Ayamase, Green Ofada Stew, Designer Stew
Green pepper ofada stew, Ayamase is made with different types of green pepper.
Ingredients
- Mixed meat cut in small sizes
- 3 Green bell peppers
- 15 green shombo
- 10 green scotch bonnet
- 2 medium onions
- 1 ½ cups palm oil
- ½ cup iru
- ¼ cup crayfish
- 2 seasoning cubes
- stockfish (optional)
- Hard-boiled eggs (optional)
Instructions
- Wash mixed meat well. Place in a pot, season with salt and seasoning cubes. Add some water, cover and cook until meat is soft.
- Put iru into a small bowl, add enough water to cover it well about 1/2 cup.
- Pour palm oil into a dry pot and place over medium heat. Once it starts smoking reduce the heat to low, drop chunks of the small onion into it.
- Heat until the oil has lost most of its colour and is a very copper colour. Do not rush this stage, it can take up to 20-30 minutes on low heat.
- Meanwhile, roughly grind together green bell pepper, shombo, scotch bonnet and onions. Do not grind to a smooth paste.
- When the oil is ready, take off the heat to cool a little, remove the onions.
- Fry meat in hot oil, drain meat and set aside.
- Add iru, fry for one minute.
- Pour in the pepper mix, shawa or stockfish and fry.
- Sprinkle crayfish and seasoning cubes, add meat and fry until oil floats on top about 20 minutes, stirring often.
- Add boiled eggs, iru water and a little stock and cook for 5 minutes.
- If it's too thick add a little stock, taste and add salt.
- Serve with Ofada rice, any type of rice, plantain, yam etc.
Notes
- Green shombo is not as hot as the red but packs a lot of flavours.
- If you can't find green shombo use red.
- The quantity of scotch bonnet depends on your heat tolerance.
- You can substitute iru with dawadawa.
- Bleach the palm oil for a long time over medium-low or low heat. It won't cause a lot of smoking and coughing unless it's on high heat.
- You can also cover the pot of bleaching palm oil if you do it over high heat, this will help contain the smoke. After about 5-10 minutes depending on the quantity, turn off the heat and allow it to cool down before opening.
- If you cover the pot when bleaching the palm oil, your stew will have a mildly smokey flavour.
- The chunk of onion added to the palm oil flavours it.
