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Kontomire Stew (Cocoyam Leaf Stew)

Kontomire Stew (Cocoyam Leaf Stew) is a traditional Ghanaian recipe for a classic one-pot stew of meat or tripe and smoked fish cooked in a coco yam and tomato sauce thickened with egusi seeds, ground prawns and flavoured with hot chillies. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ghanaian version of: Cocoyam Leaf Stew (Kontomire Stew).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

40 minutes

Total Time:

60 minutes

Serves:

4–6

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Chilli RecipesVegetable RecipesGhana Recipes


Ingredients:

2 bundles of cocoyam leaves (taro greens) [kontomire] or spinach, washed and roughly chopped
4 medium-sized tomatoes, pounded to a paste in a pestle and mortar
2 large onions, sliced
450g meat or tripe, cooked
4 hot chillies (eg Scotch bonnets), finely chopped
240g smoked dried fish
240g agushi (Egusi) seeds (substitute pumpkin seeds) ground to a powder in a coffee grinder
350ml water
180ml red palm oil
2 dessert spoons dried, ground, prawns
1 clove garlic
salt, freshly-ground black pepper and freshly-ground ginger to taste
kpakpo shito is fresh Ghanaian shito made by pounding 8 Scotch bonnet chillies, 1/2 sliced onion, 2 small ripe tomatoes, 1 tsp salt, 1 Maggi cube) together in a pestle and mortar.

Method:

Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and season with he salt, pepper and ginger. Place in a cooking pot on the stove and heat until tender (add a little water if too dry). Pound the tomatoes to a paste in a pestle and mortar and add these to the meat.

Heat a little oil in a pan and add the onions and chillies, frying for 2 minutes before adding the ground prawns and dried fish. Cook for a further 10 minutes then add the meat and its stock. Cook for 10 minutes before adding the agushi with a little water. Allow to simmer for a few minutes then add the kapakpo shito (about 2 tbsp should be about right). Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the agushi is cooked, then add the chopped kontomire (taro) leaves and simmer for 4 minutes. Add the red palm oil and simmer for 1 more minute, or until the oil is completely incorporated.

Serve hot with boiled plantains, yam, rice, cassava or fufu.