Vegan Kontomire/Palava Stew

This recipe has been a long time coming. It is a Ghanaian classic and it’s one of the Ghanaian recipes I learned to make when I went vegan for many reasons. 1) it was incredibly nutritious and 2) it was incredibly tasty. I mean these are all qualities many Ghanaian recipes have.

What is Kontomire Stew

Kontomire stew is one of the two components of an Akan classic: Ampesi. The key component is the kontomire leaves, which are cocoyams/taro leaves. It looks like a cross of collard greens and squash leaves, specifically it has the colour of collard greens but the shape of squash leaves. (I hope you are getting what I mean). It is the staple greens in Ghana and it is the key ingredient in this recipe, and honestly, one of the nutritious backbone of this recipe. It is full of iron, vitamin A, C and potassium.

Kontomire stew can take on many forms. In the Asante culture (my tribe) we have a simple version called abomu which is steamed cocoyam leaves grinded with onions, pepper, tomato and topped with palm nut oil. But then we also have this particular version which is a tomato based stew with grinded bitter melon seeds, called egusi. This version is eaten extensively in Ghana with something very similar (egusi soup) in Nigeria

The other key ingredient in this stew is the bitter melon seeds, which we call egusi. Do not confuse the bitter melon with the Asian variety. Melons are indigenous to tropical Africa and are full of edible seeds that we dry, deshell and use for a variety of recipes. It is the West African version of chia or flax seeds in the sense that it is an indigenous source of omega 3s as well as healthy fats, nutrients and protein (not similar to chia or flax seeds in their consistencies). It is also a great egg replacer when it comes making vegan egg recipes.

What you will need for this recipe

• Aromatics: Onions, Tomatoes, Ginger and Scotch Bonnet pepper are essential to any Ghanaian food REGARDLESS of whether it has meat in it or not. You cannot skip any of these ingredients, except the scotch bonnet pepper because its just spicy and if you can’t handle spice, it is not for you
• Egusi: Bitter melon seeds. For this recipe you will need the powdered version. If you live in Canada, you can source this from this link (click here). But you can always find this at your local African supermarket. DO NOT substitute with squash or pumpkin seeds. They are not the same
• Greens: So if you are in Ghana, you can use one large bunch of cocoyam leaves/kontomire. But if you are not in Ghana, you can use a variety of options: spinach (not baby because it will wilt a lot) and collard greens work well. I used one large bunch of kale for this specific recipe because it was on sale the week I made this recipe.
• Mushrooms: This is optional but I love adding mushrooms in my stews to add a nice meaty flavour without the meat.
• Tofu: This adds more plant-based protein and blends seamlessly into the stew.
• Palm Nut Oil: It adds extra flavour to the recipe but you can choose what ever oil you want

How to make Kontomire Stew

• Sauté chopped onions in the oil
• Fry the tomato paste for a few minutes
• Add the blended onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and pepper
• Let the sauce cook down
• Meanwhile mix the ground melon seeds with water and salt to make a paste.
• Crumble in the Tofu.
• Scoop the Egusi into the stew after it has reduced
• Once the Egusi has cooked through, add the chopped greens

How to Eat Kontomire Stew

• I grew up eating kontomire stew with boiled sweet plantain or yam. If you want to cook perfect plantains, check out my blog post on plantains (click here). To cook the perfect west african yam, check this blog post (click here)
• You can also eat it with rice
• I have been enjoying it with fonio too and it is absolutely lovely. I have a blog post on cooking fonio (click here)

Print Recipe

Vegan Kontomire/Egusi Stew

Ghanaian

By Afia – Serves: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 30 minutes – Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 small onions (1 finely chopped, 1 roughly chopped)
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves
• 1/3 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper
• 1 thumb size of ginger
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp palm oil
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp each garlic and onion powder
• 1/2 tsp anise seeds
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp of veggie bouillon paste (I use better than bouillon)
• 1 cup egusi whole
• 1/2 block of firm tofu
• 2/3 cup of water
• salt to taste
• 1 packet of frozen spinach thawed

Instructions

1

In a pot, heat the red palm oil

2

Sauté the chopped onions in the hot oil till soft

3

Once the onions are soft, add the tomato paste and let it fry for a few minutes. If the sauce is getting dry, add a few tablespoons of water

4

While the tomato paste is frying, blend the tomatoes, roughly chopped onion, ginger, scotch bonnet pepper and garlic in about 1/3 cup of water

5

After 5 minutes, add the blended tomato mixture and let the sauce cook down for 10 mins

6

Add the spices and let the sauce cook for another ten minutes

7

While the sauce is cooking down, mix together the egusi, a pinch of salt and 1/3 cup of water

8

When the stew cooks down (the oil starts to separate), crumble in the tofu.

9

Then, scoop in 1tbsp dollops of the egusi into stew. Lower the heat down, cover the stew and let it cook for 6-10mins

10

As the stew is cooking, prep your veggies by microwaving for a minute to make sure the greens are thawed and then squeeze out the excess liquid

11

Once the dollops of egusi have cooked through, you can start to slowly break it up a bit into the rest of the stew. But still do leave chunks in the stew

12

Once the egusi has been broken apart, add in the greens. Turn the heat to low and fold in the greens. If you are using cocoyam leaves, you need to cook it at least for 20 mins at low heat to make sure it is well cooked and the stew doesn't burn other wise your throat will be itchy.

Notes

* can substitute with about 3 bunches of regular spinach, 1 large bunch of collard green finely minced or 1-2 large bunches of black kale. I like having a lot of green in my stew so I use a lot, but I do know people who prefer it to be saucy

Pin the Recipe for later