Saga Saga, Cassava leaf stew, Pondu, Saka Saka, Mborokhé

Saga saga, pondu, mborokhé or saka saka is hands down one of our favorite stews. It is a delicious, nutritious (high in iron), and rich cassava leaf-based stew hailing from West Africa. I first tried it at a well-known African restaurant in my hometown. I was hooked. A few months later, my sister made it mentioning how excited she was when her mother-in-law cooked it. She was also hooked. We wondered how come we had never tried it. Over the years this recipe became our go-to for batch cooking, celebrations, and during cold winter months (when we do not have access to local fresh veggies as easily as in the summer months). Pondu is a one-pot dish, you literally just have to add ingredients more or less in order and let them simmer. This version is simple and delicious. You can easily make it your own by adding or omitting some of the ingredients.

Video Recipe for Saga Saga, Cassava leaf stew, Pondu, Saka Saka, Mborokhé

cassava leaves sauce, saka saka,pondu, saga saga, mborikhé recipe video made with cassava leave

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Saga Saga, Cassava leaf stew, Pondu, Saka Saka, Mborokhé

Yield: 10

Author: mddolce

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 5 M

Ingredients

• 1.5 L of water
• 2.2 lb, or 1 kg, of meat (lamb, or veal) - with or without bone.
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 large onion
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups of palm oil
• 4 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 2.2 lb, or 1 kg, of cassava leaves (frozen weight)
• 1 tbsp of dried shrimps and/or a few pieces of smoked fish
• 2 tbsp of soumbala, soumara, or nététou (optional)
• 10 large whole okras (fresh or frozen)
• 1 to 2 Japañero pepper or scotch bonnet
• 1/2 cup of fresh shrimps (optional)
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cut meat into medium to large-sized pieces (approximately 1 to 2 inches long cubes). Trim fat so your stew does not become too oily. Buy them precut if possible.
2. In a large pot, add water, meat, peeled and chopped 4 garlic cloves and 1 onion, bay leaves, 1 cup of palm oil, tomato paste, and 2 tsp of salt. The meat should be completely covered by water. Let simmer for about 1 hour and 30 min, covered.
3. Add peanut butter and incorporate into sauce until smooth. The meat should be tender at this point. Let simmer for about 10 min, mixing with a wooden spoon from time to time. Make sure the peanut butter doesn't stick to the bottom by scraping the bottom of the pot with the spoon. Cook uncovered.
4. Place thawed cassava leaves in a bowl and gently get rid of excel liquid by squeezing, a handful at a time. Gently add leaves to pot (see note). Add dried shrimps and soumbala, and slowly mix to incorporate all ingredients. Let simmer, uncovered, for 45 min.Monitor, and add water if needed so the mix doesn't become too viscous and sticking to the bottom of the pan.
5. Finely chop or puré, using a blender or culinary robot, the okra. Add okra, 2 peeled and chopped garlic cloves, fresh shrimps, and the rest of the palm oil to stew (or more if you prefer). Add hot pepper, salt, and pepper to taste. Let simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 40 more minutes, mixing every 10 min.

Notes

A quality peanut butter usually only contains peanuts amongst its ingredients.

Removing excess water from the thawed leaves is an important step in order to avoid a watery stew.

After adding okra to the stew, it is important to leave the pot uncovered to maintain the sliminess of the okra. 

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