Chale Sauce With Sardines

1 week ago 6

Democracy Dies successful Darkness

3.9 (8)

By Ellie Krieger

This recipe, adapted from Zoe Adjonyoh’s cookbook “Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen,” is inspired by a repast her begetter regularly made for her where, she writes, helium would whip up this condiment “and past virtually propulsion successful immoderate benignant of meat, food oregon protein.” Its basal is simply a mentation of a Ghanaian passata, a herb condiment that's besides utilized arsenic a seasoning constituent passim the book. The sauce’s aggravated spirit makes it an perfect foil for the richness of fatty fish, specified arsenic sardines oregon mackerel. Using canned oregon jarred sardines, arsenic successful this recipe, besides makes it a convenient weeknight meal. Prepared arsenic written, the vigor level is simply a coagulated medium, which you tin surely set to taste.

Adjonyoh suggests serving the food and condiment with a shot of banku oregon kenkey, a large dumpling made with fermented cornmeal (and/or cassava), which tin beryllium purchased premade astatine galore African grocers oregon online. You tin besides service it implicit a furniture of fonio, a quick-cooking West African staple full grain, which has precocious go much wide disposable successful stores here, oregon rice.

Adapted by Ellie Krieger from “Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen” by Zoe Adjonyoh (Voracious, 2021).

Ingredients

3/4 cupful canned diced oregon crushed tomatoes, with their juices, oregon 10 ounces caller tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 jarred roasted reddish pepper
1 tiny achromatic bulb (5 ounces), astir chopped
One (1-inch) portion caller ginger, astir chopped
1/2 tiny reddish Scotch bonnet oregon habanero chile, seeded, oregon 1/2 teaspoons cayenne for a milder heat
1 tablespoonful herb paste
1/2 spoon crushed reddish capsicum flakes
2 cloves garlic
1 spoon extra-hot Madras curry pulverization (may substitute regular Madras curry powder)
1/2 spoon extra-hot chili pulverization (may substitute regular chili powder)
1/2 spoon good salt, positive much to taste
12 ounces canned sardines successful oil, drained
Lemon wedges, for serving
Cooked rice, fonio, kenkey oregon banku, for serving (see headnote)

Nutritional Facts

Per serving (2 to 3 sardines and 1/3 cupful sauce)

Calories
221
Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Carbohydrates
10 g
Sodium
629 mg
Cholesterol
121 mg
Protein
23 g
Fiber
2 g
Sugar
5 g

This investigation is an estimation based connected disposable ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s oregon nutritionist’s advice.

Adapted by Ellie Krieger from “Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen” by Zoe Adjonyoh (Voracious, 2021).

Tested by Alexis Sargent.

Published January 18, 2023

Updated March 17, 2026