Hello, Hiveans. Hope you're having a great time.
Because of the economy in the country, many Nigerians have decided to devise other means to survive. The first time I saw carrot stew, I was surprised, oh. But then, anything can happen in Naija, right? Haha.
So, I've been seeing this cucumber stew flying around the social media and I was like, "Cucumber?" I read many reviews about how good it tasted and how many people have decided to switch to Cucumber for now, until the price of tomatoes returns to normal. I mean, why buy 5 balls of tomatoes for one thousand naira when you can get two cucumber for four hundred naira?
For someone like me who loves exploring new food in the kitchen, I thought it's another opportunity for me to do so. The initial plan was to go to the market myself but because of the rain, I just went back home after teaching my students. Then, I thought of what to eat and I remembered I needed to try this stew. So, I called my brother to get me some cucumber since he was closer. He got them and brought them to me in my house.
I got to work. I tasted the cucumber to be sure it wasn't bitter. Then, I removed the seeds, washed thoroughly and set to grind it. Fortunately, we had light, so I just plugged in my blender and in no time, it was smooth.
You know, cucumber contains a lot of water, so I had to sieve out the excess water. Don't worry, the water can serve as juice, especially when you add pineapple to it.
Now, I had to fry it just the way we fry tomatoes. You prepare it exactly the way tomatoe is prepared. I used vegetable oil to fry it and after sometime, when it was dry, I added my tomato paste. You can add your onions, fresh pepper, and the rest.
Here, it was ready. I added my seasonings and pepper, too. I didn't add any protein (meat or fish) because I didn't plan well for it.
Then, I sat down and devoured my food. 😂😂 The cucumber juice served as my water.
Nigeria we hail thee...
All images are mine and were edited with my phone.
Thank you for reading.