Mbakhalou Saloum

Ingredients

The preserved things

• 250 gdried or smoked fish
• soaked and flaked
• 2 tablespoonsnététou
• fermented locust bean
• 50 gdried shrimp, optional

The peanut base

• 250 gpeanut paste
• unsweetened, or smooth peanut butter
• 2onions, chopped
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato purée
• 4 tablespoonsgroundnut oil

The pot

• 500 gbroken rice
• or long grain rice
• 4bitter tomatoes
• jakhatou, halved
• 1scotch bonnet, whole
• about 1.5 litres water
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• in one wide dish
• eaten with the right hand

Directions

1. Check the label carefully before buying. It must be loosened with liquid first. Rinse the dried fish under cold water. Put it in a bowl of fresh cold water. Leave it for at least four hours. One water reaches a limit and stops.
2. Taste a small piece of the soaked fish. It should be savoury rather than harsh. Soak it longer if it is still very salty. Drain the soaked fish thoroughly. Flake it and check it carefully for bones. They do not soften in cooking at all. Heat the oil in a very large heavy pot. Add the chopped onions in to it.
3. Cook them for a good ten minutes. Add the crushed garlic to them. Cook it for two more full minutes. Crumble the netetou into the pot. Fry it for about two full minutes. It should dissolve into the base. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Add the tomato purée along with them.
4. Cook them down for about eight minutes. The tomato must cook right down. Oil should separate at the edges. Raw tomato taste should be entirely gone. Put the peanut paste in a bowl. Add hot water a little at a time. Whisk it into a smooth loose cream. Thick paste added dry sits in lumps.
5. Pour the loosened paste into the pot. Stir it through the tomato base. Add the rest of the water to it. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Let it simmer for about twenty minutes.
6. Stir it regularly all the way through. Twenty minutes makes a real difference. Stir it every few minutes or so. Keep the heat low and quite steady. Judging it takes a careful look. Oil should rise clear to the surface. The sauce should be smooth and thick. Add the flaked dried fish to the pot. Add the dried shrimp if you have them.
7. Cook them for about five minutes. Add the halved bitter tomatoes. Add the whole scotch bonnet to it. Taste the liquid and adjust the salt. It takes its seasoning from it. Season it properly before the rice goes in. Stir it once to distribute it. There should be enough to cook the rice. Add hot water if it looks short. Cooking the rice takes about twenty minutes.
8. Cover the pot and lower the heat right down. Let it cook for about twenty minutes. The rice must steam rather than boil. Take it off the heat with the lid on. Let it stand for ten full minutes. The grains firm up as they settle.
9. Lift the whole scotch bonnet out. Discard it entirely before serving. Bring the fish up through the grains. Lift and fold rather than stirring. Serving it is done in one wide dish. Tip it all into a large communal dish. Arrange the bitter tomatoes on top. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Loosen the peanut paste with hot water into a smooth pourable cream before it goes into the pot: thick paste added dry sits in lumps that never disperse afterwards. Then cook it for a full twenty minutes, since raw peanut paste tastes chalky and dull while cooking develops a deep roasted flavour and lets the oil come out. Oil rising clear to the surface is the sign it has cooked properly, not a fault.
• Peanut is the foundation of this dish and cannot be left out or substituted, so say so clearly when you serve it; peanut allergy is common and can be severe. Use unsweetened paste or peanut butter, since a sweetened one ruins the dish.
• Peanut paste catches and burns bitter on the bottom, so stir it every few minutes while the sauce simmers, and use a low heat and a heavy pot once the rice goes in.

Substitutions

• Unsweetened smooth peanut butter stands in for peanut paste; check the label carefully.
• Long grain rice stands in for broken rice, which is preferred in Senegal rather than a poor substitute.

Variations

• The atlas also carries mbahal from the Gambia, another rice pot with dried fish and nététou, built on beans instead of peanut paste; they are relatives rather than the same dish.
• The peanut comes from the inland groundnut belt and the dried fish from the coastal mangrove creeks, which the dish brings together.
• Jakhatou, the bitter garden egg, is halved so its bitterness goes into the pot.

History

A dish of the Saloum delta and Serer country, built on peanut paste from Senegal’s main groundnut belt and dried fish from the mangrove creeks.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mbakhalou Saloum?

Mbakhalou Saloum is a main from Senegal: rice cooked with peanut paste, dried fish and nététou from the Saloum. A dish of the Saloum delta and Serer country, built on peanut paste from Senegal’s main groundnut belt and dried fish from the mangrove creeks.

How long does Mbakhalou Saloum take to make?

Mbakhalou Saloum takes 40 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Mbakhalou Saloum?

Yes, within limits. Unsweetened smooth peanut butter stands in for peanut paste; check the label carefully. Long grain rice stands in for broken rice, which is preferred in Senegal rather than a poor substitute.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mbakhalou Saloum?

Check the label carefully before buying. It must be loosened with liquid first. Rinse the dried fish under cold water. Put it in a bowl of fresh cold water. Leave it for at least four hours. One water reaches a limit and stops.