There is a long list of comforting, delicious and healthy stews from across West Africa and Miyan Taushe (pronounced mee-yan tawushé) is certainly one of them. My vegetarian version of miyan tuashe is the perfect balanced stew to pair with any carbohydrate or staple food, with all the fibre, essential nutrients, healthy fats, and flavour you need.

Groundnut versus Peanuts

Groundnut and peanut will be used interchangeably as they both refer to the same thing. In the end, peanut is a legume that grows underground, hence the name groundnut. Like every type of food, there are always difference in cultivers but they all belong to the same family.

What is Miyan Taushe

Miyan taushe, also known as miyar taushe, is a peanut-based pumpkin stew hailing from northern Nigeria. More specifically, it is a stew of Hausa origin — one of the largest ethnic groups on the African continent that traverses Northern Nigeria and Niger with communities in other West African countries, including my home country of Ghana. Miyar Taushe, like many Hausa stews, is a display of flavours loved by Hausa people and many West Africans. The stew is made of a foundation of onions, peppers, and tomatoes, seasoned with indigenous spices like fermented locust beans, broth and/or whatever the cook prefers. It is also sometimes cooked in palm oil or vegetable oil. It is thickened with crushed peanuts and a puree of steamed pumpkin. Finally, a combinations of greens are added , either amaranth, hibiscus, local pumpkin or spinach. Everything you need in a meal can be found in this stew.

What makes Miyan Taushe different from other West African Peanut Stews?

As I have explored the various peanut-based stews and soups found across West Africa, the diversity is noticeable. Sahelian peanut-based stews tend to be thick and include various vegetables. Mafe (Senegal), Tiga Degue (Mali) use larger chunks of vegetables. Other parts of the Sahelian regions switch large chunks of vegetables for local greens like amaranth, or hibiscus and use crushed peanuts instead of peanut butter, which miyan tuashe is an example of. Similar trends can be found in northern Ghana, Burkina Faso and Togo. When you venture south, some keep the thick peanut stew without the vegetables (like Ivorian Sauce Arachide), use fewer and different local greens (Nigerian Groundnut Soup), or are very brothy (southern Ghanaian Peanut soup or Togolese Azi Dessi).

What You will need for Miyan Taushe

Broth

• Mushrooms: To keep this recipe meat-free, we will use mushrooms to make the broth. I recommend either dried mushrooms or firmer mushrooms like king oyster that can be boiled for several minutes without disintegrating.
• Aromatics. Ginger, garlic and onion will make this broth flavourful
• Vegetable Bouillon. To add savouriness, a vegetable bouillon is needed. I prefer Better than Bouillon paste vegetable-based paste, but use whatever you prefer.
• Water

Miyan Taushe Base

• Vegetable Oil. Either red palm oil or any vegetable oil of choice works. If you have access, groundnut oil (also known as roasted peanut oil) will be a fantastic addition.
• Tomato Pepper Mix. A blend of peppers, scotch bonnet pepper and tomatoes are common in many Nigerian dishes.
• Peanuts: We will be using raw, crushed peanuts for this recipe. This can easily be made by grinding peanuts in a blender or coffee/spice grinder
• Seasoning. To keep this traditional, I add fermented locust beans but you can use whatever seasoning you prefer, as long as it is well seasoned.
• Pumpkin. Any pumpkin or squash works here.
• Leafy Greens. Raw spinach or any leafy green of choice works perfectly.

How to make Miyan Taushe

• • Make the mushroom broth.
  • Boil the pumpkin and semi purée it
  • Sauté the onions and pepper mix in the palm oil
  • Add the pureed pumpkin and crushed peanut along with the mushroom broth
  • Season and cook the stew
  • Add the greens. The final product should be a loose sauce
  • Enjoy

What to pair with Miyan Taushe

• Masa: Yeasted rice cake
• Tuwon Shinkaafa: Rice Ball
• White Rice

Storage Tips

Allow the sauce to fully cool down before refrigerating in a tupperware. The recipe can be stored for up to a week in the fridge but is best frozen for longer preservation.