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Mirror recipe: Palava sauce (Kontomire stew)
Kontomire - (a bundle/a bowl full)
- One ladle of vegetable oil
- One small size salmon
- One medium size of momone or salty fish
- Two hands full of powdered agushie
- Six fingers of pepper
- Four medium size of tomatoes
- Two medium size of onions
- One tablespoon of salt
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Wash and neatly cut kontomire
Direction
- Wash and cook your neatly cut kontomire for three minutes. Check if it is cooked on all sides by stirring. Strain water and or allow to sit.
- Prepare tomato stew like any other stew and add washed momone to it before stirring in grounded ingredients. Add salmon by breaking it into small pieces.
- Add one tablespoon salt to agushie in a separate bowl with water (in a porridge form). Stir for a few minutes and pour gradually into stew on fire. Cover it, lower heat and allow to cook for five minutes, Stir afterwards.
- Add cooked kontomire to stew and a little stock from cooking the kontomire to it.
- Taste for salt and allow to simmer for about five minutes. Ready to be served.
Prepare your tomato stew
Why you should eat Palava sauce
Palava sauce can be enjoyed as a main meal with boiled yam, boiled rice and any other accompaniment you can think of.
In the absence of agushie, you can use soya bean powder as a substitute.
Kontomire stew can be enjoyed with many accompaniments
That’s one of the healthiest main meals we have here in Ghana.
Add salmon fish to your meal
There are plenty of fish in the sea however, our focus for this week is the salmon fish. Salmon is a popular oily fish in Ghana that contains good fats.
Fatty fish like salmon and tuna are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which help the skin barrier to retain moisture.
Dry skin can been caused by many things but one telltale sign? An omega-3 deficiency. It’s also packed with protein, an essential building block in skin repair, particularly as you age and lose elasticity in the skin.
It helps your bones
Our bones play many roles in the body – they provide structure, protect organs and anchor muscles, which is why it is so important that we take care of them. “A balanced diet with sufficient calcium and vitamin D, from foods such as salmon, are one of the building blocks for healthy bones as we age”.
Excellent vitamin B complex source
Salmon is highly packed with the vitamin B group that is B3, B5, B7, B6, B9, B12, and so on. Vitamin B complex plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy balance of all bodily functions.
The B group of vitamins work co-dependently to turn consumed food into energy, create and repair DNA, and reduce inflammation.
Fatty fish like salmon and tuna are high in omega-3 fatty acids
Builds cognitive intelligence in children
Since salmon is good for brain health, expecting mothers should eat salmon to build cognitive skills and learning capabilities in children. It should also be included in the diet of growing children.
Good for weight loss
Salmon is good for those who want to lose weight as well. The oily fish is protein-rich with a low-calorie content. Therefore, it is absolutely healthy and advisable to include salmon in diet plan, as it will not only provide huge amounts of protein but will also compensate for various vitamin and mineral deficiencies in the body.
The fat content in salmon is mostly good and doesn’t make one gain weight.
The writer is a registered nutritionist,public health practitioner at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital
