A deliciously hearty meal that is perfect for colder evenings.
My friend introduced me to this dish after she had taken a cooking class in East London. This hearty stew is known as Tigadegena in West African countries. While I have never had the original (yet), I fell in love with this dish the moment I first had it at my friend’s house.
Who wouldn’t love a stew with some of my favourite ingredients? This delicious meal combines peanut butter with butternut squash and a bunch of flavourful spices. Originally my friend also prepared an Afro Caribbean style rice to go with this, but that is much more work so to keep things simple, I have served this with plain rice. Of course, when I feel fancy or have more time during the weekens, I serve this with a special rice of rice and red beans cooked in coconut milk.
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West African peanut stew
10 minutes preparation + 30 minutes cooking — serves 3 to 4
Ingredients
- 800 grams butternut squash
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 2 onions
- 1 red pepper
- 100 grams spinach
- 200 grams peanut butter
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 250 grams rice
- Oil
Preparation
- Boil a liter of water in a kettle.
- Peel the butternut squash and cut into bitesized cubes.
- Peel the onions and cut into large dice.
- Wash the red pepper and cut into large dice.
- Peel the garlic and finely chop.
- Combine all spices into a small bowl so it’s ready to be added to the stew later on.
- Wash the rice and cook in a pot with the preboiled water for c. 19 minutes (longer/shorter depending on pack instructions). Drain and keep aside.
Preparing the stew
- Heat some oil in a large pan and once hot, add the onion. Fry for c. 4 minutes.
- Add the butternut squash and pepper to the onion and fry for another minute.
- Add the garlic and spices to the pan, mix well and stir through.
- Add the whole tin of chopped tomatoes (including liquid) and 300 ml water to the pan. Stir and bring to the boil.
- Turn down the heat and let the stew simmer for c. 20 minutes.
- Check that the butternut squash is cooked and steer in the peanut butter through the stew.
- Wash the spinach and add into the stew. Mix slowly to let the spinach shrink.
Bringing it all together
- Serve the stew with the rice.
Enjoy your meal!
Did you like this?
Leave a comment below if you made this recipe, and let me know what you think. Tips and feedback to improve the recipe are always welcome too!