Roasted fish (Ivorian style)

I'm wishing luck for team Ivory coast which is playing football today, People here in Ivory coast are simply loving the football mania that's in the air. I simply love the simplicity of food here in Ivory coast. Everything is so simple, yet so full of flavour. I guess its due to the use of aroma or flavour cubes in their food or due to the double concentrate tomato paste they use or due to the unique light green colored, extremely spicy chillies. Whatever may be the factor, I would always appreciate good food. Roasted fish is quite common food here and the usual fishes used for the same are like merou, carpe rouge, and its simple. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Petit carpe rouge (small red carps) - 2 nos
Prawn stock cube - 1nos
Local red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Oil for basting

Method:
Mix prawn stock cube, local red chilly powder, ginger garlic paste and make a paste out of it. Apply this on the fish (add salt if required). Baste with oil and roast in a preheated oven at 240degree c for 40 min or till its done. Garnish with roasted onions, tomatoes, chilly etc. and serve.

Note:
Traditionally this is done using a charcoal grill, I have used the oven instead.

Attieke

Attieke is a staple food here in Ivory coast. It is couscous made out of cassava or manioc. Cassava is skinned, chopped, and ground. This is allowed to ferment along with some old cassava which is already fermented in water, sun-dried and ground. This is again allowed to be evaporated to form tiny couscous like grains. This is a lengthy process and certain large instruments are used for pounding and evaporation etc. I picked up some from the local market here. So, it was quite easy. Attieke is high in carbohydrates, but very low in proteins and fat, hence easy to digest. This can be served along with grilled chicken, fried fish, meat, vegetables etc. I have served it along with south Indian style spicy fish curry. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Attieke - 1cup
Water - 1 cup
Butter - 1tbsp
Salt for taste

Recipe for the Spicy fish curry

Method:
In a microwave safe bowl boil 1 cup water. Add attieke, 1 tbsp butter, salt for taste (I just used a pinch), in that boiling water, stir well. Cook for 7 min on high. Mix well with a fork to so that there are no lumps of grains formed. Serve hot with spicy fish curry.

Note:
The water may be increased to 1 and 1/2 cup if required.

Poulet kedjenou

RECIPE COURTESY - AUDJUA

Poulet kedjenou is a local Ivorian cuisine. Its a simple chicken stew. The entire flavour and taste of the recipe is very unique( I guess due to the local variety of chillies that's there in the recipe). Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Chicken - 1 kilo
onions - 2 large
tomatoes - 2 nos
local variety fresh chillies - 5 nos
Maggi cubes( chicken) - 1 nos
oil - 4 tbsp
salt for taste

Method:
In a stew pot, heat oil and stir fry Finely sliced onions till golden brown, now add chopped tomatoes and saute for 5 min. Add chicken pieces, fresh chillies, Maggi cubes and salt( if required only, as Maggi cubes contains salt). Cover and cook till done

Note:
In this recipe water is not used for cooking. The whole idea is to cook the chicken in its own juices and other juices released from tomato, onions etc...