37 - Comoros

 The Union of the Comoros is an independent country off the south east coast of Africa. It is made up from 3 larger islands as well as many smaller ones and located north of Mozambique in the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Moroni. Its population is about 850,000.

Comoros was inhabited by many peoples prior to being colonized by the French in the 19th century. It gained its independence in 1975. Since then it has been politically unstable and now has the worst levels of income and inequality than any country. Over half the country live below the poverty line ($1.25 US a day!)

Comoros is one of the smallest countries in the world, but it is also one of the most over populated. Over half the population is under 15. 97% of the population is native Comorian with Indian and Makua (a Bantu ethnic group from Mozambique) making up the rest. The official religion is Sunni Islam. It is the only Arab nation in the southern hemisphere.

Comorian cuisine reflects the cultures of various inhabitants who have visited and settled in the islands, including Middle Eastern, Indian, Portuguese and French. Fish, especially lobster and crab are popular as well as cassava and green banana. 

Our Comorian meal was heavily influenced by the French in habitants. Soup Faux Pois with Comorienne Mkatra Fouta  followed by Langouste a la Vanille.

It's the lobster season on the South Shore of Nova Scotia so an ideal time for a small dinner party! 

I started by getting the ingredients ready for the pea soup. 
Onion, garlic, ginger, chopped tomatoes make the base and lots of peas!

After simmering for 25 minutes everything is blitzed with a stick blender.

Just before serving coconut milk is stirred in.

Now to get the bread ready.

I'm not usually very good at making yeasted bread, having more success with sourdough but we needed some bread to go with the soup and sourdough wasn't an option so I thought I'd give it a go.
Flour, yeast and salt are mixed together with coconut milk and left to prove for half an hour.

,

Hmmm! It doesn't seem to have risen much, just spread out a
bit and it's very 'wet'!

So you heat a pan and add oil then drop on a 1/3 cup of dough and push it flat with your wet fingers (being very careful not to burn them in the oil!).
While the first side is cooking you sprinkle sesame seeds over the wet dough.
Then you flip the flat bread and cook the other side.

I cooked all the breads and heated them in the oven just before dinner.

Now to tackle the lobsters!!!!!!

We got our two lobsters from a local fisherman.
They were very fresh and very lively! 😅

We cooked them and left them to cool while we ate the soup. 
Then it was time to free the meat from those hard shells!
Lobsters make such a mess! 😋
We also made a sauce to go with them - I forgot to photograph it.
Butter is melted with shallots and then wine and vinegar are added and then quite a bit more butter and a split vanilla pod.
We were surprised how little sauce there was but it was very nice!
Spinach and onion were sauteed to accompany the lobster.

                                                    The Meal

Mkatra Foutra

Soupe Faux Pois (garnished with a slice of lime)

Langouste a la Vanilla
(We had started eating before I remembered to take a photo!)

The Verdict

YUMMMY!

Once again we have been surprised. 
The soup was so good, the coconut milk really lifted the flavour of the peas and the cayenne pepper gave a surprise kick.
The flat bread were also very moreish - they will be made again.
As for the lobster, being very fresh and just lightly steamed the meat was melt-in-your-mouth. The vanilla sauce was extremely rich but gorgeously buttery with a small hint of vanilla.

What a awesome meal made extra special as it was
shared with some awesome friends!
Thanks for coming to Comoros with us Susan and Stephen.