Nsala Recipe

Prepare proteins

Clean the catfish thoroughly with lime/lemon; cut into serving pieces. If using goat/beef, wash and parboil meat in 4 cups of water for 15 minutes to remove impurities. Reserve the parboil water as part of the stock.

In a large pot, combine parboiled meat with remaining stock/water (about 12 cups total including parboil water). Add half the chopped onion and crushed garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-low and simmer until meat is tender (goat/beef about 45–60 minutes). Skim foam as needed.

About 15 minutes before the meat is done, add the cleaned catfish pieces to the pot to cook gently (fish cooks quickly; do not stir aggressively to avoid breaking).

When all proteins are cooked, remove meat pieces (reserve) and set aside. Keep the broth in the pot; if you used bones, you can blend a small portion of tender meat/bones for extra body, then return to the pot. Taste and adjust seasoning with crushed seasoning cubes and salt.

Place the peeled yam cubes in a saucepan, cover with water and boil until completely tender (20–25 minutes). Drain, set aside 1 cup of the cooking water, then pound the cooked yam in a mortar until smooth and stretchy (traditional method) or mash very smoothly with a food processor or potato ricer until there are no lumps.

Reserve about 1/2–1 cup of the pounded yam to use as small dumpling-like lumps (optional). For the main thickener, scoop 1–1.5 cups of pounded yam and blend with a little warm broth or the reserved yam water to a slurry. If pounded yam is unavailable, whisk 3 tablespoons yam flour into 1 cup warm water until smooth to make a paste.

Gradually stir the yam slurry/paste into the simmering broth, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer 5–8 minutes until the broth thickens slightly and attains a slightly viscous, velvety consistency. If you set aside dumpling lumps, add them now to cook through for 5 minutes.

In a small blender or mortar, blend the remaining half onion with the fresh pepper and a little of the fish/meat stock to make a smooth pepper-onion paste. If preferred, you can finely chop instead.

Add the ground crayfish and ground uziza seeds to the pot. Stir well so they dissolve into the thickened broth.

Add the pepper-onion paste to the soup and simmer gently for 5–7 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Taste and adjust salt and seasoning cubes as needed.

In a small skillet, heat the palm oil over medium heat. Add the reserved cooked meat pieces and gently fry for 2–3 minutes to warm and coat in oil (this deepens flavor). Remove and add to the soup.

Turn off the heat. Add the sliced utazi leaves and chopped scent/scent leaf (or basil). Stir gently and allow residual heat to wilt the leaves; this preserves their aroma and provides the characteristic slightly bitter, peppery note.

Garnish with a final pinch of ground uziza if desired. Serve Nsala hot, in bowls, with extra pounded yam, fufu, or rice on the side.