Garden Egg Stew (Abomu) Ghanaian

Easy·20 min

Boiled African garden eggs mashed in an earthenware asanka with chili, onion and salted fish, then finished with sizzling red palm oil. Smoky, faintly bitter and deeply savory, abomu is eaten with boiled yam or plantain.

Oil

A favorite of the Akan, abomu is made the old way in an asanka, the ridged clay mortar, where steamed garden eggs are crushed with koobi (salted tilapia), onion and pepper. Hot palm oil is poured over at the end so it bubbles into the mash, a rustic stew that turns a handful of humble bitter eggplants into something irresistible.

Chunky and rustic, it has the soft, seedy give of stewed eggplant brightened by raw onion and a real kick of scotch bonnet. The salted fish drives a powerful savory depth, and that final pour of hot palm oil coats it all in a fruity, smoky richness that clings to soft pieces of boiled yam.

Steaming softens the garden eggs and tames their bitterness, while pouring hot palm oil over the cold mash blooms its aroma and partly cooks the raw onion and pepper, melding everything into one cohesive stew.

Variations

with koobi (salted tilapia), mackerel or sardines, mashed smooth or left chunky, made vegan without fish

On the Palate

Where Garden Egg Stew (Abomu) Ghanaian sits in the Ghanaian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 4

How it's made

8 steps · 20 min

1
5 min
Wash garden eggs and place in a pot with onion, chili and a piece of salted fish.
2
10 min
Add a little water and steam until the garden eggs are very soft.
Watch out
Steam until a knife slips through with no resistance — under-cooked garden eggs stay bitter and won't mash smooth.
3
4 min
Peel off any tough skins, then transfer everything to an asanka or mortar.
4
6 min
Mash the garden eggs, chili, onion and salted fish into a coarse paste.
5
3 min
Flake in extra cooked fish or sardines and season with salt and a stock cube.
6
4 min
Heat red palm oil in a small pan until hot and shimmering.
Watch out
Get the palm oil properly hot and shimmering before it goes over — that heat is what blooms the aroma and lightly cooks the raw onion and pepper.
7
2 min
Pour the hot oil over the mash so it sizzles, then stir through.
Watch out
Pour it on while it's loud and sizzling — a quiet, tepid oil just sits greasy on top instead of melding in.
8
2 min
Serve warm with boiled yam, plantain or cocoyam.