Kivambara, also obambo or shivambala, is a traditional Luhya dried fish dish popular among the Maragoli Luhya of Kenya.
The luo call it obambla. For the Portuguese, bacalhau— the omnipresent ingredient in traditional Portuguese dishes could be the equivalent. Indeed, dried fish dishes are common across most cultures: Mediterranean cuisine, Asian culinary delights and African food. Probably, it’s something to do with the portability afforded by processing fish this way. One thing is for sure, fish processed this way is heavenly.
Like sweet bananas or wild honey, kimvambara falls neatly among the select things in this world that qualify as treats from khukhu. But to enjoy this luhya delicacy, you first need to find the right dried fish. What follows are five tips to heaven.
First, you need to know four fish, and know it well
It may seem obvious even to the casual foodie, but this is where it all starts going downhill. When you don’t know your fish. Because the kivambara that one picks for their traditional luhya culinary delight will ‘transfer’ its properties to the dish. What follows is a short description of the common types of fish that are sun dried to make kivambara.
Tilapia Kivambara
Tilapia is a freshwater fish variety that you’ll find at KOsewe’s, Mama Oliech’s or any other typical fish eatery in any major urban area in Kenya. It’s a popular fish as it has a less pungent aroma while fresh, during cooking and on the plate.
To some fish eaters, this quality makes Tilapia less intense in flavor. However, for kivambara, this is of less concern as the process of sun drying the fish packs in flavor. Moreover, at the right size, Tilapia is easy to handle whilst eating as the bones are easy to pick off the flesh. However, at smaller sizes, Tilapia is a nightmare dish.
Nile Perch Kivambara
Nile Perch, commonly known as mbuta is a popular fresh water fish. It’s a fish of choice and is known for it’s rich aroma and taste. Furthermore, these qualities that are good on the palate, make it a popular fish for fillet. Besides, Nile perch is fleshy and has larger bones thus is easier to handle. However, for kivambara made from Nile Perch, you are likely to find smaller, less mature, dried Nile Perch.
There are other less common fresh water fish used make kivambara. As a rule, the more oily the fish, the less suitable it is to make kivambara. Beyond the rule of the thumb rules offered here — even when you know your fish — a good shopper seeking quality ingredients for their dish always makes relationships with sellers at the market.
Engage your fish monger and they are sure to educate you more about the different types of fish. This can only be a good thing. For example, did you know that there is a difference between: Got Agul Tilapia, Busia-Uganda Tilapia, Lake Turkana Tilapia , Lake Naivasha Tilapia, fish pond raised Tilapia and cage aquaculture Tilapia?
Then, you need to know how that kivambara was made
Was the fish smoked or was it sun dried right away? Maybe it was embalmed in cooking oil as it was being sun dried? Were some spices massaged into the flesh of the fish as it was being sun dried?
We must admit that the details to how a particular kivambara was actually made remains a fish monger’s trade secret. This circumstance is precisely the reason why forming a relationship with the fishmonger, as we had opined above, remains of importance in finding the perfect kivambara for your traditional luyha dish.
Be Wary Of ‘Fake’ Kivambara
We termed it ‘fake’, in loose terms. The originality index of kivambara depends on the region where it was sourced from. This is because there exist subtleties in how the fish is sun dried across the regions.
What is important to note is that although kivambara is widely consumed among traditionally fish eating communities, it is increasingly becoming a niche product. As demand for fish increases, with increasing hype over the health benefits of consuming fish, demand is outstripping supply.
Case in point, the luhya love their kivambara. On the other hand, the community’s population is increasing, but as you know, we luhya’s don’t fish. Moreover, the variety of obambla popular among the luhya — sun dried– takes time and meticulousness to prepare. Needless to say, this combination of factors has seen unscrupulous traders take short cuts resulting in poor quality product. The three tips that follow dwell on getting the right kivambara for your dish, based on tale tell physical signs.
The color of the shivambala is important too…
Good kivambara starts with fresh fish. The fish is then split open into two halves and then meticulously sun dried. When perfectly sun dried, the flesh appears flacky white, with streaks of brown and yellow at certain points.
If smoked, it is let to hung by the fire and is turned meticulously over days. By this method, it becomes black from the soot. However, careful examination still yields the flesh that is flacky white in appearance. When expertly prepared and then perfectly cooked, kivambara gives a delightful cream white to egg yolk yellow soup.
Now, this is where crooks masquerading as fish mongers play with the psyche of lovers of this sumptuous traditional dish. Knowing that the treat of kivambara lies in the richness of the soup, the traders simulate an illusion of the end using artificial food colors.
The fishmongers smear turmeric powder (at best) but more commonly, artificial food colors on the fish. This gives the uncooked obambla a deep yellow-orange tinge. The play on colors is intended to prey on the mind. Such that the uncultured buyer visualizes the ‘fake’ kivambara already cooked; and yielding delightful cream white to egg yolk yellow soup.
Also, does it pass the sniff test?
You can be blatant, or discrete with this test. For the former, approximate and take a nice, deep whiff. For the former, use the damn fish as some sort of fan. Either way, your nostrils should oick a subtle fishy aroma. Fishy, not rotten or rotting.
Finally, feel it
If it’s oily, there is a strong possibility that unhealthy oils were involved in preparation of your obambo. Being oily kind of beats the whole point of this African dish in the first place – lots of flavor and still healthy. Sadly, this oily version of obambla is what is most commonly available nowadays.
We are not entirely sure how this ‘oily’ obambla is made. If any of you readers have a clue, kindly share in the comments. Anyway, a well dried kivambara should be firm to touch, dry and with a high pitched sound when you tap on it with your knuckle.
It should feel like it could break like a biscuit if you tired to bend it. More importantly, when you part the flesh at certain points you shouldn’t be yielding maggots.
So where to get the best kivambara? Just like most ingredients, one need to find a reliable supplier and build a relationship. What we have come to realize is that like most African food, the best ingredients are found in those nondescript markets deep in the rural areas. For kivambara, the more ‘senior citizen’ the fishmonger, the better. This is because rather than just being traders, they are more likely to be the ones who made it themselves.
In our next article, we will get to detail steps on how to prepare kivambara before cooking. Like most traditional luhya culinary delights, the proof of the kivambara is in how well it was prepared. Finally, we will get to cook some obambala, using an old family recipe that features a secret ingredient. Maybe then serve it up with some creamy seveve? You don’t want to miss out. Subscribe below
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