How to Cook Nigerian Tomato Stew
This preparation is known as Nigerian Tomato Stew, or ‘Stewed Tomato Sauce’ in certain Nigerian circles, and is an essential Nigerian food preparation. This stew can be prepared and used as the base for almost any meal; be it rice, pasta or yam, or even a piece of bread. Nigerian tomato stew is prepared with fresh tomatoes, spices, and seasonings; this dish should be on any list of Nigerian delicacies. If you are an avid food lover and searching for some recipe regarding this tasty dish then you are here at the right place. This post is going to show you a detailed process of how to make Nigerian tomato stew with easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions.
Tomato stew is one of the basic staples you find in virtually all Nigerian home. It is normally used as a gravy base to be served with a number of carby foods such as Jollof rice, white rice, deep-fried plantain, yam, beans etc. The foundation of the stew lies with ripe tomatoes, onions and an assortment of seasoning with the stew base being endearingly heartfelt and a versatile sauce. Nigerian tomato stew is thick in texture with a tangy and mildly spicy sauce due to spices including chili peppers included in the recipe.
Ingredients:-
- Fresh tomatoes
- Groundnut oil
- Scared onions
- Smoked fish
- Dried smoked fish
- Irish potato
- Palm oil
- Stewed large fish
- Smoked ide fish
- Hot pepper
- Seasoning
Nigerian tomato stew usually requires fresh ingredients, and some key components include:-
Ripe tomatoes: The tomatoes used are fresh and juicy and form the base for the stew. If you do not find fresh tomatoes suitable for the preparation of your recipes then you can also use canned tomatoes.
Onions: White onions, especially, and red ones as well help to make the stew sweet and bring a more profound taste.
Red bell pepper: This brings a little of sweetness and colour to the stew.
Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper: These hot peppers give the stew the much needed creolization characterized by heat and spiciness. Change the amount to your desired tolerance of spiciness.
Garlic and ginger: These spices provide an added scent and enhanced the general taste of the stew.
Seasoning cubes or powder: To make the stew tastier use Maggi or Knorr seasoning cube, or seasoning powder to season the stew.
Vegetable oil: Lots of oil is needed to fry the stew and at the same time to enhance and bring out the flavor of the tomato.
Salt and other seasonings: Meat stew can be seasoned with salt, curry powder, thyme, bay leaves among others.
Optional Ingredients:-
Meat or fish: Some people include groundnuts, goat meat, beef or chicken in the preparation of stew, while others go for fish, fried or fresh.
Tomato paste: There is non-recipe use of tomato paste in thickening the stew as well as in deepening its taste.
How to Prepare Nigerian Tomato Stew
With the preparation part out of the way, it is time to overview the method as to how to cook it.
1. Prepare the Ingredients
Start by washing and prepping all your vegetables:
Tomatoes: If they are fresh, simply wash the tomatoes and chop into pieces if not blended into puree.
Peppers: The next step is to de-seed the red bell pepper, scotch bonnet peppers, put them in the blender with the tomatoes. You can even modify the peppers to suit your levels of spiciness you desire in your food.
Onions: If the onions are large, remove their outer layers and halve them and then slice them into thin rings, otherwise, the onions may be chopped roughly. Set aside.
Garlic and Ginger: The garlic and ginger should be taken and peeled, washed and minced or crushed into fine paste.
2. Mashing the Tomatoes and PeppersIn your blender or food processor, blend the chopped
- Tomatoes
- Red bell pepper
- Scotch bonnet peppers
- Garlic and ginger until it’s smooth.
All of them can be worked individually or in combination to produce the required fine paste. You can also chop the tomatoes and peppers coarsely to get a somewhat chunky stew if you like.
3. Frying the Stew Base
- Heat Oil: In a large pot or deep pans heat 1/2 to one cup of vegetable oil over medium heat. The oil should be hot enough to fry the blended ingredients and therefore give a few minutes then it is ready.
- Fry Onions: Put the chopped onions into the oil and fry until golden browned. This process is even important since it frees the sweetness in the onions given that it will be an important flavor in our stew.
- Add Blended Tomatoes and Pepper Mixture: Pour this into the pot the tomato, pepper, garlic and ginger paste that had been prepared earlier. For 8 to 10 minutes sauté over medium high heat until it is well heated through. One should be careful not to burn the mixture, which is why the mixture should be stir often after a while. Stir it for 20-30 minutes until the tomato paste turns black and you see oil coming off from the tomato mixture. This means that tomatoes are cooked well and all the flavors inside it has been released.
4. Seasoning the Stew
After the tomato has cooked down, this is when you add your spices to the stew. Include your seasoning cubes or powder, salt, thyme, curry powder and bay leaves. Mix everything up and give the stew a taste to add more spices if necessary.
Add Meat or Fish: If you are adding protein then you can add your cooked meats or fish at this stage as well. When using fried or grilled fish just immerse the fish pieces into the stew and let it cook for sometime to absorb the flavor.
Simmer: Lower the settings of the stew to a gentle and let the stew to continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes. The longer the stew, the richer it is in taste which makes the choice of the proper kind of long time important.
5. Final AdjustmentsAt this time look at the consistency of the stew that has been cooked in case it is still thick. If it is too thick you can add a little water to thin it down. If it is too thin you can still put the mixture back to the heat and leave it to simmer on a low flame until it thickens to the right consistency. Give the content a quick stir and then taste it in order to season it again if desired.
6. Serving
The stew must reach its readiness in cooking, and the taste must reach harmony. Nigerian tomato stew can be served with a variety of dishes such as:-
- Jollof Rice: Almost as famous as its combination with tomato stew and this stew forms the basis of the sauce for the rice.
- Boiled Yam or Plantains: The stew is usually a nice addition to the yam or plantain , making it one of the most complimenting meals.
- Fried Rice: It also mix with the fried rice to make it more presentable for a special occasion.
- Beans: This Nigerian tomato stew is usually eaten with beans making it more filling.
- Bread: When taken lightly, you can use bread to soak in the tasty stew which offers unbelievably wonderful experience.
Important Points to be Taken Prepared in Perfecting Nigerian Tomato Stew
- Use Fresh Ingredients: Using fresh tomatoes especially ripe ones contributes to the preparation of the stew with lots of taste. Even though, canned tomatoes offer good results, fresh tomatoes will always be better to try;
- Adjust the Spice Level: The Scotch bonnet pepper is very hot, therefore, the number of peppers can be reduced depending on the preference of the bland. If it is very hot you can remove the seeds to make it less hot.
- Allow the Stew to Cook Down: The most important aspect of a Nigerian tomato stew is to let the tomatoes cook and break down and in doing so, caramelizing.’
- Use a Good Quality Oil: It is common to use vegetable oil, but it is recommended you use palm oil in order to achieve the great taste and color of the normal soups.
Conclusion
Basically, preparation of Nigerian tomato stew is very fun and relishing and the stew can accompany a variety of foods. By following the steps above you will be prepare stew, that will tasty, juicy and spicy that adds the Nigerian food is very famous all over the world. If served with rice, yam or bread, this Nigerian tomato stew is guaranteed to make it through your family and friends. Cooking is all about ingredients, and so, before we get to work in the kitchen, let’s read through the following: