Ingredients
Fish
- 300 gdried omena, silver cyprinid
Pot
- 3 tbspoil
- 3onions, sliced
- 5tomatoes, chopped
- 4 clovesgarlic
- 3cm ginger
- 1 tspground coriander
- 1chilli, chopped
Also
- 1 tspsalt
- black pepper
- 150 mlwater
- coriander leaves
To serve
- ugali
- sukuma wiki, braised kale
- kachumbari
Directions
- Pick through them and remove grit, sand, weed and any stray larger fish. Rinse them twice in cold water and drain them well.
- Rinse quickly rather than soaking, because a long soak washes out the flavour and turns them to mush. Now dry-fry them in a hot pan for 3 to 4 minutes until they smell toasted and look slightly darker.
- Tip them out and set them aside. Fry the onions in the oil over a medium heat for 10 minutes until deep golden. Take the onions properly golden rather than just soft, because that sweetness balances the fish.
- Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and coriander and cook a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook them right down for 10 minutes into a thick pulp.
- Cook the tomato down until it is thick and jammy. A watery base makes a thin dish that runs off the ugali.
- Return the omena with the water and stir them through. Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, no longer. Keep it short. The fish are tiny and they disintegrate entirely if stewed, and some texture is wanted.
- Taste for salt, remembering they are already salted from drying. It should be thick enough to hold on a lump of ugali rather than pooling on the plate. Scatter coriander over and serve with ugali and sukuma wiki.
Technique
- Deep-fried crisp omena, eaten as a snack with no sauce, is the other common preparation.
- It keeps for months dried in a sealed container away from damp.
- A little groundnut paste stirred through makes a richer, milder version.
Substitutions
- Mukene, dagaa, or any small dried fish.
- Fresh omena in season, which needs no soaking and a shorter cook.
Variations
- Deep-fried crisp as a snack.
- With groundnut paste.
- Cooked dry, with almost no tomato.
History
Rastrineobola argentea is dried on the lakeshore at Kisumu; cheap and calcium-rich, it feeds much of western Kenya.
Frequently asked questions
What is Omena?
Omena is a main from Kenya: tiny sun-dried Lake Victoria sardines fried with onion and tomato. Rastrineobola argentea is dried on the lakeshore at Kisumu; cheap and calcium-rich, it feeds much of western Kenya.
How long does Omena take to make?
Omena takes 20 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Omena?
Yes, within limits. Mukene, dagaa, or any small dried fish. Fresh omena in season, which needs no soaking and a shorter cook.
What is the most important thing to get right in Omena?
Rinse quickly rather than soaking, because a long soak washes out the flavour and turns them to mush. Now dry-fry them in a hot pan for 3 to 4 minutes until they smell toasted and look slightly darker.
