pot. Add the chopped onions to the oil. Cook them for about eight minutes.
4. Add the crushed garlic and chillies. Cook them for a good two minutes. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Cook them down for about eight minutes.
5. Add the smoked and dried fish. Crumble the stock cubes into it. Add the ground crayfish if using it. Pour in all of the measured water. Season it with salt and black pepper. Bring it up to a steady simmer. Let it cook for about twenty minutes. Add the sliced and grated okra now. Stir it through once and then stop.
6. Let it simmer for about ten minutes only. Do not stir it much after this. Lift the spoon and watch it fall. It should pull into long threads.
7. Taste it and adjust the salt to suit. Adding fresh fish is done at the end. Lay fresh fish pieces on top if using them. Give them about six full minutes. Pinch off a piece of the dough. Dip it into the sauce and swallow. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• Okra is an African native domesticated in the Nile and Sahel belt long before European contact, and reached the Americas with the slave trade rather than being imported into Africa.
• The slippery mucilage or draw is prized in West African cooking rather than avoided, and a proper fetri dessi pulls into long visible threads from the spoon.
• The okra goes in late and is barely stirred, since long cooking, hard stirring and acid all break the draw down.

Substitutions

• Frozen sliced okra works well and is widely sold.
• Vegetable oil stands in for red palm oil, though it changes the character considerably.

Variations

• Some cooks add ground egusi or crayfish for extra body.
• A version with fresh fish rather than smoked is lighter.
• Similar okra sauces are eaten across Ghana, Benin and Nigeria.

History

An Ewe staple sauce of southern Togo; okra is an African native domesticated in the Nile and Sahel belt long before European contact.

Frequently asked questions

What is Fetri dessi?

Fetri dessi is a soup & stew from Togo: long-drawn okra sauce with smoked fish, eaten with akoumé. An Ewe staple sauce of southern Togo; okra is an African native domesticated in the Nile and Sahel belt long before European contact.

How long does Fetri dessi take to make?

Fetri dessi takes 25 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Fetri dessi?

Yes, within limits. Frozen sliced okra works well and is widely sold. Vegetable oil stands in for red palm oil, though it changes the character considerably.

What is the most important thing to get right in Fetri dessi?

Cut the okra rather than leaving it whole. Grate some of it for even more. Add it late rather than early. Do not add acid until the very end. Stir it as little as possible once in. Preparing the okra takes a few minutes. Rinse the okra and pat it dry. Trim off the tough stem ends only. Do not cut into the pod when trimming.