Nigerian Beef and Chicken Stew
Nutritional Info
- Servings Per Recipe: 6
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 970.4
- Total Fat: 48.4 g
- Cholesterol: 176.0 mg
- Sodium: 2,413.5 mg
- Total Carbs: 36.5 g
- Dietary Fiber: 7.9 g
- Protein: 107.4 g
View full nutritional breakdown of Nigerian Beef and Chicken Stew calories by ingredient
Introduction
Recipe taken from http://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/stews/beef-and-chicken-stew.html Recipe taken from http://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/stews/be
ef-and-chicken-stew.html
Number of Servings: 6
Ingredients
-
Fresh Plum Tomatoes (referred to as Jos Tomatoes in Nigeria) – 1.5kg
Tinned tomato paste: 600g (or watery tinned Tomato Puree: 1.2kg)
Vegetable Oil: a generous amount (see this video)
Whole Chicken (hen) – 1.2kg
Beef: 15 pieces of medium cuts
Onions: 2-3 medium bulbs
Habanero Pepper & Salt (to taste)
Seasoning: 3 large stock cubes & Thyme (2 teaspoons)
Directions
Grind / Blend the chili pepper and cut the onions into small pieces.
Before you cook Tomato Stew
Wash and blend the fresh plum tomatoes. Remember to remove the seeds unless you are sure your blender can grind them very well.
If using the thick tinned tomato paste that is common in Nigeria, mix it with cold water to get a softer consistency. See the video below for how I did this.
If you are using the watery tinned tomato puree that is common in Europe and other parts of the world, open the tins or packets and set these aside, you'll need them soon.
Cut the onions into small pieces.
Cooking Directions
Pour the fresh tomato blend into a pot and cook at high heat till almost all the water has dried. If you have the watery tinned/boxed tomato puree, add these to the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook till the water in the tomato puree have dried as much as possible.
Add the vegetable oil, the chopped onions and the thick tomato puree that you mixed in step 2 above (if it's the puree you are using). Stir very well.
Fry at very low heat and stir at short intervals till the oil has completely separated from the tomato puree. A well fried tomato puree will also have streaks of oil, unlike when you first added the oil and it was a smooth mix of the tomato puree and oil. Taste the fried tomato puree to make sure that the raw tomato taste is gone. With time and experience, you can even tell that the tomato puree is well fried from the aroma alone.
If you are happy with the taste and you are sure that all the water has dried as much as possible, pour out the excess vegetable oil like I did in this video, then use it in your cooking.
If you are not using it immediately, leave to cool down, dish in containers and store in the freezer.
-Cut up the chicken and cook with half of the chopped onions, stock cubes and thyme. When the chicken is almost done, add the beef and cook till well done. Then add salt, allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, transfer to a sieve to drain. Grill or fry the chicken and beef. This is optional but it gives them a rich golden look.
Notes about cooking the chicken:
Add water up to the level of the contents of the pot when cooking the chicken.
When cooking chicken, I do not add salt to the raw chicken. This is because salt closes the pores of the chicken (and in fact anything you are cooking), this prevents the natural flavor of the chicken from coming out into the surrounding water and prevents the seasoning from entering the chicken to improve the taste. The result is that your chicken stock will not have a rich natural taste. It will only have an artificial taste of seasoning.
Salt also hardens the chicken hence it takes longer to cook.
I only add salt when the chicken is done. A lot of people think that adding salt early makes the chicken taste better but there's a big difference between a salty taste and a rich taste. I believe that what gives food a rich taste is not salt but the natural flavor of the food so allow this natural flavor to come out into your stock by NOT adding salt too early. And remember, stock cubes already contain salt so you really don't need more salt.
I do not use curry powder to season my chicken (or beef) simply because in my opinion, curry powder overtakes the taste of any food it is cooked with (except Fried Rice) and makes the food taste so artificial. But if you don't mind it, feel free to use it as seasoning for your beef or chicken.
