Moqueca Baiana (Bahian fish & coconut stew)

Recipe No.: W-87

InternationalBrazilian50 minServes 4

In the state of Bahia, on Brazil's coast, moqueca is said to bring African, Indigenous Brazilian and Portuguese influences together in one pot. Fish or shrimp is cooked slowly in a clay or iron pot with onion, pepper, tomato and cilantro, then coconut milk and dendê palm oil are added, which give it its orange colour and distinctive flavour. It is served with white rice and farofa, toasted cassava flour. Other states have their own versions, but the Bahian one is the one with palm oil and coconut milk.

Origin of the dish: Brazil (the state of Bahia) — From the Afro-Brazilian cuisine of Bahia, known for its coconut milk and dendê palm oil

Photo: Moqueca Bahiana (232340163).jpeg by Bhasker Thodla, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Ingredients for Moqueca Baiana

• 700 gfirm white fish steaks (grouper, cod or hake), or 500 g fish + 250 g shrimp
• 2juice of limes
• 3 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1½ tspsalt
• 1large onion, sliced
• 1red and 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 3tomatoes, sliced
• 1fresh hot pepper (optional)
• 1 can(400 ml) coconut milk
• 2–3 tbspred palm oil (dendê)
• 2 tbspolive oil
• a handful ofchopped cilantro and 2 spring onions
• To servewhite rice and farofa

Method

1. Season the fish with the lime juice, garlic and salt, and leave for 20 minutes.
2. Grease the bottom of a wide pot with the olive oil and lay in it a layer of onion, peppers and tomato.
3. Lay the fish on top, then cover with the remaining vegetables and the hot pepper.
4. Pour over the coconut milk and drizzle the palm oil on the surface.
5. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15–20 minutes until the fish is cooked, swirling the pot instead of stirring so the fish does not break up. Add the shrimp for the last 5 minutes if using.
6. Add the cilantro and spring onions and serve hot from the same pot with rice and farofa.

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