The stew base you need for most Nigerian Recipes

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A stew base is very important in the Nigerian Kitchen. Having a handy one available to you is a time saving trick to getting dinner on the table quicker than the snap of your fingers.. ok.. not literally but it sure would help. A stew base is also referred to as a puréed pepper mix. This here my friends is the only stew base you will be needing for most Nigerian Recipes. Think Soups, stews, Jollof Recipes, beans and meats.

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It’s a time saver and life saver in these days when there hardly seems to be enough time. OH sweet Jesus can You make it more than 24 hrs in one day. Even if that was made possible, trust me we still won’t have enough time.

I believe Jesus hasn’t answered that prayer prayed by many including me because no amount of time is ever enough. Ever heard of make hay while the sun shines? A stitch in time saves nine? Those are for us to plan ahead and use our time wisely. This stew base will help us achieve that amongst other things. Trust me on this one. There is no need to talk too much on this one. Let’s dive right into the process?

I would love to know how you make your stew base and the time saving tips you use in your kitchen. If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider rating the recipe and leaving a comment below. I enjoy reading your feedback. Share with friends and family you never know who you will save from kitchen palaver today ?

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Stew base for most Nigerian Recipes

This is the Stew base you will need for most Nigerian recipes. If you have this readily available, it could save you tonnes of time.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Stew

Cuisine: Nigerian

Servings: 20

Calories: 37kcal

Author: Chichi Uguru

Ingredients

For the Red stew base

• 10 Large red bell peppers
• 5 Medium tomatoes
• 3 medium onions
• 1 thumb of fresh ginger
• 3 habanero peppers
• 4 cloves of garlic

For the green stew base

• 15 Large green bell peppers
• 3 habanero peppers (preferably green)

Instructions

Boiling method:

• Wash all the ingredients, deseed the red bell peppers or the green as the car may be. Leave the habanero peppers whole
• Cut up into smaller pieces, blend till smooth.
• Transfer blended mixture into a pot. Boil till most of the liquid evaporates and it becomes thick.
• Turn off heat and leave pot slightly open
• Allow to cool completely
• Divide into bowls and freeze till you are ready to use.

Roasting method:

• Preheat your oven to 450 F / 230 C
• Wash, deseed and cut up ingredients as stated above. Leave the hot peppers whole.
• Spread all on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Slide it into the preheated oven and roast for 45 mins rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time to help with even roasting. Some pieces may blacken a bit don’t worry as long as it’s not a lot, it won’t affect the taste of your stew base.
• After 45 mins turn off heat of oven and let the ingredients cool off in the oven.
• When it is cooled, blend with as little water as possible.
• Divide into bowls and freeze for later.

Notes

Helpful Tips

 For the boiling method, when blending the ingredients prior to boiling, blend with as little water as possible. Here is how you can achieve this; for the first blending, add enough water to blend the ingredients till smooth. Then pour half or blended mix into the pot, add another set of cut up ingredients into the other half of blended mixture in the blender cup blend again till smooth. Repeat till al is blended up. When you begin to boil the puréed mix, leave the pot open, it helps the liquid to evaporate faster. 

Kindly note that the nutrition info below is for the red stew base.