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Obe Ata Party Stew

Also known as Obe Ata Party Stew (Yoruba Grand Party Stew)

Obe Ata Owambe is the grand, celebratory version of the Yoruba pepper stew prepared specifically for Owambe — the magnificent, elaborate Yoruba parties that are famous across Nigeria and the global diaspora for their extravagance, colour, music and food. Party stew is cooked in enormous quantities and is significantly richer, more intensely flavoured and more generously stocked with premium proteins than everyday stew.

Obe Ata Party Stew, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken, cut into large pieces
  • A big pot of assorted beef cuts
  • Half a turkey, cut into pieces
  • 2 big handfuls of premium smoked fish (eja aran), soaked
  • 12 big ripe tomatoes
  • 6 big Tatashe (red bell peppers)
  • 6 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers)
  • 3 big onions — 2 for blending, 1 sliced
  • 6 cooking spoons of palm oil
  • 4 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • 6 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 big tablespoons of curry powder
  • 2 big tablespoons of thyme
  • 1 big handful of iru (fermented locust beans)

Method

  1. 01

    Cooking All the Proteins. Season all meats and poultry generously with salt, seasoning cubes, curry, thyme and onion. Cook each type of protein separately to ensure proper tenderness — turkey takes longest (45 minutes), then beef (35 minutes), then chicken (25 minutes). Alternatively cook together in stages. Reserve all the combined stock.

  2. 02

    Making the Massive Pepper Base. Blend all the tomatoes, Tatashe, Atarodo and 2 onions in batches. Heat 6 cooking spoons of palm oil in the largest pot available. Add iru and fry for 2 minutes. Pour in the blended pepper. Fry for 40 to 50 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently, until profoundly reduced, very dark and the oil floats freely on top.

  3. 03

    Combining Everything. Add all the cooked meats to the pepper. Add ground crayfish, all remaining seasoning cubes, curry and salt. Add enough reserved stock to achieve a rich, thick but pourable stew consistency. Stir very thoroughly.

  4. 04

    Final Simmering. Simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes so all the meat absorbs the pepper flavours deeply. Taste and adjust. Party stew must be bold, rich and deeply satisfying.

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