FOOD HILLS

How to Prepare Nigerian Spaghetti Recipe

2017-06-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a delicious recipe for spaghetti / pasta, Nigerian popular food. If you really want to enjoy spaghetti, give it a shot today. I tried several other recipes, which this proves to be the best of all.

Particularly because of the use of carrots and green beans, the ingredients I consider very nutritious. For certain reason,i tend to mix most of my meals these days with fruits and vegetables since I became aware of their health benefits.

I really enjoy using a lot onion when preparing spaghetti recipe, the same for Nigerian tomato stew and other tomato-based foods.

Though i tend to focus more on indigenous Nigeria cuisine, also from time to time i introduce other food recipes Nigeria borrowed or newly invented. The spaghetti / pasta and noodle (the most popular meals for children) has only come in the picture a few years ago.

Here is a delicious dish of spaghetti.

Spaghetti is a Nigerian popular food and here's a delicious recipe, I've never been a great pasta fan until I tried this spaghetti recipe.

Below are the required ingredient, it could be double or shrink, depending on the number of people who you want to serve. You can have them in fridge for a day or two.
Ingredients for 5 serving.

Spaghetti (1 sachet)
1 small tin tomatoes.
2 cups of sliced onions
Fresh tomatoes (see image below)
Fresh pepper (as much as you can take)
Ground Crayfish (3 spoons)
3 cube of knorr or maggi
Salt to taste
1 cup of sliced carrot.
Sliced green beans (1 cup)
1kg Meat/fish or either (chicken, turkey, beef.. etc)
Green pepper (optional).
Ground nut or vegetable oil about 150ml
Corned beef (optional)

Preparing my favorite spaghetti recipe

chop / cut carrots, green beans and green pepper to the desired size.

Below the depicted image of parboiled spaghetti in bowl, carrots and sliced tomato in a plate,green beans, onion and pepper. I used a combination of fish and cow's kidney and liver while preparing the spaghetti meals.

parboil meat and fish with all the ingredients, I like to use only 2 cube of maggi, a pinch of salt, onion and maybe a little ground nutmeg. parboiling only meat is a good practice, you have the opportunity to remove the stock from the meat which is part of Nigerian cuisine.

I usually parboil meat/fish in Nigerian dish with a glass of water and all necessary ingredients, this practice will allow you to end up with very tasty meat and provide meat stock (meat water) used in the production of most Nigerian foods. You can find out more about this practice later.

blend the crayfish and sliced tomatoes / peppers all together.

Break the Spaghetti to smaller lengths(eatable length) then parboil for 5 to 8 minutes, washed and kept aside. take meat/fish when it's soft enough for consumption, or you can choose not to fry, fry with 250 ml of groundnut oil (you can reduce the oil after frying it).

After frying the fish (you can reduce the oil if it exceeds 150 ml before adding tomatoes, fry and mix 3-5 minutes before adding the sliced tomatoes / pepper and onions, fry it to dry-off water for 10-15 minutes (keep on steering occasionally to prevent burning)

Add a beef soup and a glass of water.

Then add all the ingredients above (cancer, salt to taste and simmer in the list.

Add spaghetti and cook for about 15-20 minutes while it's almost smooth, add the remaining onion and carrot and beans.

Cover the next 4 to 5 minutes just made a delicious meal of spaghetti, Nigeria's popular food

How to prepare Egg Sauce

2017-06-19T19:19:00.002-07:00

Egg Sauce is prepared with eggs, tomatoes, peppers, onions, vegetable oils and a pinch natural sweetener (Maggi, Knorr, ROYCO, etc)

Some people add a handful of vegetables and fluted pumpkin (ugu) is still the most popular choice.

Nigeria egg sauce is usually served with yam. That is why sometimes it is called yam sauce. I rarely see people serve with rice. However, sometimes, but not often. It is true that the sauce is delicious however you want it to be served.

It will be easy. If you are new to Nigerian food production and want to start with simple recipes, I suggest you get started here. It takes about six different ingredients, and the preparation time is less than 20 minutes.

2-3 eggs.
2 spoons sliced pepper
Vegetable oil (200ml).
2 cups of sliced fresh tomatoes.
Sliced pepper to taste.
1 cup of sliced onions.
A cube of maggi or knorr.
Salt to taste.
A little Sliced Green Peppers (optional)

There are two ways to do this actually. You can decide to use a lot of tomatoes and only 2 eggs. I used 3 eggs, about two cups of tomato slices, so that more eggs in this recipe. As shown in the previous image.

Use 4 cups of sliced tomatoes with only two eggs; The same measures are taken for preparation.

I wanted to be as simple as possible. So then step by step in the photos. I think it's much easier to make food if you have an idea of what you should see at any point.

Make a sauce of egg yam.

slice the tomato, onion and pepper as shown on the plate. You can do this easily with a sharp knife and cutting board.

Place the pan in the heat and add only 200 ml of oil (vegetable or olive oil), wait a minute before adding sliced tomatoes / onions / peppers. It is best if you have a non-stick frying-pan. Let it fry 10-15 minutes. Always remember to stir, you do not want to end up with a burnt tomato.

After they are well fried, add salt to taste. Add the half cube of Knorr or Maggi as well. It finish looking like this. That's what you get when you try to make a sauce of yam.

Bring the eggs in a separate plate. just Add a pinch salt to the top of the combination of tomatoes / onions / peppers. Wait for one minute, then stir. Try to smash crumbs in smaller sizes.

You can sprinkle a little fluted pumkin (Ugu) as desired. Try to break smaller crumbs for the image type above (as explained above).

