Tomato is a favourite staple in Nigeria, and so, a large number of locals who cannot cope with the inflation in its price are hesitant to make the widely enjoyed stew and are now seeking alternative ways to make sauces with which to complement their daily meals.
Here is a list of 5 economical and local stews and sauces that can be made without tomatoes.
- Garden egg sauce A very popular delicacy in the southern parts of the country, the garden egg sauce can substitute for the tomato stew any day. The basic ingredients needed include: Garden eggs (either purple “aubergine”, white or green), palm oil, smoked fish, ground pepper (either chilli or scotch bonnet), iru (locust bean seed), onion, crayfish and salt to taste. It can be used to eat rice, yam or plantain.
- Banga stew Also known as ofe akwu by the Igbos, banga stew is a palm nut stew native to the Eastern and Southern parts of Nigeria. Though preparations can take a lot of time as you have to extract the palm oil juice from the husks of the palm nuts, the meal is always a delight. Ingredients required include palm fruits (processed palm fruit concentrate are also available in cans), beef, dry fish, scent leaves, onions, crayfish, stock cubes, iru, salt and pepper.
- Ofada stew Also called ayamase, the Ofada stew that is usually made to go with a special kind of local rice referred to as Ofada rice. The sauce can, however, be used to eat normal white rice, yam, plantain and even spaghetti. It is pretty easy to prepare and the only ingredients you need include unripe habanero peppers, green tatashe or green bell peppers, locust bean seasoning (iru, ogiri, okpei or dawadawa), red palm oil, onion, crayfish, assorted meat and fish.
- Miyan kuka A delicacy from the Northern parts of Nigeria, the miyan kuka is made from baobab leaves. It is a favourite of the Hausa tribe and is usually served with white rice. The key ingredients for preparing this stew include: beef, onion, dried fish, hot peppers (washed, soaked and flaked), kuka [baobab] leaves (pounded to paste), dawadawa (fermented dried seeds of the African locust bean pressed into a ball or a cake), yaji (suya seasoning), a pinch of potash, palm oil, seasoning cubes and of course, salt to taste.
- Pumpkin leaf sauce The ugu or pumpkin leaf is one of most widely used vegetables in Nigeria. Pumpkin leaf sauce is basically a sauté of fluted pumpkin leaf and onions. It certainly does not take a long time to cook. The ingredients needed include chopped pumpkin leaves, seasoned beef or chicken, meat stock, vegetable oil, pepper, onion bulb, seasoning and salt to taste.