If you want to give the stew a darker colour and sweet taste of caramelized onion fry the onions until they are golden – brown.   I use my homemade lard for frying. It adds a nice pork taste to the meal. If you don’t have your own lard I recommend buying it from a farmer or a small butcher as it tastes much better than lard from a supermarket. Don’t worry if you can’t get it. Simply replace it with any oil suitable for frying or ghee.   Don’t fry paprika before adding the vegetable stock. It burns easily and becomes bitter.   Add beans to the stew once the potatoes are tender. Butter beans from the tin work great, they are already cooked so they don’t need to get any softer, and just heat through.