Bowl of East African Beef and Banana Stew
(click to enlarge)

Beef & Banana Stew


Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya   -   Ndizi na Nyama
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 w/rice
***
3-1/4 hrs
Yes		 A popular stew in the Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya region, where green bananas are a major cooking ingredient. The "authentic" banana is not available in North America, but we have a work-around.

1
12
8
7
2
1/2
1/4
12
-------
1/2
1
1/2
1/2
-------
2
14
1-1/2
-------
ar
#
oz
oz
oz
cl
in
c
oz
---
t
T
t
T
---
T
oz
c
---

Beef (1)
Tomatoes, ripe
Tomato Sauce (2)
Onions
Garlic
Ginger Root
Cilantro
Bananas Green (3)
-- Seasoning
Pepper black
Curry Powder (4)
Chili Powder (5)
Salt
-------------
Oil
Coconut Milk
Water
-- Serve with
Steamed Rice
Prep   -   (35 min)
  1. Cut BEEF into about 3/4 inch cubes.
  2. Scald TOMATOES one minute in boiling water. Quench in cold water, peel and chop medium.
  3. Mix Tomato Sauce with Tomatoes.
  4. Quarter ONIONS lengthwise and slice thin crosswise.
  5. Crush GARLIC and chop fine, Slice GINGER very thin. cut the slices into threads and chop threads fine. Mix.
  6. Chop CILANTRO coarse.
  7. Mix all SEASONING items.
  8. Peel GREEN BANANAS and cut into 3/4 inch lengths. Hold in cold water until needed. Actually, it's best to prepare the Bananas just before they go into the stew.
Run   -   (2-1/2 hrs)
  1. In a coverable sauté pan or similar, heat Oil and fry Beef Cubes stirring until lightly browned all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  2. Add Onions to the pan and fry stirring until threatening to color, then stir in Garlic mix until garlic is fragrant.
  3. Stir in Seasoning mix for 30 seconds, then stir in Tomato mix. Cook stirring often until tomatoes are soft.
  4. Stir in Beef, then stir in Coconut Milk and Water. Fast simmer covered until Beef is tender (1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours).
  5. At appropriate time (see Note-6), stir in Cilantro and Bananas. Simmer until both Beef and Bananas are cooked,
  6. Check liquid and seasoning. Adjust if needed.
  7. Serve hot with plenty of Steamed Rice (Jasmine or Basmati).
NOTES:

  1. Beef:

      Weight is boneless with excess fat removed. This can be any stewing cut, but Chuck will be more tender and cook faster than round.

  2. Tomato Sauce:

      Rather than using tomato paste called for in recipes, I like to add a convenient 8oz can of a very simple tomato sauce, which helps make up for deficient tomatoes. My favorite is Faraon Spanish Style, but other simple sauces will also work.

  3. Bananas, Green:

      The proper green bananas are Matook, the East African Highland Banana, but these are totally unavailable in North America. Thai Bananas from Mexico are often shipped quite green and are now widely available. They work well for me as they are a relatively starchy banana, quite solid when fully green. Don't buy them too far ahead as they ripen fairly fast. If all you can get is regular green bananas, make sure they are so green you can't peel them and have to use a knife, or they'll be too soft. For details see our Bananas and Thai Bananas pages.

  4. East African Curry Powder:

      You can easily make a very tasty Curry Powder by our recipe East African Curry Powder. You could also use a Madras style powder (Ship or Sun brand), but I recommend the above mix in this recipe. In Kenya, and possibly Uganda, they would use Mchuzi Mix, which is like our East African Curry Powder with some beef bullion powder added.

  5. Chili Powder:

      Use the type and amount of whatever chili powder or flake you prefer. I usually use Indian Khandela or Reshampatti, which are fairly noticeable in this quantity. For details see our Chili Powder / Flake page.

  6. Banana Cooking Time:

      Cooking time for the Bananas can vary extremely. I have seen recipes saying 15 minutes for regular very green bananas. The Green Thai Bananas used for the photo example took as long as the Beef, 1-1/2 hours and were still fairly firm, just a little riper would have been better. A Thai Banana just ripe enough to eat (all yellow, very little black) took 15 minutes and was quite soft and sweet. You need to know your Bananas - if unsure, peel and slice one and test simmer it.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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