I said that this sauce could be served with rice, beans or spaghetti. Please use the form below to comment on what you think about this recipe. I need detailed feedback. Thank you.

How to Prepare Nigerian Fried Beans

2016-09-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

The Nigerian Fried Beans is so delicious that even those who do not like beans at all enjoys it! The Nearest Nigerian meal is the Ewa Agoyin.

You have tocensure that every single bean seed is well coated with palm oil. So add enough Palm Oil to the meal. Palm oil is good for you!

Ingredients

350g brown or black-eyed beans
2 Onions
3 cooking spoons palm oil or more
1 big stock cube
Salt & Habanero pepper (to taste)
Water

Side Dish: Fried Plantains

Before you cook your Fried Beans

usually you will have to soak the beans in cool water overnight. This greatly reduces beans bloating and upset stomach associated with eating beans.
The next day, chop 1 onion into thin slices, cut the other one into 4 big chunks then pound/grind the pepper.
Rinse the beans and put in a sizeable pot. I rinse it twice.
Pre-cook the sliced onions with a few drops of water to soften them a bit.

Cooking Directives

Set the pot of beans on the stove or a gas. Add the stock cube (crushed once ) and the chunks of onion. Add enough water to cover the beans and start cooking. Cook the beans till very soft, adding water when necessary. Always keep water to the same level as the beans so that by the time the beans is done, there will not be too much water in the pot.
Note that: If you have a pressure cooker, use it to cook the beans till soft. I normally use my pressure cooker for beans but for this recipe, I prefer a normal pot so that I can have more control, especially towards the end.
When the beans is done, add salt, leave to dry up all the water and transfer the beans to another container.
Now, set a dry clean pot on the stove, pour the palm oil and heat it up till the oil melts (if congealed). Note that you should only heat it up, not bleach the oil. You will know it is hot enough when a piece of onion dropped into the oil sizzles.
Add the precooked onions and stir for a bit.
Add the ground Habanero pepper and stir till everything is heated up very well, at most 2 minutes.
Add the beans and stir for about 2 minutes. Add salt if necessary.
Cover and leave to simmer for about 2 minutes and it's done.

Serve with the Fried Plantains, Soaked Garri or bread

BOOOOM!!! your set to go

have any questions please leave a comment below on the comment section.

Preparing Nigerian Ogbono Soup (Draw Soup)

2016-09-23T06:27:00.001-07:00

The Nigerian Ogbono Soup makes eating Fufu so easy because of its slimy nature which helps the lumps of fufu slide down properly and smoothly. If your husband do not like Okra Soup because of the chunks of Okra, then you should try Ogbono Soup, they will surely love it. You may want to use the recipe for light Ogbono Soup when preparing theirs.

Ingredients

You may use any of the following Assorted Meat and Fish: Beef, Shaki (cow tripe), Dry Fish, Stockfish
2 handfuls Ogbono Seeds
3 cooking spoons red palm oil
Vegetable: Frozen Spinach (you can also use Pumpkin leaves or even Bitterleaf)
1 handful crayfish
Pepper and Salt (To taste)
1 medium onion
2 stock cubes (Maggi/Knorr)

Before you cook your Ogbono Soup

Grind the Ogbono with a dry mill.

Cut the frozen spinach when it is not completely defrosted. It is easier that way. Then when completely defrosted, squeeze out the excess water.

Cook the assorted meat with the stock cubes and onion. If you will use Shaki, remember to start cooking that first, then add beef when almost done.

Grind crayfish and pepper.

Boil some water and set aside.

Cooking Directions for your Ogbono Soup

U will have to Pour the palm oil into a clean dry stainless steel or aluminium pot. Set on the stove and melt the oil at low heat. Remember, only melt the oil, do not allow it to heat up.

Once melted, turn off the heat and add the ground Ogbono.

Use your cooking spoon to dissolve the Ogbono in the oil.

When all the Ogbono powder has completely mixed with the oil, add the meat/fish stock (water from cooking the assorted meat and fish). Set the heat of your cooker to low and start stirring. You will notice the Ogbono start to thicken and draw.

Keep stirring till the Ogbono has completely absorbed the meat stock.

Add a small quantity of the hot water and stir till the Ogbono has absorbed all the water. Repeat this process till you get a consistency that is shown in the video below.

Making sure that your heat is set to low, cover the pot and start cooking. Once it starts to simmer, stir every 2-3 minutes for 20 minutes.
So what you'll do is: every 3 minutes or so, open the pot, stir every well, scraping the Ogbono that sticks to the base of the pot, cover the pot and cook for another 3 minutes.

After 20 minutes, the Ogbono should be well cooked and you will begin to perceive its nice flavour and aroma.

Add the assorted meat and fish, ground crayfish, salt and pepper to taste. The Ogbono may have become thicker from the cooking. If so, add a little bit more water and stir very well. Cover and cook till the contents of the pot is well heated up.

If you prefer your Ogbono Soup without vegetables, turn off the heat and serve but if you like to add a vegetable then keep reading :)

When the contents of the pot have heated up, add the vegetable (frozen Spinach used in the video). Stir very well, cover the pot and turn off the heat. Leave to stand for about 5 minutes and serve with any Fufu recipe.

Serve Ogbono Soup with any Nigerian Fufu meal.

Frequently Asked Questions about This Ogbono Soup

My Ogbono Soup does not draw. Why?

There are 3 main reasons why your Ogbono Soup will not draw.

