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Delele
Okra relish
Delele: Zambian okra relish, whisked slippery with soda and tomato
Delele is the relish that Zambians either adore or tease each other about, because it is meant to be slippery: sliced okra cooked fast with a pinch of soda until the pot turns stretchy and the relish slides off a ball of nshima. In Southern and Western Province homes it is often cooked with chidulo, a lye filtered from wood ash, while town cooks use bicarbonate of soda. The flavour is fresh, green and lightly sweet from tomato, and the texture is the whole point, so don't try to fight it. The common mistake is adding too much soda, which turns the okra soapy-tasting and grey. Chef's tip: whisk the okra hard as it cooks, ideally with a small balloon whisk, to draw out the strands and break the pods into a loose, glossy relish.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 14 oz fresh okratops trimmed, thinly sliced
- 1 ¼ cups water
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tomatofinely chopped
- 1 small onionfinely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Bring 1 ¼ cups water to the boil in a medium saucepan over a high heat.
Step 2: Add 14 oz fresh okra and ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda and stir. The water will foam up briefly, so keep an eye on it.
1 minStep 3: Turn the heat to medium and cook, whisking vigorously every minute, until the okra is tender, the seeds have loosened and the liquid has turned thick and stringy.
6 minStep 4: Stir in 1 tomato, 1 small onion and ½ tsp salt and keep cooking, whisking now and then, until the onion softens and the tomato disappears into the relish.
4 minStep 5: Taste, adjust the salt, and serve at once with nshima while the delele is still hot and stretchy.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 45 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does delele take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 8 minutes to prepare and 12 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of bicarbonate of soda?
- Baking powder, three times the amount (the bake may taste slightly different).
- What can I use instead of tomato?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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