Dear diary, the last time I tried to cook the tomato stew on my own was when I was 14 years old. 9 years later and I finally documented the proper way to prepare it after my roommate at school did it today. It's the 21 of April 2019. Easter Sunday. I am in final year in college and I didn't travel to spend the holiday with my parents and siblings in Portharcourt.
I had all the time in the world on this day and i decided i was going to follow every step of the process closely. However, i did not have the time to take snapshots of the process. Besides, i think i ignored the need to because my Infinix Hot 5 camera is pretty poor. Ladies, Gentlemen, i present the Nigerian stew.
Ingredients.
- Tomatoes. Depending on the quantity of stew you want. Fresh + Canned tomatoes.
- Onions. just the right amount of them. Sliced onions and grated onions.
- Garlic. diced garlics. You can also grate some with the Onions.
- Meat. Could be beef or Chicken. Steamed and ready.
- Fresh scented bell peppers. Bell peppers are adorable for stuff like this.
- Seasoning cubes. Knorr
- Curry leaves and powder. Thyme and Nutmeg powders.
- Vegetable oil.
Cooking Steps.
- First, heat the tomatoes (canned + fresh) in a saucer. Make sure the liquid in the fresh tomatoes isn't too much. The preheating will make sure the tomotoes is well cooked.
- Then, turn the vegetable oil into another cooking pot and preheat it.
- Turn in the cooked tomatoes into the pot and stir for a while. Then cover it and allowed it to simmer.
- Add the onions and garlics. Heat it for a while and then add a bit of water.
- Add the meat + meatstock, add the salt and seasoning cubes, add the curry and the thyme if used.
- Add anything else you might have.
- The curry leaf or any kind of leaf should come last. and the pot shouldn't stay on the fire for more than 2 minutes after that. This is to ensure that it stays fresh and nutritious.
- You’ll notice at this stage that the oil has risen to the top of the stew. Food is ready.