You bought the wrong seeds. There is another seed that looks so much like Ogbono and is sold as Ogbono seeds in Nigerian markets. First sign that you are buying the wrong seeds is if they are too cheap to be true. To confirm that the seeds are really Ogbono seeds: break the seed and rub the broken sides together, if they make a sap that draws, then you've got the real Ogbono seeds. In Nigeria, every open market seller should let you do this "drawing test", if not, please leave their shop and go somewhere else.

For those living outside Nigeria, I guess you just have to pray that the Ogbono seeds in the pack you buy are the real thing :)

Another reason why your Ogbono Soup does not draw may be because you used packaged ground Ogbono, ground being the keyword here. This is especially the case for those who live outside Nigeria who do not have any choice than to buy the ground packaged Ogbono sold in African shops.

Once you grind Ogbono, it starts losing its potency to draw and with time, it won't draw anymore. The exact time at which it completely loses its potency to draw will depend on: how dry the Ogbono was before the grinding took place and how well it is packaged amongst other things.

The third reason why your Ogbono Soup does not draw is that you fried it before adding the meat/fish stock. The ground Ogbono should only be dissolved in the palm oil NOT fried. The more you fry it, the more it loses its drawing ability till you've got no potency left. This happens even if it is the authentic Ogbono seed.

How can I cook Ogbono Soup so that it does not burn?

First, turn down the heat. Whatever you are cooking, turn down the heat to prevent burning. This is especially the case with Ogbono Soup which is very sticky. Always cook your Ogbono Soup at very low heat. If your cooker's heating ranges from 1 to 9, set the heat to 4.

Secondly, do not add crayfish or any other ingredients when cooking the Ogbono at first. Crayfish especially speeds up the burning. When you grind your Ogbono in Nigerian markets, they will tell you to use crayfish to make sure all the Ogbono comes out of the mill. If you decide to do that, make sure that they put the crayfish and that last bit of Ogbono in a different plastic bag for you and add the crayfish bit when you add the rest of the ingredients.

Also, use stainless steel or aluminium pots in cooking your Ogbono Soup. Non-stick pots are not the best for cooking Ogbono Soup even though it says non-stick lol!

My Ogbono Soup tastes bland in spite of all the ingredients I usually add to it. Why is it that way?

the Only reason Ogbono Soup will taste bland even after adding enough ingredients is that you did not cook it long enough. I have seen a lot of people cook Ogbono for only 5 minutes. That's not enough. Ogbono, once added, should be cooked for at least 20 minutes on low heat. This is the time at which the taste begins to come out and blend with the ingredients.

Another reason is maybe because the Ogbono seeds have gone mouldy in which case, it will have a slightly bitter taste too.

Nigerian Moi Moi (Beans Pudding)

2016-09-20T06:38:00.001-07:00

Moi moi (beans pudding) is one of such Nigerian dessert that is enjoyed by virtually everyone. moi moi is made of beans and some other ingredients. The process of making moin moin (as some people call it) is a little bit complicating but I will try to be as detailed as possible since we are yet to produce a video for moi moi.

Here are the Ingredients required in making the plate of moi moi below, you are free to increase the quantity of ingredients or reduce them depending on the number of persons you are looking to feed. These ingredients would serve six persons depending on stomach size and other factors

Fresh fish (optional)
7 Cooked Eggs (optional)
Half cup of vegetable oil
Maggi (seasoning, 2 to 3 cubes)
Salt to taste.
1 cup of sliced onions
Tatashe or shobo (about 5 to 10, it add the reddish color)
Crayfish (1 cup)
3 cups of beans

What you find above are the images some of the ingredients for making beans pudding as well of that or ground moin moin on the left and right respectively.

There is a special kind of beans (moi moi beans) used for making beans pudding in Nigerian but you can substitute with any other type of beans if you live outside Nigeria.

You can use the cooked eggs, corned beef, fish of any kind or a blend of both to make moi moi. Here I used fish and eggs, I simply parboiled the fish, removed the center bones and split into smaller pieces

Preparation

Please add the beans into a bowl, sprinkle a handful of water and start squeezing with your hands. This is the easiest way to wash beans; you would be through in 20-30 minutes. You can add a little more water but don’t allow it to soak; continue squeezing until it starts shading off the outer coat, you’d probably be doing this for about ten minutes.

When it seems like a good amount of the beans have shaded off their outer-coat, add enough water to fill the bowl, the outer coat would rise to the top, sieve and continue squeezing. At some point there would be just very few that have not shaded off their outer coat, work on them and keep washing.

Wash the beans to remove the outer coat, keep squeezing, washing and sieving till you are left with the white beans then you can prepare for the grinding part.

There are people in Nigeria that render the service of grinding food stuff like moi moi or tomatoes in large quantity

Split the red tatashe or shobo into two halves to remove the seeds at the center, this practice is necessary because the seeds add a bitter unpleasant taste to moi moi. Wash and also pluck off the green stem at the top.

What I do at this point is to add all of them (beans, onions, crayfish and tatashe or shobo) in a small clean bucket and take to the commercial grinding mill. You can use a smart blender for this if you have one, I used my semi-smart blender and it didn’t do a perfect job but it was good enough.

Parboil the fresh /frozen fish, pick out from the water then pieces the fish with your fingers, not really squashing (leave in bits) Add this to the mixture. At this point you can also add corned beef in place of the fish or a blend of both.

While still in the bowl, add the oil just pour into the ground beans – about half cup, add 2 cubes of maggi seasoning, the fish water (fish stock) (which must not be over half cup or so) salt to taste. Taste the entire mixture.

The egg can be dropped on top after the moi-moi has been distributed in cooking plates, if you want to use eggs.

