Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Mbika (Pumpkin Seed Stew)
Ground pumpkin seeds simmered into a thick, nutty-tasting stew with smoked fish, greens and red palm oil, a Congo Basin staple.
Congolese · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 35 min
~986 cal · 49g protein · 55g carbs · 69g fat · 10g fiber · 5g sugars · 12g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Mbika is a traditional stew of the Congo Basin built on ground pumpkin or melon seeds, the same -style seeds used across Central Africa. Toasted and pounded to a paste, the seeds thicken the pot into a rich, mellow stew as they cook, releasing their own oils and needing no dairy.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo it is simmered with smoked fish, greens and red and served with , rice or . Its thick, savoury body comes entirely from the seeds themselves.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups pumpkin seeds (), ground
200 g smoked fish, flaked
2 handfuls spinach or leaves, chopped
2 tbsp red
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chili, chopped
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Toast the pumpkin seeds briefly in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind them to a coarse paste.
2
Soften the onion, garlic and chili in the palm oil, then stir in the ground seeds to coat them.
3
Pour in a few cups of water and simmer, stirring often, 15 to 20 minutes until thick and the raw taste of the seeds is gone.
✎ Chef’s note
Stir steadily as it simmers so the ground seeds thicken smoothly instead of catching on the pot.
4
Add the smoked fish (or mushrooms) and the greens and cook 8 minutes more, then season and serve with fufu or rice.
Congolese home cooking, Kinshasa.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Kinshasa. Congolese rumba went onto UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2021 on a joint nomination from both Congos, which suits a river city where the music and the eating happen in the same room. The fish comes straight off the Congo, grilled whole, with pili pili passed round on the side.
🗺️
DR Congo. Poulet a la moambe is often named the national dish and is the same palm-nut preparation Gabon calls nyembwe, the pulp of the palm fruit boiled and pressed into a thick orange sauce. Pondu, pounded cassava leaves, has cousins under other names across the region, saka-saka, Rwandan isombe, Sierra Leonean plasas, so it belongs to a wide belt rather than to one country.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from DR Congo
Pondu (Saka Saka)Cassava leaves pounded and simmered with palm oil, eggplant, and smoked richness, the Congo’s daily green.
MikateSweet Congolese fried dough balls, golden, pillowy, and dusted with sugar, for breakfast with tea.
MadesuWhite beans simmered in a savory palm-oil, onion, and tomato sauce, an everyday staple of the DR Congo table.
Browse all DR Congo recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a DR Congo meal
Tangawisi (Congolese Ginger Tonic)Drink
Ndizi wa Nazi (Plantains in Coconut Milk)Dessert
Makayabu (Salted Fish in Tomato Sauce)Dinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Mbika (Pumpkin Seed Stew)?
Ground pumpkin seeds simmered into a thick, nutty-tasting stew with smoked fish, greens and red palm oil, a Congo Basin staple.
Where does Mbika (Pumpkin Seed Stew) come from?
Mbika (Pumpkin Seed Stew) is a Congolese dish from Kinshasa, DR Congo.
Can Mbika (Pumpkin Seed Stew) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Mbika (Pumpkin Seed Stew) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Mbika (Pumpkin Seed Stew) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Mbika (Pumpkin Seed Stew) take to make?
About 50 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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