🇹🇿 Tanzanian / Swahili · Swahili & Coastal Cuisine
🍠 Swahili Fish Stew with Cassava
Mchuzi wa Samaki na Muhogo
Tanzanian Mchuzi wa Samaki na Muhogo — fish and cassava simmered together in a fragrant coconut milk and spice sauce. The complete one-pot coastal meal — fish for protein, cassava for starch, coconut milk for richness.
Fish and cassava stew is the complete coastal meal — protein, starch, and sauce in one pot. The cassava absorbs the coconut-spice sauce completely, becoming extraordinarily rich and flavourful alongside the fish.
Ingredients
Equipment: Large pot
- 600g firm fish — cubed
- 400g cassava — peeled and cubed
- 400ml coconut milk
- 2 onions — diced
- 4 tomatoes — diced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ cup coriander
Method
- Heat oil. Cook onions until golden.
- Add garlic, ginger, spices, tomatoes. Cook 8 minutes.
- Add cassava pieces and ½ cup water. Cover and cook 15 minutes until partially tender.
- Add coconut milk. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add fish. Cover and simmer gently 12—15 minutes.
- Cassava should be completely tender; fish should flake easily.
- Garnish with coriander.
Chef Tips
- Add cassava before fish — it takes much longer.
- Never boil coconut milk hard.
- Do not stir once fish is added — it breaks apart.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Adding cassava and fish simultaneously.
- Boiling coconut milk.
The Science
Cassava starch gelatinises into the coconut milk during cooking, naturally thickening the sauce. This is why no additional thickening is needed — the cassava does the work.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- Complete meal — protein and carbohydrate.
- Cassava provides resistant starch.
- Omega-3 from fish.
Cultural Note
Fish and cassava stew is the complete coastal meal — protein from the sea and starch from the land, united by the coconut milk that makes everything better on the Swahili coast.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Best eaten fresh.
Reheating: Gently — cassava can become sticky.
Serve with: As a complete standalone meal, With kachumbari