This is a quintessential recipe every plant based person looking to explore West African recipe should try. Red Red is a very popular Ghanaian dish that is naturally plant based, consisting of black eye peas cooked in a thick and flavourful tomato sauce. This red red recipe is very simple , plant based friendly and a perfect introduction to Ghanaian cooking.
I already have a recipe for Red Red (Ghanaian Beans Stew) in my free E-book, which is also available on my blog. But this recipe is equally as tasty for those days you have more time to dedicate to cooking. Making this Red Red had my house smelling like a typical Ghanaian market and had my housemate coming by and asking me what this divine smell was.
What is Red Red?
As previously mentioned, red red is a very popular dish in Ghana. It is served during lunchtime but we ate some variation of red red at home for breakfast. Red Red gets its name from the stew and the plantains. The beans are cooked in a tomato sauce fried with red palm oil giving it an even reader appearance. If you want to learn more about red palm oil in West African cooking, please check out this link. When paired with perfectly golden fried plantains, all you see are different shades of red.
I think that Red Red is a perfect example of how foods from West African culinary cuisines can be suitable for vegans. many countries in West Africa do have a bean and plantain dish, which usually has little to no meat. It is packed with plant-based protein using ingredients indigenous to the region. Now, black eye peas and plantains are available in many grocery stores which make this recipe incredibly accessible for any one who wants a sneak peak into Ghanaian cooking or West African food at large.
What you will need
- Aromatics: Onion, Bell pepper, garlic and ginger. You have probably seen me describe this in many of the tomato based recipes I have shared so this might sound like a broken record. These are the foundation of every Ghanaian sauce. They add flavour and richness to the food.
- Beans: Black eye peas are important for this dish, they make it what it is!
- Tomato Sauce: I mean it is a tomato based sauce
- Spices: Cloves, curry powder, cumin powder and bay leaves impart a very fragrant and strong aroma to this dish, that will make you come begging for more. Ghanaian food is very spicy both through pepper and through the spices we incorporate in our dishes.
- Veggie Cube: I use this instead of Maggi cube because it is made of natural herbs and spices with far less salt
- Oil: This recipe is made without Red Palm oil which is a very important ingredient but people have asked for non-red palm oil recipe. Please swap out the vegetable for red palm oil if you have access to it. Here is a blog post about Red Palm Oil in West African Cooking (click here)
How to Make Red Red
- Soak Beans: For any bean dish, I recommend soaking them. It helps to break down the phytonutrients and the indigestible sugars. This is especially important if you are transitioning into a vegan diet
- Cook the Beans: We want to cook the beans before the stew to quicken the cooking process
- Sauté the Onions: To add a slight sweetness to the dish we will sauté the onion in a little bit of oil
- Prepare the Stew: Once the onions are soft, we fry down the tomato paste and then cook down the tomato stew by blending the aromatics and adding it to the sautéed onions as well as the tomato sauce
- Spice it Up: Once the sauce has gotten dry and reduced, we will add the spices to give it flavour
- Add the Beans: Mix in the beans and let it cook for a few minutes.
- Finish Up the Sauce: I add greens to the sauce to get in more vegetables but this is completely optional
- Serve: Serve this sauce with fried plantains. There is no red red without plantains. The rice is just extra
Check out this youtube video for the visual directions
Sauce–Ghanaian By Afia–Serves: 8 Prep Time: 10 mins–Cooking Time: 1 hour 15 minutes–Total Time: 1 hour 25 mins 1 Soak the black eye peas overnight. 2 the next day rinse the beans and cook in water for 45-50 minutes at medium to high heat. No need to measure the amount of water, just use enough water to fully cover the beans 3 While the beans are cooking prep the other ingredients. 4 Chop half a medium red onion finely and set aside. Save the other half of the onion for the tomato blend 5 In a blender add the half onion, 3 tomatoes roughly chopped, one scotch bonnet pepper (deseeded if you do not like spicy food), 1/2 red bell pepper and a large thumb of ginger. Blend the mixture with about 1/4-1/3 cup of water, just enough water to make it blend 6 In a large pot heat 1/4 cup of red palm oil (or any vegetable oil of choice) at medium heat. When the oil starts to run like water in the pot, add the finely chopped onions and cook in the oil till soft 7 When the onions are soft, add the tomato paste and mix it well with the onions. Add 1/4 cup of water if the pot turns dry 8 After the tomato paste has been well mixed with the onions, mix in the blended tomato purée, the spices and the canned tomato sauce (I used the 398 ml Costco organic low sodium tomato sauce) 9 Fully cover the pot and let the sauce cook for 30 minutes at medium heat or till the sauce starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. You want to evaporate out as much water as possible and be left with a dry sauce. The sauce will bumble a lot so make sure to keep it well covered 10 Mix in the cooked beans and let it cook in the sauce for 10 minutes. 11 If you want to add, turn off the stove and add the chopped spinach. Mix in the spinach well and let the residual heat wilt the spinach 12 Serve with some fried plantains and /or rice *** if you do not chose to use red palm you can swap the olive oil to red palm oil*** the greens are optional*** if you do not like spicy food, you can adjust the amount accordingly 
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