Distribute in as many plates as possible, some people use moi-moi wrappers for this purpose. After the distribution you can drop into the cooking pot.

If you are cooking with plates, you can drop the plates on top of each other but you must drop tiny logs of woods or pieces of clothes at the bottom of the pot to avoid burning (some people use the stem of the moi-moi-wrapper), you don’t really need them if you are careful.

Drop the plates in the pot and add water simultaneously making sure it doesn’t top the first plate. Then cover tightly and cook for about 40 to 60 minutes adding water at interval to avoid burning or too much water that would run into the plates.

This part is monitored closely because if you allow the pot to dry the plates would start melting especially if you are using plastic plates. Note that plastic plates can cook for hours without melting or getting burned, the exception is when the pot is completely dried.

You can bring out one of the plates after cooking for 40 minutes to check if it is done, check again after ten minutes, once it is done, allow to cool off for 30-60 minutes; then serve with pap (akamu), rice or custard

Nigerian moi moi (beans pudding) can also be served alone, I love this soooo much
do you love this meal?, have a question?, please leave a comment bellow.

Making A Delicious Coconut Rice

2016-09-20T06:26:00.002-07:00

The Coconut rice is not only a healthy meal but also a very delicious meal, mostly when a matured-sweet coconut is used, if you are looking forward to preparing this delicious meal but don’t know how to go about it, here is all the answers you need to know about preparing this delicious rice meal.

This comes 2nd on my list of delicious rice meals. Right after salad sauce.

What you see is a simple coconut rice, super delicious. The only difference between the usual jollof rice and this is the use of cocoanut milk; it changes the taste and impairs the color slightly.

There are actually different recipe, some don’t use tomatoes, I have another recipe in the rice book that is called buttered coconut rice, it’s to die for.

First you should spend some time looking for the really matured cocoanut, one big cocoanut would be enough for 4 cups of rice which would probably serve a family of five or six.

When you find the matured-dried cocoanut, the shell is usually dried. Break it, take a bite, if it is not sweet, start looking again. It is important to buy the really matured and sweet cocoanut, it make a whole lot of difference. It should really be somewhat sugary. If you are there, shout – yaw!!! And commence with the rest of the cooking.

The Ingredients for cocoanut rice Include (Serving – 6 Persons)
Coconut (one big ball)
3 cups of rice
Fresh ground or sliced tomatoes (500ml)
Chicken/beef (2KG)
Onions (2 bulbs)
Maggi cubes (2-3)
1 sachet Kitchen glory (beef seasoning)
Groundnut/vegetable oil half cup (150ml)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparations

start by breaking and de-shelling the cocoanut (we don’t need the water inside, you can drink it – very healthy), grate (sort of grind) the coconut with a grater, the idea is to squeeze out the milk from the main coconut. Normally you grate the coconut with a grater and then add a cup of water or two and then squeeze out the white water (coconut milk) which is needed for the preparation of coconut rice. Filter the squeezed out milk and set aside in a bowl

Then Parboil about three to four cups of rice, grind the tomatoes/peppers (you need about 500ml), your blender should be calibrated, or you can slice the tomatoes if you like. Also parboil the chicken with all the necessary ingredients (Onions, Maggi, Salt, and Kitchen glory – beef seasoning), add water about five minutes later and allow cooking till it is soft for consumption.

After which you will Pick the chicken with a fork and deep fry while reserving the stock (water from the meat) for further cooking. Once you have gotten the water from the coconut and also fried the chicken… or not. Sometimes I just add the chicken without frying them.

Set your cooking pot on heat, add half cup (150ml) of vegetable/groundnut oil, allow heating for at least 90 seconds before adding the ground or sliced tomatoes. Now fry and stir the tomatoes for the next 10-15 minutes till it is dried.

Add the meat extract (water from the meat) once you are done with frying the tomatoes, also add the coconut milk, a cube of Maggi, add more salt to taste. Allow to boil before adding the rice, cook for the next twenty to forty minutes until it is very soft for consumption.

Then you can now add a little more water along the line. Once it is soft enough to your desire, go ahead and serve with the fried meat, you just made a delicious pot of coconut rice

Serve with the cooked, fried or grilled chicken. Aside chicken you can also use goat meat, beef or assorted meat to make a delicious cocoanut rice meal.

Is this interesting? Do you like the meal? Any question? pls leave me a comment below on the comment section

How to Make Indian Fried Rice

2016-09-19T10:18:00.004-07:00

The Indian fried rice is a yummy recipe that is packed with many flavours that will make you asking for more when prepared. Indian fried rice recipe is very simple but tasty to the peak and guess what, It very simple to prepare.

The Indian fried rice is best prepared with basmati rice, but you can always initiate you idea, The basmati rice will dominate and make an awesome combo with the pepper and veggies flavour.

Now come on, let’s cook us some delicious Indian fried rice.

INGREDIENTS

Indian Fried Rice Ingredients
Basmati rice - 1 cup
Carrot - 1
Beans ( I used baby beans) - 12
Baby corn - 5
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Spring onion - 4 sprig
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp

PREPARATION

Wash the rice and cook it with 1½ cup of water and separate the grains.

You will have to Cut the veggies (vegetables) very finely so that it will get cooked easily in a short period of time.

Dont forget to heat a broad pan with olive oil also you can substitute it with an oil of your choice. When the pan and the oil are hot, add the veggies with sugar and fry for 2 minutes or until its cooked. Make sure the veggies retain their crunchiness at the end.

