Koumrangan avec Patte d'Arachide (Koumrangan with Peanut Paste)
Koumrangan avec Patte d'Arachide (Koumrangan with Peanut Paste) is a traditional Chadian recipe for a classic stew of dried and fresh fish in a hidjihi leaf base with peanut paste. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Chadian version of: Koumrangan with Peanut Paste (Koumrangan avec Patte d'Arachide).
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The Arabic name of hidjihi leaf refers to the edible leaves of the Balanites aegyptiaca known in English as desert date, and the tree soap berry tree or bush, Thorn tree, Egyptian myrobalan, Egyptian balsam or Zachum oil tree. The yellow, single-seeded fruit is edible, but bitter. Many parts of the plant are used as famine foods in Africa; the leaves are eaten raw or cooked, the oily seed is boiled to make it less bitter and eaten mixed with sorghum, and the flowers can be eaten.
In Chad, the leaves are shredded and added to stews in a similar way to cassava greens.
Ingredients:
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100ml groundnut oil
100g peanut paste (or peanut butter)
1 smoked and dried fish, washed and broken into pieces (remove as many bones as possible)
500g fresh fish steaks
200g hidjihi (Balanites aegyptiaca) leaves, shredded
Method:
Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions and fry for about 6 minutes, or until well browned. Add the garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds then add the dried fish. Stir-fry for a few minutes then add the fresh fish steaks. Cook until lightly coloured then add 500ml water. Bring to a simmer and add the peanut paste.
Bring back to a simmer, cover and cook for 40 minutes. In the meantime, bring a pan of water to a boil, add the hidjihi leaves and blanch for 5 minutes. Try one of the leaves. If it's bitter drain the leaves and cook for 5 minutes more in fresh salted water.
Drain the hidjihi leaves and add to the stew. Cook until the sauce thickens and serve with rice.
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