🇨🇩 Congolese (DRC) Cuisine

Mbika

Pumpkin Seed Sauce

Prep Time 30 min

Servings 6

Difficulty Medium

Calories 396 kcal

A thick, creamy sauce made from ground pumpkin seeds cooked with vegetables and smoked fish, offering a nutty depth that is uniquely Congolese.

Ingredients

2 cups pumpkin seeds, shelled
200g smoked fish, deboned
2 large onions, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp palm oil
2 cups chopped spinach
2 bouillon cubes
1 scotch bonnet pepper
Salt to taste
3 cups water

Instructions

1 Toast pumpkin seeds in a dry pan until lightly golden and fragrant.
2 Grind the toasted seeds into a fine paste using a mortar or blender.
3 Heat palm oil in a pot and saute onions until translucent.
4 Add tomatoes and cook until they break down, about 8 minutes.
5 Dissolve the pumpkin seed paste in water and add to the pot. Stir well.
6 Add smoked fish, bouillon cubes, scotch bonnet, and spinach. Simmer for 25 minutes until thick. Serve with fufu or rice.

Did You Know?

Mbika sauce has a silky, almost velvety texture that Congolese cooks achieve by grinding the seeds to an impossibly fine paste — any graininess is considered a sign of laziness.