Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Metemgee
Ground provisions and plantain simmered in coconut milk until creamy, with fluffy steamed dumplings (duff) and fried fish on top.
Guyanese · medium · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 45 min
~883 cal · 57g protein · 96g carbs · 31g fat · 8g fiber · 16g sugars · 26g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Metemgee, also spelled metem or mettagee, is one of Guyana's classic one-pot comfort dishes: ground and simmered in until the broth turns thick and creamy, with fluffy steamed dumplings called duff cooked on top. The name is often traced to Akan (Twi) roots carried across the Atlantic, a reminder of the African heritage in Guyanese cooking.
The pot is built from whatever starchy roots are on hand, , eddoes, yam and sweet potato, added in order of how long each takes to soften so nothing turns to mush. Fresh is the heart of it, reducing down until the fat separates and the sauce clings to everything.
It is usually crowned with fried fish or sauteed saltfish, though many households keep the pot itself meatless and serve the fish alongside. Hearty and filling, metemgee is cold-weather and Sunday food, the kind of meal that asks for a rest afterwards.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, 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 6
3 cups
1 lb (), peeled and cut in chunks
1 lb eddoes or yam, peeled and cut in chunks
1 white sweet potato, peeled and cut in chunks
2 green , peeled and cut in chunks
1 yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 wiri wiri or other hot pepper, left whole
Hard to find? a whole scotch bonnet, left unbroken - wiri wiri is milder and fruitier, so drop the scotch bonnet in whole and fish it out before it splits, or the pot turns fierce
3 , sliced
to taste salt and black pepper
2 cups all-purpose flour (for the duff)
1 tsp baking powder (for the duff)
1/4 tsp salt (for the duff)
1 lb fried fish fillets or sauteed saltfish, to top
Instructions
1
Make the duff dough: mix the flour, baking powder and salt with enough water to form a firm dough, knead briefly, then roll into finger-length logs and set aside to rest.
2
Peel and cut all the ground provisions into even chunks and keep them in a bowl of water so they do not brown.
3
Bring the coconut milk to a boil in a wide, deep pot with the onion, garlic, thyme, whole hot pepper, scallions and salt.
4
Add the cassava first and boil 10 minutes, then add the eddoes or yam and sweet potato, then the plantain, cooking in that order so nothing overcooks.
✎ Chef’s note
Provisions cook at different rates, so stagger them: cassava and yam are firmest and go in first, plantain is softest and goes in last.
5
Lay the duff logs on top of the provisions, cover, and steam 12 to 15 minutes without lifting the lid, until the dumplings are cooked and the coconut milk has reduced to a thick, creamy sauce.
✎ Chef’s note
Do not open the pot while the duff steams; the drop in pressure makes the dumplings fall and turn dense.
6
Remove the whole pepper. Serve hot, topped with fried fish or sauteed saltfish.
Guyanese home cooking, Demerara coast.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Demerara (Georgetown). Demerara, around Georgetown, simmers pepperpot from Christmas Eve into the new year, a dark meat stew preserved by cassareep, the bitter reduced cassava syrup inherited from Indigenous cooking. Indian, African, and Portuguese lines meet in curry, roti, and cook-up rice.
🗺️
Guyana. The Lokono original is an everyday pot, replenished with whatever meat comes in and boiled up again each day, rather than the Christmas dish it has become for many Guyanese households. Guyana names three national dishes rather than one: pepperpot, chicken curry and cook-up rice, which is a fair summary of a country with Amerindian, Indian and African kitchens side by side.
🌍
South America. South America's cooking follows its dramatic geography, potatoes and quinoa in the high Andes, cassava and river fish in the Amazon basin, and grass-fed beef on the pampas. Indigenous ingredients like maize, ají peppers, and cacao meet Spanish, Portuguese, African, Italian, and Japanese influences brought by five centuries of migration. Ceviche, feijoada, arepas, and the smoke of the asado are its most beloved icons.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Guyana
Guyanese PepperpotMeat slow-simmered in cassareep, cinnamon, and hot pepper until glossy black, the Amerindian-rooted Christmas classic.
Sada Roti with Tomato ChokaSoft griddled flatbread torn and dipped into smoky fire-roasted tomato choka sharpened with garlic and onion, a vegan Guyanese classic.
Cook-up RiceA one-pot of rice and peas simmered in coconut milk with meat and herbs, Guyana's Saturday-night comfort dish.
Browse all Guyana recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Steamer, Rolling pin.
Storing it: Uncooked parcels freeze well and cook from frozen. Cooked ones keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and steam or pan-warm to serve.
Make it a Guyana meal
MaubyDrink
Cassava PoneDessert
Cook-up RiceLunch
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Metemgee?
Ground provisions and plantain simmered in coconut milk until creamy, with fluffy steamed dumplings (duff) and fried fish on top.
Where does Metemgee come from?
Metemgee is a Guyanese dish from Demerara (Georgetown), Guyana.
Can Metemgee be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Metemgee 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 Metemgee 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 Metemgee take to make?
About 70 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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