Ghanaian inspired aubergine stew

Rainbow food series – purple

Some much loved vegetables in Ghana are known locally as garden eggs. These are usually white to yellow and look just like, you guessed it… eggs! A popular way of preparing a dish with the egg plants as the main ingredient is to make a stew consisting of egg plants, okra, meat and the ever smoking palm oil. I decided to make a vegetarian version using just aubergines… painfully simple yet lusciously decadent.

Recipe

2 tbsp each of palm oil and olive oil
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch of fresh ginger
3 fresh tomatoes
2 aubergines
300 mls vegetable stock
1 scotch bonnet pepper

Method

1. In a large pan, heat up the oil and fry the onions until golden brown.
2. Add the ginger and garlic, fry briefly, then add the tomatoes.
3. After about 3 to 5 minutes, add the aubergines, allow to fry and stir to coat them with the sauce.
4. Add the stock and allow to simmer. The scotch bonnet may be added chopped or whole at this time; adding it whole limits the amount of peppery heat in the dish, yet allows the flavour to infuse within the stew.
5. Allow the stew to simmer and reduce to a thick consistency.

In Ghana, this is very popularly served with a soured maize meal starch known as banku. I served mine on a bed of couscous.