Today Kucha (Sorel) sauce with rice for lunch

This is not my favorite meal but I don’t have much say in what is prepared for the lunch/dinner daily. Unless I constantly remind my family how much I like Benachin (fried rice), it will be eventually prepared. My host dad usually decides the meal of the day. Usually I do not get inspiration to cook for myself and I don’t, but when I am at home during the day I like to prepare lunch together with the women, chat and/or play cards. So today we cooked Kucha! First, my host mom makes a trip to market to buy the required ingredients: black pepper, chilli pepper, fermented African locust beans, tomato, tomato paste, okra, sorrel leaves, smoked fish, bitter tomato, and bouillon cubes.

In mortar pound black pepper, chilli pepper, fermented African locust beans, and tomato.

Pick kucha leaves from stems, wash them.  Pick the bones from the smoked fish which is usually Bonga, bony fish because it is cheap. Place pot with water on fire and add bitter tomato when it boils. Leave until bitter tomato softens. Then add the pounded ingredients and leave it to simmer for a bit. 

(In the mean time, my host mom was starching her clothes and me preparing the snack - papaya from the garden...hehe)

 

Add tomato paste, bouillon cubes, salt, and picked smoked fish. Leave it again to simmer. Cut okra and add it to sorrel leaves in a pot with water. 

 

When it is ready take it off the fire and place another pot with water, sorrel leaves and okra. Boil leaves for a bit until they soften (and water becomes pink:) - saltibarsciu color). Take out the leaves and pound them in the mortar. 

 

 Measure rice, clean it, wash it and place it in the pot with water on the fire. 

When the rice is ready, add sorrel leaves to the sauce. Mix it. Place rice in a bowl, add sauce on the top and viola - lunch is ready! Bon appetite!