Miyan taushe

Ingredients

Pumpkin

• 1 kgpumpkin, peeled and cut in chunks

Meat

• 800 gbeef or goat, in chunks
• 1stock cube
• salt

Base

• 4 tbspgroundnut oil, or palm oil
• 2onions, chopped
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 1thumb ginger, grated
• 3scotch bonnet chillies, chopped

Groundnut

• 200 gsmooth groundnut paste, or unsweetened peanut butter

Greens and seasoning

• 300 gspinach, or alayyahu, chopped
• 2 tbspground dried crayfish
• 2 tbspdawadawa, or locust bean, if you have it
• 1 tspground ginger

To serve

• tuwo shinkafa, or tuwo masara

Directions

1. Use a dense orange-fleshed pumpkin rather than a watery one. A watery pumpkin gives a thin stew that will not thicken. Peel it and cut it into chunks of about four centimetres. Season the meat chunks with salt. Put them in a pot with the stock cube and a chopped onion. Add water to just cover and bring it to a simmer.
2. Cook it covered for about an hour until tender. Top it up with hot water as needed. Lift the meat out and keep the broth, which is used in the stew. Cooking the pumpkin is done separately. Put the pumpkin chunks in a pot with a little water. Cook them for about twenty minutes until completely soft. Use as little water as you can manage.
3. Drain off any excess and mash the pumpkin to a purée. It should be thick rather than sloppy. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pot over a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook them for eight minutes.
4. Add the garlic, ginger and chopped chillies. Cook them for two minutes until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and cook it until it darkens. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down for eight minutes. The base should be thick and the oil should start to separate.
5. Take a ladleful of the hot meat broth. Stir it into the groundnut paste in a separate bowl. Work it into a smooth loose paste before it goes near the pot. Adding it straight in makes lumps that never disperse.
6. Stir the loosened groundnut into the base. Simmer it for ten minutes, stirring often. Stir the mashed pumpkin into the pot. Add the cooked meat and the remaining broth. Add the ground crayfish and the dawadawa. Season it with salt and the ground ginger. Simmer it uncovered for twenty-five minutes.
7. Stir it every few minutes, since groundnut catches easily. It should be thick enough to hold on a spoon. Add hot broth if it has gone too stiff.
8. Cook it down further if it is still loose. Adding the greens is done near the end. Stir the chopped spinach into it. Cook it for five minutes only. It should wilt into the stew rather than disappear. Taste it and adjust the salt and the chilli. Mound the tuwo on a plate or in a bowl. Ladle the stew beside it rather than over the whole thing.

Technique

• Use a dense orange pumpkin, since a watery one gives a thin stew.
• Loosen the groundnut paste with hot broth first, or it will lump.
• Stir often once the groundnut is in, as it catches and burns easily.

Substitutions

• Butternut squash in place of pumpkin.
• Unsweetened peanut butter in place of groundnut paste.

Variations

• Made with chicken instead of beef.
• Vegetarian, with the meat left out and more greens.
• With smoked fish added alongside the meat.

History

A Hausa festive soup thickened with pumpkin flesh and groundnut paste, cooked for guests and at Sallah, the local name for Eid.

Frequently asked questions

What is Miyan taushe?

Miyan taushe is a soup & stew from Niger: pumpkin and peanut stew with spinach, meat and chili, over tuwo. A Hausa festive soup thickened with pumpkin flesh and groundnut paste, cooked for guests and at Sallah, the local name for Eid.

How long does Miyan taushe take to make?

Miyan taushe takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hour 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Miyan taushe?

Yes, within limits. Butternut squash in place of pumpkin. Unsweetened peanut butter in place of groundnut paste.

What is the most important thing to get right in Miyan taushe?

Use a dense orange-fleshed pumpkin rather than a watery one. A watery pumpkin gives a thin stew that will not thicken. Peel it and cut it into chunks of about four centimetres. Season the meat chunks with salt. Put them in a pot with the stock cube and a chopped onion. Add water to just cover and bring it to a simmer.