HOW TO COOK VEGETABLE STEW FOR RICE

 

Nigerians are known for their variety of delicious and healthy stews and the popular vegetable stew is always in the top five, especially for Yoruba people. This stew is the kind that goes with various dishes such as rice and in this article, you'll learn how to make vegetable stew for rice. 

The vegetable stew is rich in flavor and prepared with all kinds of meat and fish. It's an easy dish to prepare and the best part is making this delicious vegetable stew takes less than one hour and it's not expensive to cook at all. It's also a dish you can tweak to your liking. If you are the type that's not into meat or beef, you can use fish, if not prawns or Pomo. 

The vegetable stew will still taste delicious regardless. Making vegetable stew for rice will add a little bit of excitement to the normal fried or tomato stew and give you major points if you are trying to work on a more healthy diet. It's the perfect stew for a family meal and quick lunch or breakfast or light dinner. 

Note that cooking vegetable stew is simple but one needs to use the right ingredients so the stew doesn't end up watery or tasteless. 

So let's jump right into how to make vegetable stew for rice.

Ingredients For Vegetable Stew

 (note that the quantity depends on the number of people you are preparing the meal for)

This list of ingredients is for 6 people. 

1. Shredded pumpkin leaves, one bunch

2. Plum tomatoes (6)

3. Medium size smoked fish (1)

4. Minced garlic (3)

5. Crayfish (1½)

6. Scotch pepper (3)

7. Seasoning cubes (2)

8. Salt

9. Onions (1)

10. Groundnut oil

11. Beef/mushrooms

Step By Step Guide On How To Cook Vegetable Stew For Rice

Start by rinsing our tomatoes and scotch peppers, then blend them told then set them aside for later use. 

If your pumpkin leaves aren't already shredded, shred them and then chop your onions on another plate and set them aside. 

In your frying pan, pour your groundnut oil, then go ahead and fry your beef/fish/meat until golden brown, set aside but leave the oil in the pan. 

You can choose to reduce the oil if it's too much and then add your onions and garlic.

Now you'll add the blended tomatoes and peppers, keep stirring so it doesn't burn and the water dries up.

At this point, you should add your seasoning cubes, crayfish, and salt and stir until you are sure you've distributed it evenly then you cover and leave to cook for a few minutes. 

Now add your shredded pumpkin leaves and stir to make sure it's properly mixed with the sauce.

Add your meat/beef/fish/mushrooms to the stew and mix them. At this point, you should taste it to make sure it's not lacking any ingredients.

Leave to cook for a minute or two and voila, your delicious vegetable stew is ready to be served.

Serve with a plate of hot rice and a cold drink.

This is a step-by-step guide on how to cook vegetable stew for rice. As you can see it's very easy to cook and getting the ingredients together will not take you more than one hour at the market, it could be even less if you are the type that knows your way around the market. 

Also remember to keep an eye out for fresh leaves, fresh fish, and other fresh ingredients so you can rest assured that your stew will taste fresh and delicious. This will help the stew to taste good for as long as you want to eat and it can be put in the refrigerator for preservation. 

Just Incase, this is another guide on how to cook rice to go with your delicious vegetable stew.

Things You'll Need

1. 4 cups of rice

2. Salt

3. Cooking oil

4. Onions

How To Prepare White Rice

Boil 7 cups of water in the pot for about five minutes. 

Rinse your rice thoroughly (3 or 4 times, depending on how dirty it is) 

Pour your rice into the boiling water. 

Add 2 teaspoons of salt

Add your chopped onions (for a nice taste)

Add 2 teaspoons of oil (prevents the rice from sticking together)

Allow cooking for 10-15 minutes (while constantly checking to make sure it doesn't burn)

Then your rice is ready to be served with your vegetable stew. The really good thing about cooking this is how quickly it gets done. If you are looking for a family-friendly meal or a Sunday afternoon, add this to your timetable. 

Also note that if you are not interested in using pumpkin/Ugu, there are other options. There are spinach, Soko leaves, water leaves, and afang leaves. 

Some people choose to make their stew with palm oil and not just groundnut oil. If you want to try it out, you should add the palm oil before you add the leaves of your choice. Then cover and allow to cook for a few minutes, thereby allowing it blends perfectly with the sauce. 

These different types of leaves are used by certain tribes and if you are not from a certain tribe you might not like the way they prepare their food. 

The same goes for the other ingredients, some people choose to use meat stock to add more flavor, while some people simply use the oil used to fry the meat/beef/fish. This is to show you just how flexible the vegetable stew recipe is and exactly how easy it is to cook it. 

You'll note that the difference between how different tribes cook this stew lies in the leaves they use and also their methods but it's still vegetable stew. You can eat this stew with spaghetti, yam, and your favorite kind of swallow. And you can add as much beef/meat/fish as you want because some people enjoy the variety in the stew. 

I hope this article helped you learn the benefits of this stew and also gave you a clear guide on how to cook vegetable stew for rice.