Lastly add pepper, spring onion and fry for a minute. Add cooked, rice and stir till it gets heated up.

Note

You may also replace olive oil with sesame oil or any other healthy oil.
You can try the same with left over rice by keeping it overnight in fridge.
You should add ajinomotto seasoning and soya sauce in this same recipe.
Black pepper was added to this Indian rice recipe, but white pepper is recommended as it gives a colourful result!
Sugar is added to retain colour.
Use best quality basmati rice as the rice flavour plays a main role in this recipe. But you can always use the type of rice you have at home too.
Veggies should not be over cooked, just make sure it’s just crunchy.

And boooom! your Indian fried rice is ready to be served. You can serve your Indian fried rice with a cool juice and wine also.

How to Make Banga Stew (ofe akwu)

2016-09-19T09:59:00.001-07:00

Banga soup (stew) has topped the list of Nigerian stew recipes over the years because of its uniqueness and blend of natural ingredients . I have learned that it is more advisable to make stew with palm oil than groundnut or vegetable oil.

Bear in mind totaly different from the Deltan version that is served with starch or eba. If that is what you are looking to make, here is the recipe – Delta Banga Soup

The Banga soup (ofe akwu) is very easy to make and very popular in the eastern part of Nigeria, almost every ingredient used in Making this stew could be gotten from the farm, that is why it is a little bit easier for folks in the rural areas while it remains difficult for people outside the country to find all the ingredients that are required.

This is another kind of Nigerian stew popularly eaten by the Igbos and some other parts of Nigeria; I would prefer this stew above Nigerian tomato stew any day. This is a delicious plate rice, served with banga stew (soup) plus a sprinkle of peas. (the peas was boiled for 3 minutes on low heat)

Here is a list of ingredients used in making Nigerian Banga soup (stew) ‘ofe akwu’, (as the Igbos like to call it). Most of these ingredients can be purchased from any Nigerian market or African shops in case you live outside Nigeria.

Ingredients: | Serving : 6×2 Persons
Banga (palm fruit) (9-10 cups)
2KG of Meat (I used goat meat while making the video below, you can use chicken, turkey or a combination of two)
1 sachet of ‘Onga soup’ spice
A cup of Sliced onions
2 cups of sliced fluted pumpkin(optional)
2 cubes of maggi
A cup of sliced Scent leave
Dried fish (500g)
Half cup of ground Crayfish
Fresh or dried pepper to taste
Salt to taste

“Onga soup” is a special kind of spice that I use in making Nigerian banga soup and few other Nigerian foods, You will find this in the video below. Onga is made by promasidora (Nigeria) LTD, I think the company is located in Switzerland.

Like I always say; there are lots of spices and flavors used in making Nigerian foods, most of which are also franchised in almost every country of the worlds. Take knorr cube for instance, this ingredient is available in almost every country of the world in different forms and shapes, knorr or maggi is used in almost every known Nigeria food recipe.

The good thing is that you can use almost any spice for Nigerian foods although there are just a few that are irreplaceable.

Below is the image of pounded palm fruit with a portion of the squeezed-out thick juice in a plate and then by the right is sliced onions, scent leaves in a plate

Soak the dried fish in hot water and wash thoroughly to remove sand and dirt,
blend the crayfish or blend together with dry pepper if you are making banga stew with dried pepper, although I prefer to use red fresh peppers.

Chop the onion and set aside in a plate, I like to make most foods with lots of onions just because of its health benefits.

Cook the palm fruits (banga fruits) for 30 to 50 minutes then pound with a mortar and pestle, you will see how this is done in the video below. Pour water in a bowl, add the pounded palm fruit and try to squeeze out the thick syrup. The palm fruit juice is a major part of banga soup this can also be used in making Nigerian soups (then you wouldn’t need palm oil).

Pour the squeezed-out thick juice into a bowl and set aside.

Wash the meat with hot water and parboil with a separate pot till it is tender (be sure to add the ingredients – use the 2 cubes of maggi, a teaspoon of salt, half cup of onions.), It is possible to make a delicious meal with tasteless meat, that is the only reason I advise you to use lots of ingredients while parboiling the meat. Then very little or none while making the main foods, just use the meat stock (water from the meat) and you will be fine.

Add the squeezed-out palm fruit juice to the boiling meat on fire.

Add the (dried fish and crayfish) to the cooking pot and cook for about 10 minutes
Add your spices if it is not yet as tasteful as required. (Sachet of “onga soup” and/or a cube of maggi, knorr or royco). Stir and add the scent leave (chopped), sliced onions, salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and cook for another minute then add the chopped vegetables (optional), allow to simmer for another 3 minutes and you just made a delicious Nigerian banga stew (ofe akwu)

Serve with rice, yam or cooked beans

That is how to make banga soup (stew) in Nigeria, the Igbos call it “ofe akwu”.

Nigerian Foods that Will Fights Heart Attack

2016-09-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Heart attack or heart disease can actually be prevented, controlled or completely eliminated by proper dieting and exercise – Dr Chauncey W. Crandall

Bulk of what you will be reading here are opinions of Dr Chauncey W. Crandall, a distinguished Cardiologist that have over 40000 heart surgeries to his belt. He also is chief of the Cardiac Transplant Program at the world-renowned Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

While it is fun to talk about making delicious Nigerian foods it is also very important to note that most delicious looking foods may actually cause harm to your heart and body cells.

Henceforth, the Nigerian kitchen would not just talk about making delicious Nigerian foods, look out for articles like this occasionally, it is very important that you sturdy every bit of them.

