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N'Dizi Ya Na Nyama

A Tanzanian stew of beef, plantains, peas, tomatoes, and coconut milk.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

N'Dizi Ya Na Nyama

Time30 to 45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the beef

  1. Place water in a large pot and add beef.

  2. Bring to a boil and add thyme, salt, and pepper.

  3. Cover and reduce to simmer.

  4. Cook until beef is tender, 30 to 45 minutes.

  5. Set pot aside.

Make the stew

  1. In a heavy skillet, add oil and heat.

  2. When oil is hot but not smoking, add garlic, onions, and tomatoes.

  3. Cook until onions are translucent.

  4. Add beef to the vegetables.

  5. Reduce heat.

  6. Cook slowly about 10 minutes.

  7. Add plantains, peas, and coconut milk.

  8. Continue to simmer over low heat 5 to 10 minutes.

  9. Adjust seasonings to taste.

  10. Cook another 10 to 15 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

794Calories
36 gProtein
56 gFat
39 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 12 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Coconut1/2 cup shredded (40g)283
Beef100g cooked250
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Plantainnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,585 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Thyme + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,608 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Thyme + tomatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,370 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef tips
Provides the main protein, which becomes tender through slow simmering.
Plantains
Starchy body that softens and thickens the stew as it cooks.
Coconut milk
Adds richness and fat, giving the sauce a creamy body.
Onions
Soften and sweeten as they cook, forming the flavour base of the stew.
Tomatoes
Add acidity and moisture that combine with the onions into a sauce.
Green peas
Add sweetness and a fresh, tender texture to the finished stew.

The step that matters

Cooking the onions until translucent before adding the beef. Cooking the onions slowly until they soften and turn translucent releases their sweetness and builds the base flavour; rushing this leaves a sharp, raw taste in the sauce.

Swap the coconut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, thyme, pepper, garlic, onion, tomato, peas):

  1. Limefits better
  2. Avocadofits better
  3. Lemonfits better
  4. Coconutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, thyme, pepper, garlic, onion, tomato, peas. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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