Chicken and Okro Stew with Buttered Rice and Dodo

Rice and stew is one of Nigeria’s signature dishes. Even on invitation cards to parties Nigerians have abbreviated RSVP to mean rice and stew very plenty.
I am yet to see a typical Nigerian home where Rice and Stew does not feature at least ones a week on the menu.
For the Yoruba woman in particular, stews of different textures and tastes are a staple in her fridge or freezer. Paired with rice, yams, dodo, pasta the Nigerian stew is such a versatile sauce and brings that taste element to our regular carbohydrate foods. A bowl of stew in the freezer , I feel so secure food wise. I don’t know who else feels this way.
My twist to today’s dish is the inclusion of Okro in the stew. This is not a typical Nigerian combination but trust me the crunchiness of the Okro and the high fibre it contributes to our health is well worth bringing Okro into a stew pot. I used the Okro specie with the bell bottom as this is less resilient. This dish is quite similar to an Indian sauce I tried recently in a restaurant, but this one will not take you too far from your regular chicken stew .
Enjoy my offering Chicken and Okro Stew with buttered Rice and Dodo

Recipe
Whole chicken breast cut into cubes
4 cooking spoons Tomato/ Pepper blend
2 table spoons Tomato Purée
1 medium size onion( chopped)
4 cloves Garlic( chopped)
4 fingers Okro ( cut in strips)
4 fingers Shombo Pepper( De seeded and  cut in strips)
2 teaspoons Curry powder
1/2 teaspoon dry Pepper
1/2 cup vegetable Oil
Chicken Seasoning to taste
Salt to Taste

Method
1, Season chicken with some of the garlic, chicken seasoning,dry pepper , salt and a little drizzle of oil  and bake for about 30 minutes in a pre heated oven  at medium temperature.
2, Heat the vegetable , fry the Onion and Okro for about 2 minutes and take out the Okro and set aside. Frying reduces the resilience of the Okro
3, Add the tomato/pepper blend, tomato purée and seasoning to the oil  and fry for about 15 minutes stirring at intervals until the tomato is well fried.
4, Add the curry powder, and the baked chicken and fry for 3 minutes. Taste stew to correct the seasoning .
5, Return the Okro to the stew and fry for about 2 minutes
6,Serve the stew with  steamed buttered white rice and dodo. Enjoy.