Recipe for Nigerian Beef Stew

Nigerian beef stew is a special stew that brings so many childhood memories. My mum prepares it every Sunday with fresh curry leaves and we love it. We wished every day will be like Sunday so that we will have a taste of this great recipe. It is often prepared in most homes, using different recipes. Beef stew is a basic main dish eaten during social gatherings and almost in each meal. This is due to the fact that majority of Nigerian staple foods recipe can be fried/ boiled/cooked and eaten with this stew

Also, read: Homemade Nigerian Bread Rolls

Recipe for Nigerian Beef Stew is the same as Recipe for chicken, fish, turkey or goat stews. The only difference is that instead of using chicken or goat meat you use beef instead. The Recipe for this stew is very easy to prepare. Nigerian beef stew can be eaten as a main dish with rice, yam, plantain, beans or as a side dish with bread, potato and even with some Nigerian soups!

 Recipe

Ingredients for Nigerian Beef Stew:

1. 500g beef cut in small pieces
2. 5kg Fresh Tomatoes
3. 1-litre Vegetable Oil
4. 3 medium bulbs Onions
5. 4 Habanero Pepper (Atarodo)
6. 2Scotch Bonnet Peppers
7. 2 Stock cubes.
8. 3 Cloves of Garlic (minced) & Knob Fresh Ginger
9. ½ tablespoon of Thyme and a pinch of curry powder
10. Salt to taste

Easy-to-follow instructions on how to use the ingredients:

1. Wash and season the beef with thyme, 1/4 of the bulb of onion (chopped), curry, 1 stock cube, and salt to taste. Put in a pot and add water, boil till beef is soft. Reserve some of the stock from the beef as that would be a great seasoning for the stew.
2. Boil till the beef is tender, fry or grill, then put aside. Reserve the beef stock to be used later as a great seasoning for the stew.
3. Wash and blend the plum tomatoes, peppers, 1 bulb of chopped onions, ginger, garlic, and water. Puree until smooth, and then boil till the excess water dries up.
4. Heat the vegetable oil (which can be the same oil used in frying the beef or fresh oil for the stew), add the remaining onions and fry till it becomes translucent, then add the dried up tomatoes and fry on medium heat for about 30 minutes or pending when the tomato does not taste sour again.
5. Stir constantly to prevent burning at the bottom. Add the beef stock and cook for 5 minutes. At this stage, the oil must have risen to the top of the stew.
6. After that, add the fried beef, stock cube, and salt to taste. Cover and leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Stir once more and the stew is ready