The Canon

Metemgee

Metemgeeen

Also: Metem, Metagee

A Guyanese one-pot dish of ground provisions and plantain simmered in coconut milk, served with saltfish, smoked meat or fried fish and dumplings.

Identity criteria

  1. 1Ground provisions (cassava, eddoes, yams, plantain) simmered together
  2. 2Cooked in coconut milk that reduces to a thick, rich coating
  3. 3Served with a protein — saltfish, smoked/fried fish or salted meat
  4. 4Flour dumplings (often called 'duff') cooked in the pot
  5. 5An African-Guyanese one-pot, distinct from a brothy soup

Components

Base

Ground provisions — cassava, eddoes, yam, plantainessentialThe starchy heart of the dish

Protein

Saltfish, smoked/fried fish or salted meatessentialServed alongside or with the provisions

Aromatics

Onion, thyme, hot pepperessentialSeason the coconut base

Liquid

Coconut milkessentialCooks down to a thick rich sauce, not thin broth

Binder

Flour dumplings (duff)optionalCommonly cooked in the pot

Technique

Simmering provisions in coconut milk
Cooks the starches while the coconut reduces to a thick coating sauce
Preparing the salted/smoked protein
Desalting or frying gives the savoury counterpoint to the rich provisions
Cooking dumplings in the pot
Adds the chewy starch element traditional to the dish

Form & serving

Served
Provisions and dumplings plated with the fish/meat
Temperature
hot
Portion
hearty single plate
Pairs with
fried fish · pepper sauce · ground-provision sides

Character

Flavour

rich coconutsavourystarchymildly spiced

Texture

soft starchy provisions in a thick coconut sauce with chewy dumplings

Eaten

A hearty Guyanese home meal, especially associated with weekend and family cooking, served as a filling one-pot.

When

all-year

Variations & related

Regional variations

  • Saltfish metemgee · Guyana

    Made with salted cod as the protein

  • Smoked-meat version · Guyana

    Uses smoked or salted meats instead of fish

Related dishes

  • sibling Cook-up rice

    Another Guyanese coconut-based one-pot

  • pairs-with Fried fish

    Common protein served with it

Substitutions

  • Saltfish → Smoked herring or salted meatadmissible

    All traditional protein choices for the dish

  • Coconut milk → Plain water or stockinadmissible

    Without coconut milk the dish loses its defining richness

Common mistakes

  • Adding too much liquid so it becomes a soup instead of a thick one-pot
  • Skipping the coconut milk, losing the defining richness
  • Not desalting the saltfish, leaving the dish too salty
  • Overcooking the provisions to mush

Provenance

A Guyanese dish of African heritage, part of the Afro-Caribbean ground-provision-and-coconut cooking tradition of the region.

References

  1. 1.Guyanese Afro-Caribbean culinary tradition

Confidence: medium