Calulu

Calulu is a stew of fish or meat cooked with okra, tomato, onion, chilli and red palm oil, and it is a classic dish of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Locally the stew is also called caldo, the Portuguese word for broth. The dish is also made in Angola, so it is shared between the two countries, and each kitchen has its own way of cooking it.

What it really is

Calulu is a wet stew. Fish or meat is simmered in a sauce built from onion, tomato and chilli cooked in red palm oil, with okra and other vegetables added to the pot. The okra softens and thickens the sauce, and the red palm oil gives the stew its deep colour and rich, savoury taste.

Calulu is not a fried or grilled dish. It is cooked by simmering, so the fish or meat takes on the flavour of the sauce, and the stew is served with its liquid rather than drained.

How it's served

• Hot, in a bowl, with the fish or meat and the okra in the sauce.
• With a starch on the side, such as rice, which is a separate item and not part of the stew.
• With chilli cooked into the sauce, so the heat differs from kitchen to kitchen.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the protein in the title, such as "Calulu with fish" or "Calulu with meat", because guests choose one or the other.
• Flag fish as an allergen on the fish version, and state that the stew is cooked in red palm oil.
• List okra, tomato, onion and chilli as the standard ingredients, and note the chilli heat.
• Say whether a starch is included, and price it as a separate side if it is.