Nigerian Tomato Stew

Cooking Nigerian tomato stew involves 3 major steps, I have arranged the recipe in that order:Precooking the tomato blendParboiling the meat, in this case chickenFrying and cooking the stewSTEP 1- REDUCING TOMATO BLENDWash,chop and blend with a little water the tomatoes, bell pepper or tatashe, hot peppers, garlic, ginger and 2 onions. Try blending small quantities at a time so that the mixture blends properly and that you don't overwork your blenderPour your blended tomato mix into a medium pot; cook and reduce mixture by â…”. (This process of cooking down the tomato mixture does 2 things; it reduces the acidity of the tomatoes thus reducing the cooking time in final stewing step; it helps the stew fry better by cooking off the water. This can also be achieved by just sieving the tomato blend and draining out the water)STEP 2- PARBOILING MEATPre cook your chicken or meat pieces with the spices, herbs, and seasoning of your choice. (Do not completely cook the meat pieces because you will complete the cooking process in the final stewing step)STEP 3- STEWINGHeat up oil in a medium pot on medium heat; add 1 sliced onion and fry for about 3-5 minutes. Let the onions brown a bit, you don't want them to burn cause it will give your stew a burnt taste.Add and fry tomato paste for 2 - 3 minutes; pour in reduced tomato mixture and fry for about 10 mins before you pour your beef/chicken stock. (I poured in about ½ cup of my chicken stock. I usually prefer my stew thick, but you could pour more stock if you want your stew to be lees thick and more watery)Add meat pieces, seasoning cubes, curry, thyme, and some saltCook at low-medium heat and stir at short intervals till the oil has completely separated from the tomato blend. Taste the stew to make sure that the raw tomato taste is gone then turn off the heat. (With time and experience, you will know that the tomato blend is well fried from the aroma alone.)