Q: Thanks Doc,how can one prepare tomatoes stew without frying?

A: You absolutely can prepare tomato stew (our Nigerian version) with or without frying.

The first method uses just a little oil and fries minimally. Add a table spoon of oil to the pot. Yes, one tablespoon 😀 Then add cut onions to the oil with a teaspoon of curry powder. Stir this until golden being careful not to burn the onions, then add blended tomatoes. Cook until the sour taste of tomatoes is gone.

Add meat stock, boiled meat, seasoning and spices to the tomatoes and cook until thickened. Another option is to lightly fry the meat in the one tablespoon of oil at the beginning and then remove from the pot before cooking the tomatoes. The meat can be added back when the stock is added. Personally, I grill my meat (chicken) and then serve with the stew.

Remember that your stew is not complete without some veggies in it. Wash and cut some green leafy veggies (melon/ugu leaves, scent leaf etc) and add to the stew. I usually turn off the heat once I add the veggies allowing the heat from the stew to do the cooking of the veggies.

Another option is to put the blended tomatoes in a hot empty pot on the burner. Cook tomatoes until sour taste is gone. Then add meat stock, meat, seasoning and spices to the tomatoes and cook until thickened. Don’t forget the veggies.

Try it out and let me know what you think. Remember that you have to re-train your taste buds to understand that you don’t need as much oil as people generally use in their stews. A good rule of thumb here is that, ‘if you can see the oil in the food, it’s definitely too much!’

Have a good night y’all 😀