Red Red (African Stewed Black-eyed peas)
Red Red Recipe- A hearty tasty and no fuss vegetarian black-eyed peas stewed beans- African Style
Here, in the United States, black- eyed peas are best known, especially in the south, as a good luck and prosperity meal. In Africa, it is an everyday, year round meal, used in all forms- ground, dried, fresh and a good source of protein. And may I add it is very affordable .
If you are unfamiliar with black-eyed beans, they are delicious little white beans with a mild taste and smooth texture- what I like most, is their meaty flavor and texture-they really do have a bite to it, compared to other beans.
Lately, there has been more interest in them and so many home cooks and chefs are making use of these beans transforming them into exquisite meals.
Here is a variation on this rustic yet flavorful use of these beans- known as Red Red. Red Red is a simple tomato stew that is enjoyed widely through out Ghana.
Don’t quote me on this, rumor has that, it’s name is derived from combining red palm oil and tomato sauce. You see, these beans always make everything better for me- especially after a rough week. I make them eat for breakfast with puff puff(one of my all time comfort breakfast) and serve it with fried plantains for lunch. When am on a health kick, I grill or roast plantains.
I so wasn’t on one this weekend, ANYTHING greasy I just had to have.
While I absolutely love smoked meat or fish in my beans; Yes, truly do- most often is more about the flavor these proteins add to the meal rather than the meat itself. I thought it would to a good idea to make this without any smoked meats, which is customary.
However, if you have crayfish (dried shrimp) do include them to make up for the loss of the smoky flavor. A trick I do all the time is to use smoked paprika to add that smoky flavor to my food, when I can’t get a hold of smoked meat.
Believe me, sometimes getting a hold of smoked meats is like searching for a needle in a haystack or paying with an arm and a leg. Ah! I am not willing to shed out that amount of money all the time ! Just for special occasion .
Can’t find or don’t like Black eyed peas? No worries, you could make these with black, red or any other types of beans. Don’t forget to adjust cooking times and flavors. Enjoy!!!
Watch How to Make It
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Red Red (African Stewed Black-eyed peas)
Ingredients
- 4 -14.5 ounce canned beans or 1 pound dried beans
- 1/2 – ¾ cup palm oil or Canola oil
- 1 medium Onions
- 1 Tablespoon ginger
- ½ tablespoon garlic
- 2 Tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 1/3 cup crayfish optional
- 2 cups – 3 cups stock/ water
- 1-tablespoon bouillon powder vegetarian, chicken (optional)
- 2-3 green onions chopped
- Salt and pepper as needed
- 1 habanero pepper or sub with hot pepper or sauce optional
Instructions
- Rinse dry black-eyed pea beans and pick through and discard any foreign object. (I did not have to do this because I used the package beans,). Add beans to a large pot covering with 3-4 inches of cold water.
- Cover and let sit overnight or 6 to 8 hours
- Drain the soaked beans, rinse, and place the beans in a Dutch oven or pressure cooker. Follow instructions for cooking beans in your pressure cooker. It takes roughly between 8 to 12 minutes to cook. If not using a pressure cook, cook the beans for about 50- 60 mins or until tender
- Drain the cooked beans and set aside
- If using canned beans you should start from here.
- Heat oil (palm and canola) in large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Sauté the onions in the oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
- Add tomatoes, tomatoes paste , ginger, garlic, paprika and bouillon powder/ cubes. Cook while stirring for about 60 seconds,
- Through in the Cray fish and let it simmer, for about 10-15 minutes, add water/ stock if needed to prevent burns. Continue to cook the sauce, stirring occasionally
- Finally add the beans, green onions and the remaining stock/water and bring to a boil and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
- Adjust for seasonings, and beans consistency with water and serve.
Nutrition Information:
I’ve just return form a trip to Ghana and fell in live with this this. I’m actually making it today for my kids to try hope they love it as much as I do
I hope you had a great trip, Donna! That sounds great, would love an update on if they enjoyed 🙂
This was spectacular! I used fish sauce instead of the crayfish, and also put in smoked paprika. I added swiss chard chopped up for some greens. My kid loved it too.
Thanks for the recipe!
I love blackeyed peas! Got to try this with tomatoes and tomato sauce, a little rice and corn bread! Yummy good!
Awesome! Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks
Wow, this was surprisingly delicious! I am vegetarian so left out the crayfish of course, but I added a dash of kelp seasoning and liquid smoke as well as smoked paprika to give it a deeper flavor, but not even sure I needed those modifications. I also used the canned peas. I served over mielepap and with smoked turkey sausage for the rest of the family. Everyone loved it, and I’m enjoying leftovers at lunch today. Thank you for this awesome recipe!!