We are looking at Nigerian foods that fight heart disease; it has been proven statistically that over 50 percent of the world population does not have a perfectly healthy hearts, the worst case of an unhealthy heart eventually results to heart attack or even instant death.

This proves that you can have a sick heart without knowing it and you can also have a sick heart for a very long time. The advice is usually to see a doctor if you notice any dissimilar internal reaction.

However, I learned a long time ago that prevention is better than cure – a Nigerian adage.

According to Dr Chauncey W. Crandall, the major causes of heart diseases are fat and sugar; there…I said it.

While it may seem impossible to eliminate these two elements from our daily meals, the reason for this article is to proffer an easy way around them. I hope to inspire you to make conscious effort to supplement these elements in certain possible cases with its harmless alternatives.

I am going to list some of the foods or food items that should be eliminated from our daily diets and also go ahead to proffer a healthier alternative, since this alternative actually reduces the risk our heart diseases and attacks, one can actually say that they aid in fighting heart diseases

Nigerian foods that fights heart attack

These alternative Nigerian foods help in fighting heart diseases or heart attack.

For starters, I would strongly suggest that you go easy on canned, processed foods, instead of using canned/sachet tomatoes try just the fresh ones, it may be a little expensive but the benefits out-weighs any money you can possibly spend.

Fried foods and soft drinks should also be less in your daily diet.

I have since stopped using sugar and switched over to honey, even when I use honey, I use it sparingly. While we cannot completely eliminate sugar from our diet because they are even contained in simple foods like rice, cassava and yam, the idea is to go easy on these foods.

Instead of eba/fufu or semo, try unrefined wheat; whole grains fights heart disease. They includes: Whole wheat, Whole oats/oatmeal, Whole-grain corn, Popcorn, Brown rice, Whole-grain barley, Bulgur (cracked wheat), Millet, Quinoa, Sorghum.

Animal fat is not just dangerous, it should be avoided at all cost, be sure to always wash your meats properly with hot water, removing every sagging fat, avoid butters and margarine with high fat content.

Another important point raised by Dr Chauncey W. Crandall is the level of your good cholesterol against the bad cholesterol, according to him; the level of your bad cholesterol against goods cholesterol can play a vital role in the state of your heart.

According to him, proper exercise and good dieting helps to raise your good cholesterol level while diminishing the bad cholesterol level.

He highly advised against smoking and suggested that you try fish and chicken instead of red meat. Fishes contains omega 3 which is responsible for fighting heart diseases. I am talking about fresh or frozen fishes; sometimes the roasted, smoked fishes are not so good.

Lastly, you should also take time to rest after a very busy day and also cultivate the habit of exercising regularly. Proper rest and exercise plays a vital role in the state of the heart and even body cells.

Eat lots of fruits, nuts, endeavor to supplement a meal with a plate of Fruit-Salads, try replacing some starchy foods with legumes (all beans species), unripe plantain recipes. I made this delicious meal recently, if you add vegetables, it becomes really healthy. And you should try something like this occasionally instead of the usual eba and soup.

plantain-porridge

I have been able to list some of the foods that cause heart attack, and how to prevent, control and ultimately eliminate heart attack by eating the right Nigerian foods. I would like to hear your thought.

How to Prepare Delicious Nigerian Nkwobi

2016-09-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

This meal has been around for a very long time, At first it was made with just bush meat (edible wild animals), such as squirrel, grass cutter, rabbit and even antelopes, but along the line people starting experimenting with domestic animals and even poultry birds.

If you are among the people that are asking “what is nkwobi?” here is a simple definition; It is Igbo delicacy that is made with all kinds of meats, in a little while you will read all the processes involved in making it and why it is very popular within the eastern part of Nigeria. You will also learn about all the ingredients used in making it and different kinds of meats that could also be used.

I remember vividly the first time I had a plate of Nigerian nkwobi, it was very delicious and very pepperish, also you can use pepper to your taste. The last recipe I ate was made with chicken, but like I said initially, your choice of meat can vary but the methods remain the same.

Here are the ingredients that are used in making Nigerian nkwobi (for five to ten persons.)

2 kg Meat (chicken, wild meat, goat, cow tail, assorted meat)

2 cubes of knorr

Utazi leaves – a handfull

Edible potash (one teaspoon)

Palm oil (half cup) 125ml

Ugba – 1 cup

Onions – 2 slice

Salt and pepper to taste

The first step is parboiling the meat with some ingredients; onions, a cube of maggi/knorr and salt will be enough. Then allow to cook for another fifty to sixty minutes until the meat is completely soft.

This is necessary because nkwobi as well as Nigerian pepper soup is basically made with very soft meats, just so it is not hard to chew.

Most preparation processes take place in a small mortar, (an African carved hollow wood), but you can use a pot if you are not in Nigeria. This is just how it has been, some of Nigerian food customs have been around for years and we probably haven’t found a credible reason why they should be revoked.

Slice the onions and utazi, then set aside on a plate, some people choose to add these two during the preparation process while others use them for decoration purposes. One way or another, Utazi and onions should be part of the ingredients used in preparing Nigerian Nkwobi.

You can boil the ugba in small amount of water for about 2 to 3 minutes, this technique is hygienic, it helps to eliminate every possible health threat. Note that this ingredient is processed with the help of a harmless bacteria. This is just to be on the safe side even though most Nigerians eat ugba without heating in any way.

Cook the meat until it is almost dry, check to see the water level. This is important because you don’t end up with another kind of pepper soup, Stir the cooking meat in the pot to be sure that it doesn’t burn. Did I say that it is also necessary to cut the meat to tiny bits?

