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Ikijumba

A hearty stew of sweet potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, and tomatoes flavored with curry and cayenne.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Ikijumba

Time15–20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat.

  2. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic.

  3. Sauté until the onion is soft and translucent.

  4. Add the diced sweet potatoes, carrot, and green bell pepper to the pot. Stir well to combine with the onions and garlic.

Spice and simmer

  1. Sprinkle the curry powder and cayenne pepper (if using) over the vegetables, and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Stir again to coat the vegetables with the spices.

  2. Pour in the vegetable broth or water.

  3. Bring the mixture to a boil.

  4. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let the stew simmer for about 15–20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender and cooked through. Stir occasionally during cooking to prevent sticking and to ensure even cooking of the vegetables.

Finish and serve

  1. Add the diced tomatoes to the stew. Stir well and let it simmer for an additional 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.

  2. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, adding more salt or spices according to your preference.

  3. Remove the pot from the heat.

  4. Let the ikijumba rest for a few minutes before serving.

  5. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or cilantro before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

438Calories
9 gProtein
15 gFat
71 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 15 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot 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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,308 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Sweet potatoes
Form the bulk of the stew and turn tender and starchy as they simmer.
Onion
Builds a sweet, savoury base as it softens and turns translucent.
Tomatoes
Add acidity and moisture that help the stew's flavour come together.
Curry powder
Contributes warm aromatic spice that flavours the vegetables and broth.

The step that matters

Sautéing the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Cooking the onion slowly drives off moisture and develops sweetness, while garlic turns mellow. Rushing this step leaves a raw, sharp base that the spices cannot mellow.

Swap the sweet potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, clove, garlic, carrot, pepper, tomato, parsley):

  1. Okrafits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Eggplantfits better
  4. Sweet potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, clove, garlic, carrot, pepper, tomato, parsley. 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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