Now the dust has settled :), we can explore more about Jollof Rice – both a short history and the recent #Jollofgate incident. —–00000—– In the winter of 2010, I made wholewheat Argentine Empanadas. I served them with a fresh herb sauce, Chimichurri and got many pats on the back and one tap…one comment…from an Argentine no...
Jollof, definitions Noun. Verb. of a red, spiced rice dish loved in every city and town ‘South of the Sahara’ and along the coast of West Africa. Synonyms: Djolof, Benachim (Gambia); Thiéboudienne (Senegal) to cook in a red, tomato-based sauce: ‘Jollof beans’ – a one pot dish of beans cooked in a rich tomato sauce. West African-speak. denoting...
And on and on and on – Part 2 of the Baked Garri-crusted Garden Eggs. It involves a bake. Ideally, I would have like this to feature the baked garden eggs, a spicy sauce and Wara, locally produced cheese. Well, though I didn’t meet the ultimate test in my head, the end result was pretty...
I am fascinated by how ideas come, how they’re created – so many elements, some seemingly random, yet they come together to test concepts, fuse thoughts and generally do something ‘new’. Like with garden eggs. I think I like the whole exploration, the journey, the process of building, of constructing, of putting together. I like...
I love stewed beans. Or Jollof beans as we would call it in Nigeria. Beans cooked in a tomato sauce. Except my sauce is more onions and peppers than tomatoes. But it still ends up with the Jollof ‘hue’, a cross between deep orange and red. Jollof. Today, I share my beloved recipe for ‘stewed’ beans: Brown...
Connectedness. The thing that fascinates me the most in life. If I had to narrow down the things I find fascinating. This would be one of them. Connectedness – of people, places and things. Brazil. Nigeria. Connected. By slavery and freedom. In culture and cuisine. Like Carnivals. Connected, with thick tropical rainforests and love for football. Connected in...
Salsa, of a rhythmic Latin American dance. And of a sauce. A condiment with names, types, characters varied. From Roja, of red to verde, of green. With sweetcorn, onions, carrots, pineapples and mangoes – each starring as the main ingredient. Even with citrus too. This salsa I present to you is of mangoes.
I didn’t grow up cutting up mangoes into pretty chunks for food. I didn’t worry about how to get my chunks all lined up in a row. I didn’t find my days and night taken with thoughts of salsas and salads Limed-fruit and whatnots. It wasn’t till adulthood beckoned… That I learnt how to cut...
It’s the transformation that gets me. The beautiful change of colour in the purple onions to almost magenta. It’s the acid in the fresh limes that result in this. That creates this thing of beauty. The bite of the onion is tempered, and the texture is slightly softened. The acid in the lime juice sets...