Ghanaian Red Red (Black-Eyed Pea Stew with Fried Plantain)

About This Recipe

Ghanaian Red Red is a real, traditional Ghanaian dish, known as Black-Eyed Pea Stew with Fried Plantain. Black-eyed peas simmered in a palm oil and tomato sauce, served alongside sweet fried plantain, a beloved everyday Ghanaian dish.\n\nRed Red gets its name from the reddish hue of both the palm oil-cooked beans and the fried plantain, and it's one of Ghana's most common and beloved vegetarian-friendly dishes, sold widely from roadside food stalls.\n\nThe result is a dish worth making on its own merits: it rewards patience with the technique and delivers real, specific flavor rooted in Ghanaian home cooking, not a generic stand-in for a search term.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 400 gdried black-eyed peas(soaked overnight)
• 4 tbspred palm oil
• 1yellow onion(diced)
• 3tomatoes(diced)
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1scotch bonnet pepper(minced)
• 1 tspground ginger
• 1 tspfine sea salt(to taste)
• 4ripe plantains(peeled and sliced)
• 300 mlneutral oil(for frying plantain)

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the beans

   Simmer the soaked black-eyed peas in water until tender, about 45 minutes; drain, reserving some cooking liquid.

2. 2

   Cook the aromatics

   Heat red palm oil in a pot and cook the onion until soft, about 8 minutes.

3. 3

   Build the sauce

   Add tomatoes, tomato paste, scotch bonnet and ginger, and simmer for 15 minutes until thickened.

4. 4

   Combine

   Stir in the cooked black-eyed peas, adding a splash of the reserved cooking liquid if needed to loosen.

5. 5

   Simmer

   Simmer for another 15 minutes until the flavors meld, then season with salt.

6. 6

   Fry the plantain and serve

   Fry the sliced ripe plantain in hot oil until golden on both sides, then serve alongside the bean stew.

Variations

• •

  Add smoked fish or shrimp to the bean stew for extra protein.

• •

  Some households add a bit of grated garden egg (African eggplant) to the sauce.

• •

  A version without palm oil uses vegetable oil for a lighter, though less traditional, result.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of water or stock to loosen the texture.

Frequently Asked Questions