Ayamase stew aka ofada stew or designer stew is a deliciously good stew made using green atarodo, bleached palm oil, fermented locust beans, and assorted meat.
It’s usually served with ofada rice although I prefer mine with basmati rice and some fried plantains on the side. It’s soo easy to cook and straight to the point. So let’s cook.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups boiled peppers – Green atarodo, green tatahe, and onions
- 20 pieces types of meat of choice – Beef, shaki, ponmo, etc
- 2 cups palm oil
- 4 tablespoons iru – Fermented locust beans
- 3 medium-sized onions – I used about 5
- Seasoning cubes to taste
- Salt to taste
- Boiled eggs – Optional
PROCEDURE
Step 1
Gather your ingredients. I mostly use only atarodo and lots of onions for this stew, but sometimes I add a few pieces of tatashe. If you can’t handle the heat, use more of green tatashe than atarodo…. I added an extra onion.
Step 2
Season your meats, add one chopped onion and cook on medium heat, halfway into the cooking process, add the ponmo and cook till all meats are tender.
Meanwhile roughly blend the peppers with 2 medium onions. Transfer into a pot and cook until the water is almost dried up.
Step 3
Transfer the oil into a dry pot and place on medium high heat with the lid on for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn the heat off. DO NOT at any point in this process open the pot until its warm to the touch. Here is what you are going for (The oil in the pot is not dark, the pot is)
Step 4
The meats should be ready now. Take them out of the pot and cut them into bite-size pieces.
Step 5
Put back the bleached oil on medium heat. When hot, fry the meats in batches so it doesn’t soak up the oil. Take them out and set them aside. Meanwhile, rinse the locust beans and finely chop 2 onions.
Step 6
Add the chopped onions and allow to fry for about 2 minutes. Add the locust beans and fry for about 1 minute while stirring every now and again so it doesn’t burn.
Step 7
Add the pepper, seasoning cubes, some salt to taste, stir and allow to cook for about 25 minutes. Add some meat stock and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
Step 8
Add the meats, taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary and cook for a further 10 minutes or more. I cook mine longer because I like it darker. ..the longer you cook it, the darker it becomes. Add some boiled eggs, stir and take off the heat. Allow it to rest a bit before serving.
Step 9
Enjoy!