THE PERFECT THICKENER

Have you ever tried preparing banga soup, but it ended up not coming out as thick as you want?

Do you also know that tomatoes paste can be a healthy alternative for smelly thickeners?

Things you'll need

1cup Ovalz tomatoes paste
3 cups palm kernel
Salt
5 balls of pepper (small size)
1 large stock fish
1kg of meat( beef, chicken or mutton.)
1 cup of crayfish
3 seasoning cubes
1 round portioned locust beans (optional)
Basil leaves
Pumpkin leaves (optional)
2 big sized kpomo (thoroughly soaked skin)

Process:
1. Boil your palm kernel until very soft. Put it in a pressure cooker to save time.
2. When it is cooked, put it into a blender or mortar,  whichever is available.  Grind until the coverings are out of the seeds
3. If it's in a blender, pour in two cups of water and blend.
4. Blend until you begin to see the oil come out.
5. If it's in a mortar, pound with out water, until the coverings are out of the seeds, then pour it in to a bowl and squeeze with 2 cups of water, until all the oil is out..
6. Then set it aside and allow to settle before you start
7. Boil your meat and crayfish and stock fish in 1 and 1/2 cup of water. Season with salt,

pepper and seasoning cubes.
8. Allow it to cook until tender, and then pour it out into a bowl.
9. Preserve the stock from the meat, that always adds a sweet flavor to the soup.
10. Now use your hands and fetch the already rising oil from your settled washed palm kernel and put it into your soup pot.

11. Then sieve the remaining liquid, to put away the seeds and the chaff. 

12. Turn the extra liquid, a cup of tomatoes paste and your stock with all the meats, stock fish and crayfish already cooked. 

13. You'd notice that your soup is already slightly thick. 

14. Put it back on fire and add seasoning cubes, pepper and salt to taste.

15. Add already sliced basil leaves 

16. Let it boil until well thickened as you desire. 

16. Add already sliced pumpkin leaves,  allow to steam for few minutes... 

Soup is ready.  Can be eaten with rice, yam, or any staple food. Enjoy. 

                            Written by Mary Jane. 

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MEAT BALL TOMATOES SAUCE, THE RECIPE.

Apart from stew, there are other things that you can use tomatoes paste for. And one of them is meat balls tomatoes sauce. For spaghetti or for rice.

Things you will need

1. 1pack of spaghetti
2. 200g of Ovalz tomatoes paste
3. Two seasoning cubes
4.  3 teaspoon of Ovalz pepper dem
5. Salt
6. Water
7. 250g of minced meat
8. Mashed garlic
9. Mashed ginger
10. Basil
11. Green peppers (optional)
12. Onions

Step by step process
1. Boil your minced meat with the garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. Meat is minced already, so just a little amount of water is required.

2. When meat is Properly cooked, bring it down and put in a separate bowl.

3. Then put a dry pot on fire and allow it to get hot... Then pour 3/4 cups of oil in it and allow to get hot. When hot, pour in your tomatoes paste, and your pepper dem peppers and already diced onions and stir.

4. Then pour in the already cooked meat, basil, and green peppers. Put in the seasoning cubes and salt to taste.

5. Put in the pack of spaghetti and allow to boil for 15minutes.

6. Serve with salads, vegetables and fruits.

           ENJOY!!!
                                                                written by Mary Jane .

   

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