red palm oil or any cooking oil, for frying
2 lbs meat, cut into bite-sized pieces (any combination of meat, chicken, or fish may be used)
2 lbs (or more) greens: cassava leaves (feuilles de Manioc), taro leaves, swiss chard, sorrel leaves, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, spinach, chinese spinach, or similar, or a combination of any of these; stems removed and cleaned; note: taro greens must also be parboiled and rinsed before further cooking
3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup dried shrimp or prawns
12 okra, chopped (optional
1 onion, chopped (optional)
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
1 chile pepper, cleaned and chopped (optional)
black pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper, salt (to taste)