How to make Garden Egg sauce

This authentic Nigerian meal “Garden egg Sauce” is one unique meal you should try.it is normally eating with either half ripe plantain or old yam.

The fibre this sauce brings to the diet is just amazing. If you favour a more bitter taste, then you can go for the green garden eggs. If not, then you should stay with the white variety. By the way you can swap the garden egg for aubergine. Ingredients for this sauce are quite basic but trust me the result is amazing.

Ingredients:

8-10 White/Green Garden Eggs OR

2 Medium Aubergines/Eggplants

1/2 Cup Palm Oil

2 Big Red Bell Peppers

1 Big Tomato (Optional)

2 Scotch Bonnets (Ata Rodo)

11/2 Medium Onions

1/2 Cup Smoked Prawns

1/2 cup Dried Eja Shawa Fillets ( You can also use shredded Smoked Fish)

3 Tablespoons Ground Crayfish

1 Maggi Crayfish or any Bouillon Cube of your choice

Salt to Taste

Preparation:

Step 1: Using the pulse function on your blender, blend your garden eggs roughly and set aside. You can also use a mortar and pestle to pound roughly. Don’t be alarmed if your garden eggs turn a little darker or brown, they oxidise and turn a little brownish when exposed to air, just like apples.

Blend the bell peppers, scotch bonnet, tomato if using any and 1 whole onion roughly and set aside.
These are the ingredients I’ll be using…

Step1: Add the palm oil into a medium pot, place on a hob on medium heat, when it’s hot, add 1/2 sliced onions, sauté till fragrant…

Step 2: Now add the blended pepper mix, Maggi crayfish and salt to taste, fry for 10-12 minutes, at this time the quantity of the pepper would have reduced by almost half….

Step 3: After 10-12 minutes, add the Shawa or any dried or smoked fish of your choice, also add the crayfish and smoked prawns, fry for 2-3 minutes. Do stir occasionally to prevent burning.

Step 4: Then add the garden eggs. Cover and cook till garden eggs soften, this should take 5-6 minutes… If you’re using pre boiled garden eggs, add the garden eggs and cook for only a minute or two.