Hello, Steemians. I hope you all are doing great today. Today I will be talking about a special meal of mine.

Food is one of the basic necessities of man before shelter and clothing. There are varieties of food in the world today, and everyone has one that is so special to them. It could be the taste of the food, the memory behind the food, or several other reasons. My choice of my special meal was because of its great taste.

My special food is fried potatoes or yam with fish in stew. It is so special to me because I love the smell of fresh fried potatoes, fried fish, and the stew sauce. The aroma it gives is always fantastic to me and sometimes can make me salivate. The crisp sound when biting the yam and fish is always soothing to my mouth. When prepared correctly, it always gives a pleasing taste and appealing look.

The steps to prepare this are actually pretty simple; it just takes time and steadiness to get the right proportion of the ingredients.

• After slicing the yam, add a little amount of salt before frying. While frying, ensure the yam is completely dry before removing it from the fire.

To prepare the stew sauce, the ingredients include: tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, pepper, salt, seasoning cubes and some curry flavour seasoning.

• Add the tomato, red bell peppers, habanero peppers, and onion to the blender and chop briefly in a blender. It is preferred to maintain a chunky texture

• Add 2 cups of vegetable oil to the pot set to medium heat
  Chop ½ of a large onion and add the onions to the pot. Cook briefly for 1-2 minutes

• Add 3 oz of tomato paste and fry briefly for 2-3 minutes

• Add blended pepper mix and stir. Cook on medium to medium-high for 20 minutes and stir frequently

• Once all the oil has floated to the top, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the beef broth that was previously set aside (about 1 cup). Stir and cook for 5-7 minutes

• Add 1 tsp crayfish, 3 Maggi cubes, and any additional salt to taste. I added ¼ tsp salt in the end. Cook for an additional 5-7 minutes. You can opt to drain off some excess oil

The story behind this food is a very funny one. When I was young, I was introduced to yam steak, which actually made me love yam. I grew up believing fried yam is bone that has been made soft. And eating it would make my bones strong too. Stew was a favorite meal of mine since it went well with meat, fish, and beef. So one day, I happened to eat a combination of yam and stew, and it was very delicious.

In conclusion, this meal gives me a sense of satisfaction. Swallowing each morsel gives me peace of mind while eating. I tend to prepare this meal as often as possible, not letting a month pass me by.