Dissolve the potash in about 150ml (half cup) of water and filter about half a cup into the pot, you will learn a little bit about this from the video below. You will know exactly how this is done, although most Nigerians are familiar with this technique.

Add about half a cup of palm oil into the pot, stir to obtain a thick yellow paste (ncha) and you are just few steps away from having a very delicious nkwobi, also add two spoons of ground crayfish, Ugba, pepper and salt to taste, then stir very well before adding the meat.

Note: If the meat is too hot, it would dislove the “ncha” and turn it redish> allow the meat to cool for 10 minutes before using.

Add the sliced onions and utazi but reserve a little of both for decoration. The utazi is very necessary because it adds a faint bitter taste which is an integral part of nkwobi and some other Nigerian foods.

Stir, turn out in a round plate and decorate with sliced onion, pepper and utazi. That is just how to make a delicious plate of the popluar Nigerian Nkwobi.

Preparing Turmeric Rice (Yellow Rice)

2016-09-18T05:02:00.000-07:00

Turmeric Rice is one of the very basic yet delicious rice recipes to prepare in your kitchen. There's no tomato stew to make in this recipe so don't bother about preparing this rice dish?

Ingredients

A Long grain parboiled rice
- If you stay in the USA/UK, use 2 cups.
- If you stay in Nigeria, use ½ De Rica cup.
- If you have a weighing scale, use 350g or you may use 0.8lbs.
use 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
use 1 teaspoon Nigerian curry powder
use1 teaspoon black pepper powder
use 1 small red onion
use 2-3 cups chicken stock
A small quantity of red pepper
A handful green peas
Salt (to taste)

Notes about the ingredients

This following image shows the quantities of some of the ingredients you may use.

Use enough turmeric powder to colour the rice. Please note that the rice may not look so yellow when you add the parboiled rice to the turmeric mix in the pot but when the rice is done, it will become very yellow.
Turmeric is known as yellow ginger in Nigeria. It is known as ajo or ata ile pupa in Yoruba and kurkum in Hausa. You can buy turmeric powder in big supermarkets eg Shoprite in Nigeria.
I used chicken stock for this recipe because I served the rice with Onion Baked Chicken. I used soft chicken which I baked from raw so no boiling of the chicken done to get some chicken stock. This means that for taste, I added chicken stock which I always have in my freezer. I get this chicken stock when I prepare side dishes like Peppered Chicken.

If you want to prepare this with Fried Chicken or Grilled Chicken, cook the chicken with thyme, onions, stock cubes and whatever else you use to season your chicken. Then add the water from cooking that chicken (chicken stock) to the rice during Step 1 in the cooking directions.
If you are in Nigeria, red bell peppers are available in big foreign supermarkets. Use tatashe as alternative to the red pepper. The quantity of red pepper you need is so small, see the video below.

Before you cook Turmeric Rice or Yellow Rice

you have to Rinse and cut the red onions into small pieces.
Rinse, remove the seeds and cut the red pepper into small pieces.
Prepare the chicken you will serve it with. You can serve with Peppered Chicken or Onion Baked Chicken.
Parboil the long grain parboiled rice. For the quantity of rice stated above, add to boiling water, stir, cover the pot and once it boils again, leave to boil for 10 minutes or till you can easily cut the grain of rice with your finger nails.

Cooking Directions

Pour the chicken stock into a sizeable pot.
Then Add the turmeric powder, Nigerian curry powder and black pepper.
Cover and cook till it's boiled.
Add the parboiled rice, stir and make sure that the liquid in the pot is at the same level as the rice. If not, top it up.
Taste for salt and add some if necessary. Stir, cover again and start cooking on medium heat.
If you have parboiled the rice correctly as described above, the rice should be done by the time the water dries up. Taste to confirm. If not, you will need to add more water and reduce the heat to prevent burning. Continue cooking.
When you can no longer see the water in the rice, add the diced red pepper, onions and green peas. Stir only the top of the rice, cover and continue cooking.
The rice is done when all the water dries up.
Stir with a spatula till the vegetables and the rice are well combined.
That's all you need to make yourself happy!

For meat, serve with Peppered Chicken or Onion Baked Chicken. For side dishes, serve with Fried Plantain, Nigerian Moi Moi, Nigerian Salad or Coleslaw.

Click here to send me your feedback and questions about preparing this Turmeric Rice.

for proper understanding you may want to watch the video below

How to Prepare Nsala Soup(white soup)

2016-09-17T20:04:00.002-07:00

Nsala soup is one of the most delicious of all Nigerian soups, this year alone I have made and eaten more of it than any other soup in Nigeria.

I enjoy lots of the foods in Nigeria but there are quite some of them that kinda tastes better and more delicious to me. IMHO.

Melon soup (ofe egusi) for instance is like the number one for me.

The reason is because… sometimes we like to eat a combination of two or more different soups in our home and egusi blends perfectly with most of the soups in Nigeria, sometimes I even blend with nsala soup (also called white soup).

The image below is a combination of both white soup and egusi soup.

It is the only soup in Nigeria that is made without palm oil… just like pepper soup and ewedu soup, the use of palm oil is not very necessary.

It is very popular in the south and eastern part of Nigeria, the efiks and igbos are the top makers and consumers of this delicious soup. So if you are dating or married to a man from the south or eastern part of Nigeria, you can try giving him a meal of pounded yam and ofe nsala (as the Igbos call it) tonight.

Below are the ingredients for making this delicious Nigerian soup, the ingredients below would serve about five persons for three consecutive times. Soups in Nigeria can be refrigerated for up to two weeks, most times it is better to make lots of soups and then refrigerate the remainder.

