The Nigerian stew can be prepared using either beef, chicken, turkey, fish, or any meat of your choice.
It is advisable to prepare the stew in large quantity and preserve in the refrigerator because most Nigerian staple foods can be eaten using the stew. Foods like rice can be boiled and eaten with stew, yam can also be boiled or fried and eaten with stew, likewise plantain, beans, e.t.c.
Different people have different ways they prepare their stew. While some prefer to boil the tomatoes/pepper/tatashe(red bell pepper) mixture before blending, some like to ‘Oven-Roast’ them before blending, while others prefer to blend everything and then boil to remove excess water in the puree. Whichever method you prefer to use, the overall aim is to have a thick paste without excess water.
THE SAUCE
INGREDIENTS
- 6-8 large tomatoes
- 6 red bell pepper(tatashe)
- 2-4 scotch bonnet pepper(Ata-rodo)
- 2 large onion
DIRECTION
- Chop all ingredients into large chunks in a blender and add water.
- Blend the ingredients into a smooth paste.
- Pour the mixture into a pot and boil at high heat till almost all the water in the puree has dried up as much as possible.
THE STEW
INGREDIENTS
- The sauce
- 10-15 pieces of meat of your choice
- meat stock
- seasoning and salt to taste
- Curry and thyme to taste
- 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
DIRECTION
- To the boiled tomato sauce, add chopped onion, vegetable oil, and if you would like to add tinned tomatoes puree, you can also add it at this point.
- Fry at a low heat and stir at intervals until the oil has separated from the tomato puree. You can taste the fried tomato to be sure that the raw sour tomatoes taste is gone.
- When you are satisfied that your tomatoes is well fried, add the meat stock(water from cooking the meat).
- Stir very well and add salt and seasoning to taste. If the stew is too thick, you can add some water at this point.
- Cover the pot and cook on medium heat till the stew is well steamed.
N.B: As stated earlier, this recipe can be modified for chicken stew, turkey stew, or fish stew, e.t.c.
Image source: nigerianfoodtv.com
