01/03/2025
25 TIPS FOR COOKING A PERFECT NIGERIAN TOMATO STEW
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Tip 1: When frying your tomato, you need more than enough vegetable oil, so that the tomato will not burn until all the sour taste is gone and the water has dried from the tomatoes. You can pour out the excess oil when the tomatoes are well fried. Note, if you don't have enough vegetable oil, your stew will have a sour taste and it will burn, even if you stand there stirring frantically and why worry, when you will pour out the excess oil when you are done.
Tip 2: Note, there are some species of tomatoes that, no matter the degrees of boiling them after blending, they will call you a bad cook. Fresh plum tomatoes are the best for the Nigerian tomato stew because, all the other types of tomatoes either have lots of seeds or contain lots of water. Roma tomatoes are very similar to plum tomatoes.
Tip 3: The excess vegetable oil you will pour out from the stew is red in colour, hence it is perfect for cooking your egusi soup, okro soup and ogbono soup, rice, beans, etc. Once the oil has cool down, put it in the fridge or freezer, because it will get bad if left on the kitchen counter for long.
Tip 4: Tinned tomato paste and puree. The tinned tomato paste sold in Nigeria is usually very thick and concentrated. If you try to fry this tomato paste as is it, it will burn straight away, unless you are using enough vegetable oil. What is normally done is to add some cold water to it, to bring it to the softer consistency but, if you are using tomato puree, don't add in water to mix it. Note that, adding little water to mix your tinned tomato is optional.
Tip 5. Whenever you are making your stew, tinned tomato is always added first, before adding your boiled, blended tomato mixture.
Tip 6: The general practice is to blend/grind the tomatoes, peppers, and onions, boil and use for frying, while some will fry the blended/ground tomatoes mixture straight without boiling it.
