This piece is long overdue – sigh but finally, it’s here. Agbalumo is out of season but still…the words, the thought, the ideas remain evergreen! Thank you, Akay xxx I grew up in an Igbo household in Lagos. And while steeped in Igbo culture, I have always been around and influenced by Yoruba culture. I...
or The Almost Complete Guide To Nigerian Snacks. There are more but I believe these form a solid foundation upon which others can be referenced. If you have soft teeth, these might not be the cookies or confections for you. They are hard. Mostly. Hard for preservation purposes? Maybe, but hard they are. Popular on...
I’m a huge fan of textures in food – cow leg and it’s combination of crunch, jellied and meaty; snails and their rubbery crunch; tripe and its chewy, rubbery sensations – all thrill me when done right. This Snail dodo is heaven on a plate – peppered snails, chopped and combined in a saute with...
![A Visual [Botanical?] Guide to Varieties of Agbalumo](https://www.kitchenbutterfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/VarietiesAgbalumo.png "VarietiesAgbalumo")
It might surprise you – like it did I – that there are different varieties (or cultivars/ cultivated varieties?) of Agbalumo, distinct in shape, colour and size. Many factors come into play in describing fruit. On the basis of a number of observations, I dare say I can identify at least 6 varieties – here we...
‘Nigerian Seasonal Produce’ is a monthly column published towards the end of each month to celebrate Nigerian fruits & vegetables and personal stories. In this column, a writer explores a specific seasonal fruit, vegetable or leafy green assigned by the editors of Kitchen Butterfly and based on the updated Nigerian Seasonal Produce Calendar. For this...
Read on. For years, I’ve heard, read, experienced sweeter agbalumos after the first rains. My most recent memory is from 2015. We’re driving in the car one day and we stop to buy some. A, my adopted daughter says: ‘There are always a few rains before ‘Agbalumo’ proper comes into season’ And I responded, ‘Hmmm, I didn’t...
I’ve loved Nina Simone since 1994, thanks to a boyfriend who loved her. Her voice – rich, smooth; the words – full of hope, longing, loss and love. There was something about her that drew me 23 years ago and hasn’t left me since, even past the memories of that relationship and others. Her ‘Feeling...
‘Nigerian Seasonal Produce’ is a monthly column published on the last Saturday of each month to celebrate Nigerian fruits & vegetables, and personal stories. In this column, a writer explores a specific seasonal fruit, vegetable or leafy green assigned by the editors of Kitchen Butterfly and based on the Nigerian Seasonal Produce Calendar. This month of ‘November in December’,...
Puff Puff. Bouncing up and down like I’m on a trampoline. You’ve spoken. And the winner is Puff Puff. For emphasis and for good reason. Puff puff has emerged as the most popular item in any pack of small chops. Proof that deep-fried dough balls are the ‘ish. Combine that with spice and/or smoke and...