An R.S.V.P. at the base of a party or wedding invitation is commonly translated to: Please Reply (from the French répondez s'il vous plait.)  Nigerians however, read a different meaning: "Rice and Stew Very Plenty." After all, who would want to come to your wedding if they are not guaranteed to sample plates upon plates of this staple dish!

Although rice and stew is a staple, its quality changes to reflect the occasion. Stews for parties and weddings generally contain lots of meat (chicken, goat, beef, etc.), fish (fresh, dried, and tinned), and vegetables (carrots, bell peppers, corn, and peas). These basic ingredients act as a jumping off point for each cook, whose special spice blends impart a unique party flavor to the stew.

In my house, my mother and older sister get up early on Sundays to make the stew. Depending on how early they start the preparations, I know if we will be having important visitors after church. During the week, the stews are simpler and easily modified: onions, peppers, tomatoes, spices and maybe a type of meat, but by no means lacking in flavor. The scrumptious stew, a staple sauce for many dishes, is also ideal for those who do not have time to cook everyday.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of rice
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 whole onion
• 1 pepper (if you like spicy, use jalapeno, if you want extremely mild,
• use a bell pepper)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 5 carrot sticks
• 1 can of tomato paste
• 1 can of tomato puree
• 2 fresh tomatoes
• 2 bouillon cubes
• Spices of your choice (I favor thyme and curry)
• 1 cup of meat stock (or water for vegetarians)
• Salt

Boil two cups of plain rice with salt (takes roughly 30-45mins). While the rice boils, prepare the stew.

Chop the onions, pepper, carrot, garlic and tomatoes. In a separate pot, heat the oil.  Sautee the onions, carrots and pepper until the onions brown slightly.  Mix the cans of tomato paste and tomato puree with the freshly chopped tomatoes. Add the mixture to the sautéed onions. Stir frequently so that the paste does not burn. Add bouillon cubes and spices.

Cover and allow to boil for ten minutes (remember to stir occasionally). Add the meat stock to dilute the stew and salt to taste. Boil vigorously to evaporate excess water. (I personally like my stew wet, so I let it boil for about 10 minutes. For a more concentrated flavor boil for closer to thirty minutes, and don't forget to stir occasionally.)

Spoon stew over rice to serve. Invite friends over to enjoy your wonderful rice and stew.

Bia ka anyi rie nri (Come, let's eat!)

A good thing about many Nigerian dishes is that they allow for a lot of improvisation and personalization – most stew recipes are taught through observation. Although I learned how to make stew from my mother, my stew tastes nothing like hers.  Indeed I have yet to meet two people whose stews’ taste the same. Feel free to create your own unique version of this stew, it is indeed tradition to do so.