Nigerian Fried Tomato Stew Recipe-

Ingredients:

• 3-1/3 pounds (1.5 kg) Fresh Roma Plum Tomatoes
• 7 oz. (200 grams) Tomato paste
• 1 liter Vegetable Oil
• 2 or 3 medium sized onions
• 1 to 3 Habanero Peppers, depending on how spicy hot your tastes are. (These little peppers are HOT, so if you’re not familiar with them, get your palate acquainted with just a tiny nibble, to evaluate how much will suit your tastes)
• 2 Knorr seasoning cubes, crushed (an absolute must have ingredient, for authentic Nigerian flavor)
• Salt, to taste

Prep Cooking Directions:

1. Wash the fresh plum tomatoes and blend them. You may want to remove the seeds, depending on your blender. If it is strong enough to puree the seeds, this step is not necessary. You just don’t want the seeds to be whole in the finished stew.
2. Open the can of tomato paste and set it to the side and at the ready for use very soon.
3. Peel the tough outer skins off the onions and chop the rest into small pieces.
4. Remove stems from peppers and chop into small pieces, then add into the blender with the pureed tomatoes and blend on high (puree) speed until well mixed with the puree.

Cooking Directions:

1. Using a large pot on high heat, pour in the fresh blended tomato and pepper puree and cook until nearly all the water has cooked out.
2. Now reduce the heat to low and add the tomato paste and the crushed Knorr cubes, stirring it well together and blended with the tomato/pepper puree. Keep cooking and simmering the mixture until it has been dried of as much water in it as possible.
3. Next, add in a generous amount of the vegetable oil—more than you would think is enough, any excess will be drained off later, but better too much at this stage than not enough.
4. Now add in the chopped onions and stir together with the mixture thoroughly.
5. Continue to fry/simmer at very low heat, stirring occasionally, until the oil is completely separated from the tomato mixture, which by now is a tomato puree. You will know when the puree is well fried when it has streaks of oil through it, as opposed to the smooth mix of the tomato/pepper puree and oil when you first mixed them together. Also, the excess oil will have risen to the top, with the oil-streaked puree underneath.
6. Now for a taste test. See if the raw tomato taste is gone. After you get used to this recipe, you will be able to know when the puree is fried to perfection even without the taste test. You will know by the distinctive aroma it gives off.
7. As soon as you are sure that the water has cooked out as much as possible, and you are happy with the taste, tilt your pot over an empty bowl and pour out the excess vegetable oil.
8. Your Nigerian Fried Tomato Stew is now ready to use. If you are not going to use it right away, allow it to cool, then put it in proper sealable containers and store it in your freezer.

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