Liboke ya Mbika
A ground pumpkin-seed dish from the Congo River region, real kin to West Africa's egusi through the shared pumpkin-and-melon-seed family, called pistache in Cameroon, but genuinely its own distinct preparation rather than a copy: real liboke ya mbika mixes ground mbika seed flour with fish, shrimp, or vegetables, then wraps and steams it in banana leaves, a fundamentally different format from egusi's simmered soup. It shares its leaf-wrapping liboke technique with the site's existing Liboke ya Mbisi, but with an entirely different filling, ground seed rather than whole marinated fish, making the two genuinely different dishes under a shared cooking method's name.
⚠ Contains: Fish, Shellfish. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups ground pumpkin or melon seeds (mbika)
- 300g fish or shrimp, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 chile, minced
- 3 tbsp palm oil
- Banana leaves, for wrapping
Steps
- Mix the ground seeds with the chopped fish or shrimp, onion, tomato, chile, and palm oil into a thick paste.
- Soften the banana leaves over a flame.
- Spoon the mixture onto the leaves and wrap tightly into parcels.
- Steam the parcels for 35-45 minutes until firm and cooked through.
- Unwrap and serve hot.