Sallah Special: Stew recipes for a memorable Eid-el-Fitri celebration

MUSLIMS all over the world will celebrate Eid-el-Fitri tomorrow or Monday to mark the end of Ramadan fast.

The festival, like others, is marked with celebratory meals.

A Muslim scholar, Dr Shamsudeen Abegunde, told Exquisite Food that there is no preferred food to mark period as any meal that catches one’s fancy would do, so long as it is prepared specially.  Unlike Eid-el-Kabir, where Muslims go all out to buy cows, rams, goats, and celebrate the with pomp and ceremony, Eid-el-Fitiri is usually low-key.

Dr Shamsudeen pointed out that the food most families prepare during this period is rice. Against this background, Exquisite Food suggests that rather than cook the regular rice with stew, jollof or fried rice; you can make the celebration one to remember by preparing Ofada sauce or the mixed vegetable curry sauce for your family.

Ofada sauce

Ofada sauce is stew for ofada rice.  There are some joints in most major cities in the South West that specializes, only in ofada stew and people throng the placea in their numbers for a plate of this bleached palm oil peppered stew.  What you need: Red bell pepper (tatashe), crushed chilli flakes, locust beans (iru woro), salt, seasoning, palm kernel oil, onion, crayfish and assorted meats.

Direction:

• Wash, season, cook the meat and set aside.
• Chop the onions, wash and rinse the locust beans, deseed the red bell peppers, rinse, place on a baking tray, spray little oil on it and roast in the oven for about twenty minutes or till a little bit charred (but not burnt).
• Once it is done to your satisfaction, add to a blender with some chopped onions and blend coarsely.
• Place a pot in the fire; add palm oil and leave to bleach for about five minutes.
• Add chopped onions to the hot oil and stir carefully. Add the blended pepper, locust beans, crayfish and chili lakes to the oil and stir.

— After some minutes, add the chopped assorted meat, salt, seasoning and stir carefully into the stew.

— serve your ofada sauce with ofada rice.

Mixed

vegetable curry sauce:

This is another spicy stew you should also try out during the festive period.

What you need: Onion, bell pepper, peas, carrots, prawns, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, seasoning cubes and salt.

Directions:

• Season chicken, cook and set aside.
• Place a pot on the cooker, pour vegetable oil and allow to heat. Add in the chopped onion, peas, carrots, ginger, green pepper and stir-fry until fragrant.
• Add in seasoned and cooked chicken, sear on all sides until golden.
• Dissolve two tablespoon of cornstarch into the sauce, stir continuously until thickened, taste and adjust for seasoning.
• Sauce is ready. Serve with basmati or normal rice.