It has been some months since tomato became gold in Nigeria. It has become gold purely because the price has gone up by 200 percent or more in some cases.
Tomato is an important staple in most Nigerian homes, and is mostly used to prepare Stews (Beef stew, Chicken Stew, etc.) which accompanies other cooked food. For working mums like myself, cooking a batch of stew on weekends and freezing (where electricity is constant) makes meal times on week days, less stressful. Stew goes well with foods like rice, beans, yam, spaghetti, you name it. What is fried eggs without some sliced tomatoes? Aaaaaah! don't forget jollof rice o! Then our Yoruba neighbours from western Nigeria, use tomato as the base for most soups like: efo riro, efo ele-guisi, obe ata, etc. So you get my point about the importance of tomato in a Nigerian home.
Before the tomato scarcity, 5 pieces of tomato were sold for 200 naira or less, depending on your location. But these days, it is sold for a minimum of 500 naira for the same 5 pieces of tomatoes. The first day I observed the price hike was on a sunday a few months ago. It was a lazy sunday and as i told Iya Ibeji to pack the quantity i wanted, she quickly told me "aunty na 500, 500 naira o". I did a double take and instead of over thinking it, i walked straight to the vegetable seller and made a pot of vegetable soup at a cheaper price.
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Tomato -Nigeria's Gold |
Nigerians have been lamenting the price o and even my hubby thinks the Minister of Agriculture needs to address the nation on this scarcity. Lol. It is that serious.
But I want to tell you why tomato scarcity in Nigeria should be a blessing in disguise.
- BREAK A HABIT
Yes, tomato stew is so delicious. Yes, tomato makes tasty meals. But it has become a habit and habits are meant to be broken. This is the perfect opportunity to take a break from eating the same kind of meals.
- EXPLORE THE WIDE ARRAY OF NIGERIAN RECIPES
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Ofe Akwu |
- ENCOURAGES YOU TO BE INNOVATIVE
- NOTICE THE VALUE OF OTHER FOOD ITEMS
- SAVE MONEY
Do you have other lessons you have learnt from this tomato scarcity? What are the new recipes you invented to save money? Please share so we can all learn.
Well said, Chinelo! There are many other food items that should be valued in times like this. Tomato stew is precious but without tomatoes life will still go on.
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Thanks Precious. Life does go on tomato or no tomato
Deletetrue@ precious, tomato or no tomato life goes on
ReplyDeleteSo true. It made my mum show her creativity. We've been eating anything beans, moi moi, Akara, gbegiri (beans soup)
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You see, and it's not so bad having these different dishes for a change
Deleteweldone Nelo for the new suggested alternatives. Keep up the good job you are doing. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThank you mummy.
DeleteI NEED to eat Ofe akwu.... Love it!!
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Aaaaaaww! wish i could send some across to you. Still have a bowl of ofe akwu from last sunday in the freezer. Its my bestest!!!
DeleteI agree that there should be more variety of choices for food. Yes the prices are now outrageous but if it encourages trying different foods and options, plus great alternatives then it is a plus point and hopefully others will be encouraged to try the same.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Thanks for reading
DeleteHi Chinelo,
ReplyDeleteAn excellent post! I like how scarcity influences people to be more creative in figuring out alternatives.
Yes, curry sauce is a delicious alternative for tomato stew and it tastes great with rice.
Garden egg sauce is another nice substitute for stew, goes well with yam. and is packed full of nutrients. :-)
Thanks Nedoux.
Deletei love Garden egg sauce with yam or potatoes. They are yummy
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