Recipe: Your Sunday got special with Keta School boys egg stew

Lunch was Ice Kenkey with Peanuts and by the time I drove away from my works car park, I started to plan my dinner.

I couldn't come up with anything exciting to whet my appetite, but I was certain my decision wouldn't include a complicated dish.

I had a few Tomatoes, Chillies, Eggs, Onions and some pre-blended Ginger spice in the fridge.

I thought of making the famous Ghanaian Egg stew but I wanted to add the 'Ndudu twist ' in the form of protein to my dish.

I found a bag of dried Anchovies (Keta School boys) in the freezer and decided to make a creative version of the Ewe 'Abobi Tadi' (Anchovies stew).

Traditionally the dried Anchovies are slightly roasted and served with hot Akple (Steamed Corn dumpling) and a spicy Tomato salsa is commonly known as 'Raw Pepper'.

Keta School Boys, Abobi, Anchovies

Dried Anchovies are synonymous to the Ewe tribe from Ghana and are incorporated in most of their dishes, due to their Umami flavour.

The only drawback whilst cooking the dried Anchovies is its dominating pungent smell that can fill your home easily.

Please ensure you open your windows and doors when cooking the dried Anchovies.

Kitchen Hack

Place a few cloves in a warm oven, as the smell of the cloves will neutralise the pungent smell.

The Abobi or Keta School boys in Ghana are on the salty side, hence it's best to soak it for about minute or 2 to reduce the salt content (reserve the stock for other dishes like a Seafood Okra soup).

The process of roasting and frying the dried Anchovies before incorporating it into your sauce (instructions given to me, by my Mum), gives the fish a crunchy and nice texture. The roasted Anchovies could also be enjoyed as a healthy snack.



Dried Anchovies are also used in most Asian recipes particularly in Korean recipes, as stock and the 'fresh' Anchovies are used across Europe in pizzas, sandwiches, salads etc

I purchased my dried Anchovies from an Asian shop, however they're also available in most African grocers across the U.K.

Anyway, I decided to incorporate my Abobi to my Egg stew and shared the journey on my Instagram stories. Don't miss out live cooking sessions, on my Instagram page 'Ndudu_by_Fafa' .

Let's start cooking ... Are your windows opened?

Ingredients

100g of dried headless Anchovies (Abobi or Keta School boys).

300g of blended fresh Tomatoes

20g of Tomato purée or paste

3 large free range Eggs

2 large peeled and sliced chunky white Onions

8 Kpakpo shito or 1 Habanero chilli

2 tablespoonful of a Ginger, Onion and Aniseed (Sukoni) blend.

2 tablespoonful of Olive oil

15g of chopped Coriander for garnishing

2 finely diced Green chilies for garnishing

Method



Soak the Anchovies in water for about 2 minutes and reserve the stock by freezing it for when a recipe requires it.

Place a frying pan on a medium heat and dry-fry the soaked Anchovies for about 2 minutes whilst tossing them.

Add the oil and half the sliced chunky Onions. Fry for 3 minutes and add the Ginger blend.

Fry for another 3 minutes.

Mix 30ml of water with your Tomato purée or paste till well combined and add it to the Anchovies mix. Continue to fry for 4 minutes and add the blended Tomatoes.

Fry the mixture for 12 minutes ensuring you stir to avoid the bottom catching the pan.

Taste for salt and add not more than half a teaspoon to the stew. Crack your eggs into the stew and reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Cover the frying pan with its lid to allow the eggs to steam. Cook this for 5 minutes and stir everything together.

Sprinkle with chopped Coriander, Green chilies and serve with Akple, steamed Rice, Boiled Yam or Plantain.