Groundnut beef stew with ground rice balls
Serves: 4
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Groundnut beef stew with ground rice balls
Recipe by Lopé Ariyo
This northern Nigerian dish, also known as miyan geda and tuwo shinkafa, is a rich, hearty, spicy stew
Serves: 4
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
729Kcal
Fat
33gr
Saturates
11gr
Carbs
63gr
Sugars
8gr
Fibre
7gr
Protein
41gr
Salt
3.6gr
Lopé Ariyo
Food writer Lopè first began cooking seriously at university, where she drew comfort from recreating dishes that reminded her of her Nigerian heritage. While at uni, she won a cookery competition landing a book deal with HarperCollins. Hibiscus was published in 2017 – the same year Lopè was crowned The Observer’s Rising Star in Food.
See more of Lopé Ariyo’s recipes
Lopé Ariyo
Food writer Lopè first began cooking seriously at university, where she drew comfort from recreating dishes that reminded her of her Nigerian heritage. While at uni, she won a cookery competition landing a book deal with HarperCollins. Hibiscus was published in 2017 – the same year Lopè was crowned The Observer’s Rising Star in Food.
See more of Lopé Ariyo’s recipes
Ingredients
For the miyan geda
- 500g-600g diced beef (we used beef shin)
- 4 tbsp palm oil or groundnut oil (we used ethically sourced Carotino red palm oil)
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 2 Scotch bonnet chillies, deseeded
- 20g root ginger, peeled and sliced
- 30g ground dried crayfish (or fish sauce/shrimp paste)
- 120g smooth peanut butter
- 1 ltr beef stock (made using 1 stock pot or cube) - use gluten-free stock if required
- juice of 1 lemon
- 200g spinach, roughly shredded
- unsalted peanuts, chopped, to serve
For the tuwo shinkafa
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- 275g ground rice or rice flour
Step by step
- Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a casserole and brown the beef in batches on a high heat, for about 5 minutes per batch. Set the browned meat aside.
- Put the onion, red pepper, Scotch bonnets and ginger in a blender or food processor along with 100ml of water and blitz for 2 minutes or until smooth. It should look like a tomato smoothie when it’s ready. Using the same casserole that the beef was browned in, add the remaining oil and turn the heat down to medium. Add the blended onion and pepper mixture to the oil – it should sizzle when you pour it in. Fry the pepper mixture for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is reduced and there is no excess moisture.
- In a small bowl, mix the ground dried crayfish (or alternative) and peanut butter together. Add this to the casserole and stir until well combined. Slowly add the stock, whisking continuously until well incorporated and creamy. Return the beef to the casserole, stir in the lemon juice and check the sauce for seasoning. Partially cover and cook gently for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the beef is tender. In the last 3-5 minutes of cooking, add the shredded spinach and leave to simmer.
- To make the tuwo shinkafa, fill a pot with 600ml of boiling water, add the salt and place over a medium heat. Slowly pour in the ground rice, stirring fast and continuously using a wooden or silicone spoon. Once the ground rice thickens add another 300ml water and turn the heat down to low. Cover the pot and let the mixture steam for 8 minutes. Fold the tuwo once more until there are no visible lumps and all the water is gone. The tuwo should be soft and easily mouldable.
- To get a perfectly round shape for the tuwo, put a little water (less than a tablespoon each) into 4 bowls. Divide the cooked dough between the bowls then carefully flip, continuously, until a ball is formed. Alternatively, scoop a quarter of the dough onto a square of clingfilm; gather the corners together then twist to shape into a round dumpling-like ball. Ladle some soup into each bowl with the tuwo, top with the meat and scatter over the crushed peanuts.
Chef quote
Throughout West Africa you can find certain dishes made from starchy fruits like plantains, tubers such as yams or every day grains that are boiled down and pounded into soft pillow-like balls. This particular dish is from the Northern part of Nigeria. The soft balls, which are the size of tennis balls, are called tuwo and they are always accompanied by a stew (miyan).
