I’ve always associated these walnuts with road trips since I was a child. Now, I see them on trays, little bags tied in cones, part black, part glistening. While in traffic a few weeks ago, I purchased a bag, tore it open and cracked a shell after ‘cleaning” it. It split in half, and I...
Tomato. ‘Stew’. The mother. If ever there was a mother sauce to define Nigerian cuisine, this is it – this blend of tomatoes, red onions and peppers. It is the base of a lot of things to come out of the Nigerian kitchen. You’d be hard-pressed to find a sauce of more importance to the Nigerian...
I wanted a way to ‘trap’ the sweet and spicy flavours of the pepper fruit and I dreamt up scones. I felt as though the slightly sweet dough could work well with the spice and scent of pepper fruit. I got a mix of green and red pepper fruit and blitzed them – seeds and...
After a few months of getting family members addicted to my Zobo, my friend M came round one Sunday. All excited to serve a Hausa person my version, I poured her a cup. I wanted her thoughts on my combination of zobo calyxes, ginger, cloves, and sweetener (some people add pineapple skins). She tasted and...
‘We need to diversify the Nigerian economy’, our Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enelamah says in many places – on CNN, at global meetings, etc: “Necessity is the mother of invention,” he says. “Given the very negative consequences of the drop in oil and commodity prices…we must make good on our commitment to diversify...
Everyone loves hummus in my family – that silken, thick puree of chickpeas. Lately, I’ve taken to spiking mine with yaji – suya spice. The smoky, nutty flavours switches the hummus up and adds a kick. In my red amaranth haze, craze, I blanched some – essentially washed and dipped into hot water till soft/...
As I ate Yedem’blong, I kept thinking of how perfectly it would go with yam mash… And so I got making some. I simply boiled yam and pureed it with a touch of water. I’ve made yam mash/ puree before so this was no newbie or biggie. In the past, I’ve added a touch of...
Because the classic version is a template begging for colour and texture and more. #1, Crunchy Toasted Coconut My favourite by a notch. I love the way the coconut flavour is reinforced in a toasted, nutty way. It is the perfect counterpoint to the soft and creamy Mingau base. Hack: Use store bought toasted coconut,...
Mingau, a place on the north eastern coast of Brazil, in Bahia Mingua, a porridge of tapioca popularly eaten over Easter on Lagos island, Nigeria Mingau, in literature, of Brazil mentions repeatedly, ‘a sweetened hot drink of tapioca, water, and milk.‘ Mingau is a porridge made from milled cassava, cooked in coconut milk and finished with...