Now you got me wanting to make this one for tomorrow. 🙂 Glad you and your family loved it, Supriya. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. Enjoy!
Hi there! I can’t wait to make this dish tonight. I’d like to add smoked turkey from the grocery store… do you have a recipe that includes meat?
Hi Nadia, you can try this Collard Greens recipe here >>> https://www.africanbites.com/southern-style-greens/ You can easily switch out the ham hocks for smoked turkey.
Me gusta bastante, yo siempre utilizo un contador de tiempo para que no se me pase la comida
I made this in a slow cooker…it was delicious that way too and even easier! ❤❤
I am also making this in the Crock-Pot tomorrow. I am missing palm oil and green onions and I think there was something else. Oh yes tomato paste. I’m going to make it with what I’ve got and then once I have a caregiver I can go out shopping and get what I want for this dish. There is a market down the street that sells all of these things and I would like to get plantains as well to drive for a serving on the side. I do have smoked paprika and Liquid Smoke. I can also reduce down tomato juice until very thick which I have done before when recipes call for tomato paste and I don’t have any. Thank you so much for posting this recipe I just saw it made on TV in a village in Ghana!
I’m Ghanaian, and was happy to find this Ghanaian recipe here. As a child I loved eating this with golden fried plantain and a little avocado chopped up on the side. Thank you for bringing back fond childhood memories. Great job!
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to share Akosua! Happy to be of help.
I’m getting ready to have a buffet for my son’s birthday party and will be serving African food. I’m so excited to find your website. The blackeyed peas will defiantly be on the menu!
Happy birthday to your son, Vicki! Can’t wait for you to try some other recipes on this site. Happy cooking!
Can olive oil be used instead? I don’t know where to find palm oil and I don’t use the other
Yes, you can but it wouldn’t have that authentic taste. Still tastes good though. Palm oil can be purchased in any African Market.
Our new favorite!
YESS!!
I made this today for lunch – it’s delicious and easy to make. Thank you for posting it!
Awesome! Thanks for feedback!
When do I add the tomato paste…making it tom.
After adding the tomatoes.
This looks so amazing! If you opt to use the crayfish, could you use seafood stock/bouillon instead of veg or chicken? Or do you think it would be too much?
Thanks! It would be just fine . Go for it . Happy Holidays!!!!
Loved this recipe! It was the first time I have ever made black eyed peas. It was delicious, even my picky 2 year old gobbled down 2 bowls! I did not use any meat. Thank you for posting!!!
Awesome! Glad to hear it worked out well you. Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.
Soooo simple and yet so much flavour in this dish. Made it twice already and planning my third time already! Thank you for sharing!
YES! So glad to hear this Chantelle ! Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.
I stumbled upon this website and just tried the Red Red recipe tonight—it was fantastic!! I’m vegetarian, so your recipes open up a whole new culture of meals for me. I skipped the dried shrimps and used smoked paprika, used only a few tablespoons of oil (I had olive oil so used that) and chopped up a zucchini that needed to be used and threw that in with the onions. Delicious!!! I’ll be making this frequently—thank you!
YESS! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
I am on a weight loss diet. How would the stew taste change if I used less palm oil?
It does change but not a whole lot- it’s still quite flavorful. Just like you when am on a diet I cut out oil significantly , I start with 3-4 tablespoons . Add more if necessary just enough to get the onions and garlic going.
I prepared this dish and it was delicious. I’m still smacking my lips. It was difficult to find palm oil in my community so I used vegetable oil. I had my son get it for me in Baltimore and made it again and it makes a big difference in the flavor. Thank you soooooo much for providing a taste of the Motherland.
Awesome! Yes, Palm oil gives it that distinct flavor that can’t be beat. So glad to hear it worked out well for you. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Hi,
Stumbled here searching for something.
But this is very interesting & informative about African food.
This red red is very similar to Indian Lobia curry.
Black eyed peas are called Lobia in India.
I liked Puf-Puf recipe also.
Thanks for introducing me to new food ides.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Niiima – I just learned something new today.
ayo, this is what im talking about, a wonderful african dish i can share with my parents. im assuming the crayfish is dried? eager to serve this with fried sweet (or did u eat it with green) plantains. this is absolutely wonderful. nothing beats that african mix of onion tomato and palm oil
You’ve got that right . It always takes me back home ! Yes the crayfish is dried and Yes to fried sweet plantains. Green plantains works as well.