1
Cook the beans
Simmer black-eyed peas in water until tender but not collapsed. Reserve a little cooking liquid, then drain.
Cook beans
45:00
Ghana | Stew
Red Red
A Ghanaian black-eyed pea stew cooked with red palm oil and served with fried ripe plantain.
Country
Ghana
Region
West Africa
Time
85 min
Serves
5
Level
easy
Recipe overview
What to know before you cook
Red Red gets its name from the red palm oil and the red-orange fried plantain often served beside the beans. The stew should be hearty and glossy, with black-eyed peas carrying onion, tomato, chile, garlic, and ginger.
What the dish tastes like
A Ghanaian black-eyed pea stew cooked with red palm oil and served with fried ripe plantain.
When to cook it
Best for lunch, vegetarian plates, street-food style meals, and hearty weekday dinners.. Plan on a easy cook and about 85 minutes total.
What to serve alongside it
Fried ripe plantain, gari, rice, avocado, or boiled egg.
Regional lane
Rice, beans, and street table. Waakye, jollof, kelewele, and lunch-counter plates with many sides.
Chef watch-outs
- Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
- Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
- Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
How you know it is ready
- The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
- The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
- Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
Pantry lane
shito, palm oil, sorghum leaves, fermented corn dough, groundnut
Recipe photos
See the dish before you cook
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Chef board
Build the table around Red Red
Fried ripe plantain, gari, rice, avocado, or boiled egg.
Best route from here
Rice, beans, and street table
Collections to keep cooking
How to cook it
Step-by-step method
Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.
4 steps
20 min prep
65 min cook
85 min total
easy
2
Build the stew base
Heat palm oil, then cook onion, garlic, ginger, scotch bonnet, tomatoes, and tomato paste until the sauce thickens.
Cook sauce
20:00
3
Stew the beans
Stir beans into the sauce with a splash of reserved cooking liquid. Simmer until glossy and well coated. Season with salt.
Simmer beans
15:00
4
Fry the plantain
Fry ripe plantain slices in oil until caramelized and golden. Serve beside the beans.
Fry plantain
10:00
Some cooks add fish powder, smoked fish, or shrimp powder, while vegan versions keep the stew bean-forward.
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