We aren’t doing too badly in Naija. Lots of things are being processed and packaged, and sold in stores. You can find locally canned palm nut sauce for banga soup, spice blends in bottles and jars, hibiscus leaves in packs. That soothes my soul. I’m particularly glad to find Abacha – shredded and dehydrated. Perfect...
I imagined it would be nice. And it was. Is. And mostly from Agbalumo puree. Agbalumo puree cooked with egg yolks and butter to make a sweet, breakfast/ bread spread. It takes on the colour of caramel and the lushness of recipes with cooked egg yolks – rich and smooth on the tongue. So yes,...
I have a dream, that one day, Nigerian cuisine will be spoken about, for its richness and diversity. That one day, the world will know that there’s more to our food than ‘pepper’ and ‘swallow’. I intend to play a small role in making that happen, so help me Lord. For a while now, my...
With the remains from the vinegar episode, I decided to make an ‘infusion’. This drink is a classic case of using up leftovers and doing something I’ve wanted to do for ages – make a drink of Agbalumo. The seeds and skin were tossed into pot. I tried to think of what spices would go well...
Over the holidays, I got so many vinegars to add to my growing collection. I now have bottles of Mango, Lime, Palm, Cane Sugar, Champagne, Sherry and others…so much so I’m beginning to think of setting up a rack. The mango vinegar inspired me to try a version with Agbalumo. My thinking is that some...
…are in season and I am stoked. Mangoes are in season across oceans and continents, from India to Pakistan, Australia to Nigeria. How fragrantly we’re joined. For me, the first fruits of the season are always eaten out of hand. We spend the first week or so re-acquainting ourselves with the familiar scents, part-ambrosia, part...
The truth is when I happen upon a new ingredient, I like to explore as much as I can. So I’ve done the soup and the salad and this time, it’s the deep-fried chips. I figured that would work better than roasted but that’ll be explored as well. Here, I deep-fried the chips for a...
With my huge batch of cooked cassava chips, I wondered what else I could do. I considered making Aipim, a traditional Brazilian cake – dense, moist and apparently delicious. We, after all share histories of food and more with them. However, I wasn’t sure my cassava was of the right texture, as it was in...
My obsession with re-imagining Nigerian cuisine often begins with street food. The end? Dishes with de- and re-constructed ingredients, new techniques applied to familiar flavours and more. Last August, I discovered cooked cassava shreds/ chips, also called Bobozi, Mbrakasi in the east and south of Nigeria. This popular street snack is sold with chunks of fresh coconut. This version sold...