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Samak Mofa

Name: Samak Mofa
Total time: 60 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Djibouti
Ingredients: 2 (butterflied) Sea Bream; 4 cloves Garlic; 2 Chili pepper; 1 tsp Cumin powder; 1/2 tsp Turmeric; 1 tbsp Tomato paste; 2 Lime; 3 tbsp Vegetable oil; 1 tsp Salt; To taste Pita Bread

Main Dish

⏱ 60 min

👥 Serves 4

Difficulty ⭐⭐

Fish brushed with spice paste and baked in a clay oven — Djibouti's Yemeni-style grilled fish.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Samak mofa came from Yemen and is a popular grilled fish in Djibouti's port town. Red Sea fish is butterflied, brushed with a paste of chili, garlic, cumin, and turmeric, and slapped against the inside of a clay oven called a mofa to bake. It's eaten hot, tucked into bread, and is a night-time eatery specialty.

🌆 Where it's eaten: At a harbor eatery in Djibouti at night, fish lifted from a clay oven is plated with flatbread and served with lime.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 4)

Sea Bream 2 (butterflied)
Garlic 4 cloves
Chili pepper 2
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Tomato paste 1 tbsp
Lime 2
Vegetable oil 3 tbsp
Salt 1 tsp
Pita Bread To taste

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Pound the garlic and chili and mix with the spices, tomato paste, juice of 1 lime, oil, and salt.
Spread the paste on both sides of the butterflied fish and let stand 30 minutes.
Bake in a 250°C oven or under a grill for 15 minutes until the skin is crisp.
Squeeze over lime.
Serve with bread.

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