This recipe for smoked fish and agushie stew (akatoa froyie) is a keeper! Bonus, it comes together quickly with a few ingredients, just put rice on fire before you start cooking.
This agushie stew is so good, I ended up eating it without any side when I first made it. My youngest sister gave me this recipe raving about it. Though we use agushie AKA melon seeds in making kontomire stew (palava sauce) aguishie stew (akatoa froyie in fante) isn’t something we particularly make at home.
Gee..I have been wondering what I have been eating all this time.
Agushie or akatoa (picture above) is the star of today’s stew. It comes in both whole or grounded forms and is a stable in Ghanaian cuisine and some other West African countries as well.
I prefer huge lumps of agushie in the stew other than flat thing ones. I can’t tell why but it tastes better that way and makes it look good you know. To make those lumps possible, blend the melon seeds to a thick paste. If using already grounded melon seeds, make a thick paste with water. When you put it into the stew, do not stir, leave it to set to form those huge lumps.
Yes! I have arrived!
- 1/4 cup/ 60ml palm oil
- 2 onions sliced
- 1 clove garlic (optional) minced
- fresh pepper as required (scotch bonnet, bird's eye chilli, etc) minced
- 4 tomatoes diced
- preferred smoked fish (mackerel, salmon, herrings, tuna etc) remove flesh and bones and break into desired sizes
- 1 teaspoon grounded dried shrimp (shrimp powder)/ shrimp stock cube
- 1 cup whole melon seeds (agushie/ akatoa) substitute for grounded melon seeds
- 2 bell pepper sliced
- salt as required
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Add about 1/4 cup of palm oil into a saucepan. Add onions, minced garlic and pepper. Cook till onions are softened.
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Add diced tomatoes and cleaned smoked fish. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 heaped teaspoon of grounded dried shrimp or 1 shrimp stock cube and stir together. Cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes till tomatoes and smoked fish are cooked through and no longer smelling raw.
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Meanwhile, add 1 cup of melon seeds (agushie/ akatoa) into a blender. Add about half cup of water and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Blend till smooth and creamy. (If using grounded melon seeds, make a thick paste using water and salt and set aside)
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When tomatoes are cooked through, lower the heat to low and add the blended melon seeds solution. DO NOT STIR! Cover the saucepan simmer gently till the blended melon seeds are set.
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Add slice bell pepper, stir, add a splash of water if needed, taste and adjust for salt. Serve with plain rice or boiled yam or plantain.
