Hello there! How’s everything going? I have been a little bit busy because the semester is almost over, next week is the final so I need to do more readings and complete some courses outlines hanging on my neck. Yeah, today recipe is eggplants or garden egg stew, but here it’s mostly called Aubergine so no matter what you call it we are talking about the same thing.
Although, the garden egg in Nigeria is different from this one but trust me you have the same eggplant/garden egg taste. For those that do not know how it looks, google garden egg and you will see that it’s smaller than the and the color and size is different from the Aubergine.
Garden Egg/Eggplants Stew (Aubergine Stew) is a delicious meal plus the health benefits that the garden egg has which is a plus makes me love this stew the more. I love my garden egg crunchy so I didn’t boil it, I only added the garden eggs to a bowl of boiling water just to soften the skin but if you like it on the softer side boil before you peel it.
You can add any proteins of your choice to this stew and also you can use palm oil or vegetable oil. I used stockfish, ponmo (cowskin), and dried fish. You can serve it with boiled potatoes, rice, yam etcetera. You can add like a handful of a vegetable like spinach to this stew if you wish to do so.
Let’s get started!
- 2 Eggplants (Aubergine)
- 3 Bell peppers (I used red, green, and yellow)
- 2 Habanero/Rodo
- 1 Tomato
- 1.5 Onions (divided)
- Palm oil/vegetable oil
- Proteins (your choice; I used ponmo, stockfish, dried fish)
- 1 Tablespoon Ground crayfish
- Seasoning powder/cube
- Salt to taste
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In a small bowl, add the stockfish and soak with hot water and salt, and set aside.
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Boil water and add the eggplants, for a few minutes until the color changes. Remove and peel the skin, chop or cut into chunk then add to a food processor and use the pulse button to chop for a few times then set aside.
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Clean the pepper; habanero, bell peppers, tomato, and one onion. Roughly blend the pepper and set aside.
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Place a saucepan/pot over medium-high heat and add the oil (palm oil or vegetable oil), allow it to get hot.
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While the oil is getting hot, chop the remaining onion and add to the oil and sauté for a few until fragrant, add the crayfish and stir.
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Add the blended pepper, seasoning with salt and seasoning powder and stir. Cook until it thickens and reduces in quantity about 10-15 minutes.
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While the pepper is cooking clean the fish, and ponmo (if that’s you’re using).
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Add the protein and stir, allow the mixture to fry until the oil floats.
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Add the chopped eggplants and combine. Check the seasoning and readjust accordingly. Allow the stew to simmer for about 10 minutes.
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Serve
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...and enjoy!
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yummy yummy