Madesu

What we know so far

Madesu simply means beans in Lingala, and in Congo it means the pot of red or white beans that everybody, parents and children alike, is greedy for: soaked overnight, boiled soft, then finished with a sauce of onion (or leek) and spring onion fried in palm oil with a bay leaf, and in the western version tomato as well. In the east of the country a handful of dried fish or a piece of pork goes in. It is eaten with rice above all, or with chikwangue or fufu, and it can be soupy or thick depending on how much of the cooking water is left in. Palm oil is what makes it taste Congolese; a neutral oil works but loses the perfume.

The draft was written from 2 published sources and holds 9 ingredients and 5 steps. It has never been cooked by anybody at AFN, which is why it is waiting.

What claiming it means

1. Cook it the way you actually make it. Change anything in our draft that is wrong, and most of it probably is.
2. Photograph your own, so the page carries a real picture instead of somebody else's.
3. Send it in. An editor reads it, and it publishes with your name on it and a link to your profile.

See every dish waiting