Name: Mendim Me Zong (African Eggplant Water)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 African eggplants; 1 L of water; 100 g of chili peppers; 1 onion; 2 cloves of garlic; white peppercorns; a piece of ginger; pèpè: which can be replaced with clove; a Maggi cube (gold) or salt PREPARATION; Peel the onion, garlic and ginger, and cut everything into small pieces.; Put all the ingredients in and blend them in a food processor with a little water, to obtain a puree.; Once blended, you have 2 options: o put it immediately into a jar, add a little oil and keep it in the fridge. Drawback: shorter shelf life. o Put it in a small saucepan, simmer over low heat with a little oil, and thus eliminate the blending water. Advantage: long shelf life; 1 teaspoon of strong Dijon mustard,; 3 tablespoons of vinegar,; 2 pinches of salt,; 5 tablespoons of olive oil,; 6 turns of the pepper mill. PREPARATION; In a bowl, pour the vinegar and add the salt and the mustard. Mix well using a fork or a small vinaigrette whisk.; Add the oil gradually while mixing; When the sauce is well blended, add the pepper and mix. HOW TO CLEAN FISH; Hold the fish firmly by the head and scrape the scales from the tail toward the head with a knife; Keep your knife strokes short and quick. Avoid pressing too hard and cutting the fish; remember that we are trying to remove the scales and not cut into the fish.; Be careful and work around the fins as they can sting or pierce the skin.; Make sure to remove all the scales on both sides, around the chest and back fins and right up to the throat of the fish.; Rinse the fish with pressurized water to remove the scales already scraped off; Push the knife into the part of the body located between the belly fins and move up to the base of the lower jaw, then remove the guts. Clean the inside of the fish's head. Remove the gills. Now, wash the fish and rinse away all the blood and slime with cold water. HOW TO CLEAN CHICKEN; Plucking: fill the kitchen sink with hot tap water, dip the poultry in (for only a few minutes) and pluck it. (Don't forget to remove the layer of skin and nail on the feet); Singeing: place a grill over the fire and burn off whatever small feathers remain; Gutting: Make an incision at the base of the neck then pull to remove the crop (the pouch you see in the photo opposite), which may be full of seeds; remove it. Open the belly as in the photo, do not pierce too deeply! Then run your fingers around the intestines to detach the organs and give a good pull to take out everything inside.; Trim the fat from the gizzard (the hard ball), open it and remove the food along with the skin surrounding it

Mendim Me Zong (African Eggplant Water)

African eggplant water is highly appreciated among the "Bulu" people in the South region of Cameroon. Tradition holds that it is offered to special guests to welcome them and express friendship, so it is often drunk during long discussions or palavers. It is also given to women who have just given birth to cleanse the uterus, and is consumed as a fat-burner that reduces belly fat and helps control cholesterol levels.