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Saka-Saka (Congolese Cassava Leaves with Smoked Fish and Palm Oil)
Pounded cassava leaves slow-cooked into an earthy, luscious green stew with flaked smoked fish and rich red palm oil.
The story
Across the Republic of the Congo, Saka-Saka (also known as Pondu) is revered as the undisputed national dish, essential at every banquet and Sunday hearth. The young tender leaves of the cassava plant are pounded in a deep wooden mortar with aromatics, then stewed for hours with authentic red palm oil until deeply mellow and velvety. It is universally enjoyed with boiled cassava tubers, fried sweet plantains, or kwanga.
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