Nététou

Ingredients

The seeds

• 1 kgnéré seeds
• African locust bean
• Parkia biglobosa
• plenty of water, for boiling

To ferment

• clean banana leaves
• or a clean cloth
• a basket or covered pot
• a warm place

To finish

• salt, optional
• a warm dry place, for drying

To use, per pot

• 1to 2 tablespoons
• crumbled into a stew

Directions

1. Discard it if it smells genuinely rotten. Discard it if there is coloured mould. The judgement of when it is ready is learned. Start with less if it is new to you. Do not discard the pulp at all. Put the seeds in a large pot of water.
2. Boil them for several full hours. It takes hours of boiling to soften. Squeeze a seed between your fingers. The seed coat should rub away.
3. Boil them longer if the coat holds. Rub the boiled seeds between your hands. Wash the seeds in several changes of water. Repeat it until the water runs clear.
4. Boil the cleaned seeds briefly again. Give them about thirty minutes. Drain them thoroughly afterwards. Wrap the warm seeds in clean leaves. The seeds need warmth and some air.
5. Leave the wrapped seeds somewhere warm. It should smell strongly savoury and sour. Discard it entirely if it does. Pound the fermented seeds in a mortar. Pound it to the texture you want. Work a little salt through the paste. Salt helps it to keep for longer. Some makers add it and some do not.
6. Press the paste into balls or flat cakes. Press them firmly to drive out air. Set them somewhere warm and dry. Let them dry for several days. Turn them so that all sides dry. They must go hard right through.
7. Keep them somewhere dry and airy. They keep for months that way. Crumble a piece into a hot oiled pot. Fry it for about two full minutes. It should dissolve into the base. Wrap it up well against the damp.

Technique

• The atlas also carries netetu from Guinea-Bissau, which is the same seasoning under another spelling; it is dawadawa in Ghana and Nigeria and soumbala in Mali and Burkina Faso. The néré tree grows across the Sahel and the seasoning is made right across that belt, with every country naming it differently — it is one of West Africa’s oldest seasonings.
• Fermentation breaks the seed proteins down and produces glutamates, which is where the deep savoury taste comes from — the same principle as soy sauce or fish sauce. The raw smell is extremely strong and reads as slightly rotten to the unfamiliar, but that is normal: frying it into a base transforms it, the harshness going and the depth staying, which is why it is always fried rather than added straight.
• A properly made ferment smells sour and pungent rather than putrid; discard it if it smells genuinely rotten or shows coloured mould, and trust your nose over any timing. The judgement of when it is ready is learned directly from people who make it, and most people buy netetou by the cup rather than making it.

Substitutions

• Dawadawa or soumbala are the same fermented locust bean under other names.
• It is sold both as a dark pounded paste and with whole seeds remaining; both forms are used.

Variations

• The sweet floury yellow pulp around the seeds in the pod is eaten as a separate food and is not part of the seasoning.
• Ferment it wrapped in leaves or a covered basket rather than a sealed jar, since it needs warmth and some air rather than being airtight.
• One or two tablespoons flavours a whole pot; it is extremely strong and too much overwhelms everything else.

History

Nere pods are gathered upriver, the seeds boiled and fermented for days, then dried; the pungent black seasoning is sold by the cup in every market.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nététou?

Nététou is a sauce & condiment from Gambia: fermented locust-bean seeds pounded into sauces for salty depth. Nere pods are gathered upriver, the seeds boiled and fermented for days, then dried; the pungent black seasoning is sold by the cup in every market.

How long does Nététou take to make?

Nététou takes 1 hour plus fermenting of preparation and 3 hours of cooking. The recipe makes about 500 g. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Nététou?

Yes, within limits. Dawadawa or soumbala are the same fermented locust bean under other names. It is sold both as a dark pounded paste and with whole seeds remaining; both forms are used.

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

Discard it if it smells genuinely rotten. Discard it if there is coloured mould. The judgement of when it is ready is learned. Start with less if it is new to you. Do not discard the pulp at all. Put the seeds in a large pot of water.