Mataba — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Slow-cooked cassava leaves pounded smooth and simmered in rich coconut milk with ground peanuts, creating a velvety, deeply savory stew that is the soul of Comorian home cooking.

Ingredients

500g fresh cassava leaves, stripped from stems
400ml coconut milk
100g raw peanuts, ground to paste
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 cups water

Instructions

1 Wash cassava leaves thoroughly, then pound in a mortar until reduced to a smooth green paste. This takes about 20 minutes of vigorous pounding.
2 Heat coconut oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes until softened.
3 Add the cassava leaf paste and stir well, cooking for 5 minutes.
4 Pour in coconut milk and water. Stir in ground peanuts and turmeric.
5 Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to prevent sticking.
6 Season with salt and adjust coconut milk thickness as desired. The finished stew should be thick and creamy.
7 Serve hot over steamed white rice.

Did You Know?

Mataba is so central to Comorian identity that grandmothers judge a young cook's skill by the smoothness of the cassava leaf paste. A grainy mataba is considered a sign of impatience.