Ingredients
Main components:
- Fish: 1 large captain or gray sea bream cut into nice thick slices.
- Diagua sauce (red sauce with meatballs): 250 g of chopped fish flesh or meat for the meatballs (diagua), crushed red pepper, finely chopped onions, crushed garlic and vinegar.
- Red rice: 1 kg of fragrant broken rice.
- Vegetables: Purple eggplant, cabbage, cassava, carrots, turnip and whole pepper.
- Tomato base and aromatics: 1 can of tomato paste (140 g), guedj, yët, complete nokoss (parsley, garlic, onion, pepper).
Preparation
- Shape the Diagua meatballs: Mix the chopped fish meat with a little garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and a hint of chili pepper. Roll into small firm balls and fry quickly to brown them, then set aside.
- Cooking fish and frying: Stuff the fresh fish with the nokoss, fry it in hot oil until it is very crispy, then set it aside.
- Flavored tomato sauce: Brown the tomato paste in the oil with the onions and pieces of yët/guedj. Let the tomato cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the acidity disappears and the oil takes on a nice bright red color.
- Broth and cooking vegetables: Pour in the hot water, add the remaining nokoss, salt and immerse the vegetables. Also place the diagua balls and fried fish. Leave to simmer for 25 minutes then carefully remove the vegetables, fish and meatballs with a slotted spoon.
- Cooking red rice: Wash the broken rice and steam it over the pot. Then immerse the rice in the remaining well-measured red broth. Leave to cook over low heat under the lid for 20 minutes, making sure to form a light crispy crust at the bottom (the famous xooñ).
- Presentation: Serve the hot red rice, topped with the stuffed fish, tender vegetables and diagua balls drizzled with a drizzle of chili sauce.