Tomato is a popular vegetable used in making stew, sauce and soups,
In this article we want to look at other alternatives or options for stew and sauce instead of tomatoes.
For different reasons one might want a change from the regular,
And there are seasons when tomato is expensive you might want to consider other options,
It could also be for health reasons some people complain about the acidity of tomato
Here are some other options for you to choose from.
1. Cucumerina
Cucumerina also known as snake tomatoes or gourd although not popular in the open market is an easy to grow crop,
It’s a very good alternative to tomatoes especially when tomato is expensive
When ripe the content looks exactly like tomatoes
It would be very difficult to distinguish between tomato stew and the one made from cucumerina,
especially when you combine it with pepper.
Both ripe and unripe cucumerina are used for cooking
Prepare ripe cucumerina for stew the same way you make tomatoes stew.
This vegetable is healthy too and is a great alternative to tomato stew
It’s also used to make any other kind of sauce you would have made with tomatoes.
2. Bell Pepper (tatashe)
Tatashe is a type of pepper and is another good alternative to tomato stew,
Your stew can compose completely from tatashe and other types of pepper can be combined too
People concerned about the acidity in tomato and try to avoid it love to use bell pepper to make stew,
Learn more about different types of pepper and how to grow pepper.
3. Garden Egg Sauce
Unlike the other two mentioned above that have the red colour like tomato and might be difficult to distinguish,
Garden egg sauce or stew is quite different. It’s made from boiled and mashed garden eggs.
The mashed garden egg is cooked in palm oil or vegetable oil, with onions, pepper, crayfish and salt to taste.
It’s served with rice, boiled plantain, yam, potato, sweet potato and agidi.
My favorite is taking it with yam.
If you are in diaspora and can’t find garden eggs, use egg plants (aubergine) instead.
4. Vegetable Sauce
This is a hit when taken with rice,
It’s prepared with any vegetable of your choice, ugu (fluted pumpkin), waterleaf, scent leaf, curry leaf, amarantus (green).
Aside from the taste, this is also very nutritious and can be used to serve rice, yam, and swallow.
5. Chicken Soup
Most Christmas growing up we had these with bread for breakfast,
This goes well with rice as well.
It’s easy to cook as well
6. Pepper Soup
This is a delicious delicacy usually taken along or alongside with yam, potato, sweet potato, plantain.
7. Melon (Egusi)
We are familiar with melon for soup but this is also delicious when prepared as sauce or stew and eaten.
8. Ofe Akwu
it’s made from palm fruit, the extract from the palm oil is boiled until it becomes thick,
Other ingredients are added to it.
It’s used to take rice and serves as soup for swallow,
There is a slight difference between ofe akwu and banga soup recipe,
They are both delicious with different flavours.
9. Banga
This soup is very similar to ofe akwu but the ingredients are quite different,
Both are made from palm fruit.
10. Ofe Nsala
Also known as white soup and served with swallow but can also be served with yam, agidi etc.
Which one of these is your favorite and do you have other alternatives to add to the list?
Do share in the comment box below.
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