Cooking Directions
When you are happy that the tomatoes in your tomato stew are well-fried, pour out the excess oil as I did in the video below.
Place the pot of tomato stew back on the stove and add the chicken stock (water from cooking the chicken). There may be tiny pieces of bones at the bottom so be careful not to add those.
Add the chili pepper and the grilled chicken and beef. Stir very well and add salt if necessary. You can also add some water at this point if the stew is too thick.
Cover the pot and cook at medium heat till the contents of the pot is well steamed. Stir again and you are done.
Serving Size: Makes 6-8 servings
Number of Servings: 6
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CHAOSANDPAIN.
Before you cook Tomato Stew
Wash and blend the fresh plum tomatoes. Remember to remove the seeds unless you are sure your blender can grind them very well.
If using the thick tinned tomato paste that is common in Nigeria, mix it with cold water to get a softer consistency. See the video below for how I did this.
If you are using the watery tinned tomato puree that is common in Europe and other parts of the world, open the tins or packets and set these aside, you'll need them soon.
Cut the onions into small pieces.
Cooking Directions
Pour the fresh tomato blend into a pot and cook at high heat till almost all the water has dried. If you have the watery tinned/boxed tomato puree, add these to the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook till the water in the tomato puree have dried as much as possible.
Add the vegetable oil, the chopped onions and the thick tomato puree that you mixed in step 2 above (if it's the puree you are using). Stir very well.
Fry at very low heat and stir at short intervals till the oil has completely separated from the tomato puree. A well fried tomato puree will also have streaks of oil, unlike when you first added the oil and it was a smooth mix of the tomato puree and oil. Taste the fried tomato puree to make sure that the raw tomato taste is gone. With time and experience, you can even tell that the tomato puree is well fried from the aroma alone.
If you are happy with the taste and you are sure that all the water has dried as much as possible, pour out the excess vegetable oil like I did in this video, then use it in your cooking.
If you are not using it immediately, leave to cool down, dish in containers and store in the freezer.
-Cut up the chicken and cook with half of the chopped onions, stock cubes and thyme. When the chicken is almost done, add the beef and cook till well done. Then add salt, allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, transfer to a sieve to drain. Grill or fry the chicken and beef. This is optional but it gives them a rich golden look.
Notes about cooking the chicken:
Add water up to the level of the contents of the pot when cooking the chicken.
When cooking chicken, I do not add salt to the raw chicken. This is because salt closes the pores of the chicken (and in fact anything you are cooking), this prevents the natural flavor of the chicken from coming out into the surrounding water and prevents the seasoning from entering the chicken to improve the taste. The result is that your chicken stock will not have a rich natural taste. It will only have an artificial taste of seasoning.
Salt also hardens the chicken hence it takes longer to cook.
I only add salt when the chicken is done. A lot of people think that adding salt early makes the chicken taste better but there's a big difference between a salty taste and a rich taste. I believe that what gives food a rich taste is not salt but the natural flavor of the food so allow this natural flavor to come out into your stock by NOT adding salt too early. And remember, stock cubes already contain salt so you really don't need more salt.
I do not use curry powder to season my chicken (or beef) simply because in my opinion, curry powder overtakes the taste of any food it is cooked with (except Fried Rice) and makes the food taste so artificial. But if you don't mind it, feel free to use it as seasoning for your beef or chicken.
Cooking Directions
When you are happy that the tomatoes in your tomato stew are well-fried, pour out the excess oil as I did in the video below.
Place the pot of tomato stew back on the stove and add the chicken stock (water from cooking the chicken). There may be tiny pieces of bones at the bottom so be careful not to add those.
Add the chili pepper and the grilled chicken and beef. Stir very well and add salt if necessary. You can also add some water at this point if the stew is too thick.
Cover the pot and cook at medium heat till the contents of the pot is well steamed. Stir again and you are done.
Serving Size: Makes 6-8 servings
Number of Servings: 6
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CHAOSANDPAIN.