Abuja – Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Tuesday said they still preferred tomatoes stew to carrot stew in spite of the hike in the price of tomatoes.

The residents, who spoke in separate interview in Abuja, said carrot stew was not a predominant dish in Nigeria.

Mrs Ngozi Udoka, a tomato seller at Utako market said she had never heard of or seen carrot stew and would not want to try it.

“Imagine what carrot stew will taste like, it will be so sweet like you added sugar to the food and it will take a longer time to fry unlike tomato stew.

“I think it will also consume a lot of energy to cook, depending on the means the person is using to cook the food.”

Udoka also said that carrot stew could be water lodged and not delicious.

Mrs Nkechi Okoronkwo, a journalist said substituting carrot stew/sauce was not an alternative, adding that carrot stew was highly nutritious.

Okoronkwo said that the preparation of the stew required tender cooking to ensure that the nutrients were not lost as it was a cocktail of vegetables.

“In cooking your carrot stew/sauce, you need carrot, cabbage, red pepper, green peas, onions, meat stock, spices and any other ingredient desired for taste.

“You need to dice the vegetables, including the carrot, fry in shallow oil for a short while, and then add your meat stock and spices to taste.

“Some people will also like to add corn flour for thickening, but whichever way it is desired to be prepared, it should not be cooked for long.”

According to her, the nutritional value cannot be over emphasised.

She said that the ingredients were majorly vegetables, adding that it was required by the body to maintain good health.

Okoronkwo also stated that the ingredients needed for carrot stew/sauce was highly affordable compared to the hike in the price of tomatoes.

The journalist noted that packaged tomatoes, also known as tomato puree were over processed and would have lost the nutritional value of the fresh tomato.

She, however, said that carrot stew/sauce was not an alternative to tomato stew but good for health, adding “vegetable it is.’’

Mallam Abdul Idris, another tomato trader, said that although carrot stew could serve as an alternative for tomato stew, it was not a common meal within the country.

Idris noted that the general public was used to tomato stew, in spite of its high price which had been sky rocketed in the past few months.

He, however, said that the price of tomatoes was beginning to drop, and encouraged people to use fresh tomatoes to prepare their meals again as it was more healthy.

Doris Ogbonna, a fast food attendant said carrot stew was a new thing to her, but wouldn’t mind giving it a try.

Ogbonna said that carrot was a very nutritious vegetable, adding that using it to prepare stew would be very healthy for the body.

“I have never heard of carrot stew, I am used to the regular tomato stew or probably carrot sauce but not the stew.

“But carrot is a very good fruit and it has been used for juice, which means when it is used for stew, it will be very nutritious.”

Mr Mohammed Auwal, a trader in the FCT said he preferred using carrots for stew to tomatoes, adding that the taste was sweeter than tomato stew.

“Carrot stew is very easy to prepare, it makes me look fresh and it is even more colourful than that of tomatoes.’’

Mrs Asika Tina, a vegetable trader said, “since the tomatoes hike affected me, I started using Banga (made from palm karnel) or I use carrot to prepare fried rice so that I would not use tomatoes again”.

“Since the price of tomatoes is high, I switched to carrot rice; carrot is not a special stew, I just use it to add flavour to my meals.”

She added that tomatoes or carrot stew were of different types and have different taste.

Christian Idachaba, a chef with Chop n’ Cafe Restaurant said carrot stew existed, but was more of an intercontinental dish than a local meal.

“Carrot stew can actually be used to replace tomato stew, but it is not common in our society.

“We have locally made food, intercontinental dishes and carrot stew is part of intercontinental food.
“You use flour, carrot, little green beans, onions, spices, chicken, garlic, ginger and a little quantity of vegetable oil to prepare the meal.

“When preparing carrot stew, you can add a little quantity of fresh tomatoes to make it tasty.’’

According to him, carrot stew is rarely requested as a meal by people, especially in small restaurants, but widely recognised in intercontinental hotels and restaurants.

Idachaba said that carrot stew was healthy for the body, required about ten minutes to prepare on a low heat.
He, however, said that it was necessary for people to try new ways of preparing meals in their choice of food, adding that there were more nutritious foods than could be imagined.