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Obe Ata

Also known as Obe Ata (Nigerian Red Pepper Stew)

Obe Ata — litreally 'pepper soup or stew' — is the foundational mother sauce of Nigerian cooking and arguably the single most important preparation in the entire Nigerian culinary canon. Nearly every Nigerian household, regardless of ethnicity, begins meals by making some version of this deeply fried, intensely flavoured blended pepper and tomato stew base.

Obe Ata, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 5 big ripe tomatoes
  • 3 big Tatashe (red bell peppers)
  • 3 to 4 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers)
  • 1 big onion — half for blending, half sliced
  • 3 cooking spoons of palm oil or vegetable oil
  • 1 big handful of assorted meat (beef, chicken or turkey), cooked
  • 1 big handful of smoked fish, soaked and deboned
  • 2 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon of curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon of thyme

Method

  1. 01

    Blending the Pepper Base. Roughly chop the tomatoes, Tatashe, Atarodo and half the onion. Blend together until smooth. Do not add water — the tomatoes provide sufficient liquid.

  2. 02

    Frying the Blended Pepper. Heat 3 cooking spoons of oil in a wide, deep pot over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onion and fry for 3 minutes. Pour in the blended pepper mixture. It will splatter immediately — reduce heat slightly and use a lid or splatter guard. Fry the pepper base, stirring every few minutes, for 25 to 35 minutes. This long frying time is non-negotiable — the water must fully cook off and the pepper must truly fry in the oil until it is dark, thick, rich and the oil clearly floats on top. This deeply fried state is what gives Nigerian stew its characteristic depth.

  3. 03

    Adding Seasoning. Add curry powder, thyme, ground crayfish, crushed seasoning cubes and salt. Stir well and fry for 5 more minutes.

  4. 04

    Adding Protein. Add the cooked assorted meat and deboned smoked fish. Stir everything together. If the stew is very thick, add 2 to 3 big tablespoons of the meat stock. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on medium-low heat so the meat absorbs the flavours of the stew.

  5. 05

    Final Taste. Taste and adjust all seasonings. The stew should be deep red-orange, rich, thick and intensely flavoured. It should taste bold and complex — a result of the long frying process.

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