Ingredients For White Soup

Yam (six to eight slices…baby fist size)
Ground crayfish (1 cup)
knorr cubes (3 cubes)
Ground uziza seeds (2 Teaspoons)
Uziza Leaves
Dried fish (two medium sizes)
Snails (Optional)
Meat of choice {I prefer Goat Meat} (2KG)
Utazi leaves (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Red Ground Pepper to taste

It would take about sixty to eighty minutes to prepare a delicious pot of nsala soup; although, sometimes it goes a little above that… depending on your speed and proficiency.

You might wanna start by peeling and boiling the yam, this should be pounded with a mortar and pestle. Pounded yam serve as the thickener but can also be eaten with other Nigerian soups.

Grind the crayfish, uziza seeds, wash and slice the uziza seeds. You should also go ahead and wash the snail in case you are using them. Snails are quite expensive in Nigeria so if you can’t purchase them it is better you forget about them.

You can wash snails with alum to remove the slimy fluid, although, you would be amazed to learn that there are people in Nigeria that cooks snails with the slimy fluids, sometimes without even removing the shell.

I am talking about a delicious Ijaw Recipe – Keke Fieye

Parboil the goat meat with all the necessary ingredients, I would use two cubes of knorr, a pinch of salt, half cup of onions and half sachet of kitchen glory (beef seasoning). I made this soup with afo anu (goat belle), it’s usually a combination of goat’s intestine, tripe, liver etc. I also added few slice of beef.

Parboil the meat for about twenty to forty minutes… until it is soft enough for consumption then you can go ahead and add the hot-water-washed dry fish. This could be added earlier if you are using a strong dry fish like mangala. Add about 3 cups of cold or boiled water.

The amount of water for nsala soup depends on the ingredients/thickener available and the number of people that you are trying to feed.

Boil the combination for another ten to twenty minutes until they are both soft for consumption then go ahead and add the ground crayfish, uziza seed and ground red pepper (pls taste before adding red pepper, the uziza seeds are also very pepperish).

Taste your soup at this time and add the remaining half of kitchen glory or a cube of knorr/salt to improve the taste if it doesn’t taste nice yet.

You can go ahead and add the pounded yam, you can add half and watch the soup for the next five minutes, if it is not thick enough you can add a little more; I just don’t like the soup to be very thick. I like a very light nsala soup, it tastes better that way.

You can now go ahead and add the sliced uziza and utazi leaves. The utazi should be used sparingly for white soup; the reason is just to add a faint bitter taste.

Allow for the next few minutes and you can go ahead and serve your delicious ofe nsala with pounded yam, fufu or eba.

Making Nigerian Egusi Soup

2016-09-17T19:56:00.001-07:00

Egusi soup is unarguably the most popular Nigerian soup, learn to make two of the most popular recipes for (ofe egusi) in Nigeria, you will also learn about all the ingredients used in making them.

Like I stated on the introductory page; Egusi (melon) soup is the most popular of all Nigerian soup. On this page I also included a video on making this delicious recipe and then a list of some other Nigerian soups that are in the same category.

There are two different Egusi Soup recipes that I know about, I will write about the most popular recipe and then the second would follow somewhere down the page.

What you find below is a delicious plate of egusi soup, served with fufu or semovita,

Ingredients Includes

Some are required while very few are optional.

Meat of choice 2kg (beef, chicken turkey, goat meat, or assorted meat)
Assorted meat is a combination of different parts of a cow

4 cups of egusi (melon)
Dry fish (about two medium sizes)
1 cup of ground crayfish
1 cup of Ground Osu (optional)
a good quantity of washed bitterlaef (see the video below)
3 cubes of knorr, maggi or other natural sweetener
15 to 20cl of palm oil
About 2 liters of water
Salt and pepper to taste.
One medium size Stock fish head (okporoko) (optional)
Ogiri or dawadawa or opkei (local ingredients) optional

Grind the four cups of egusi with a dry blender or hand grinding machine and set aside in a bowl. Add about a cup of water to it and stir to make a very thick paste (this is properly illustrated in the video below)

Be sure that the bitterleaf (onugbu) is properly washed, it is advisable to remove over 95 percent of the bitter taste, this process in known to most Nigerians, it involves washing and squeezing the bitter leaves for several minutes in a very big bowl.

If you bought the already-washed bitterlaef from the market it is advisable to boil alone for about ten minutes, this would further remove the bitter taste and serve other purposes.

Parboil the meat of your choice with all the necessary ingredients, it is advisable to parboil meat with some ingredient before adding to the main food, this improves the taste of the meat. Parboil for about ten minutes, then add water and cook till the meat is soft for consumption.

Soak the dry fish and stock fish in a bowl with hot water and wash thoroughly to remove sand and center bone, then set aside.

Here is the actual making of Nigerian egusi soup with bitterleaf.

Set your cooking pot on fire and add about 15 to 20cl of palm oil (red oil), allow to heat for a few minutes but don’t allow to bleach. Add the egusi paste and keep stirring for the next eight to ten minutes to form seed-like crumbs.

Then transfer the already cooked meat into the pot, stir, add the washed dry fish, stock fish, ground crayfish, 2 cubes of maggi or knorr then cover half way and allow to boil for the next ten to fifteen minutes.

Stir occasionally to avoid burning.

At this point you can add about a tea spoon of ground ofor or achi if the soup is not thick enough.

Add the already washed bitter leaves, dawadawa (local ingredients), taste for salt and pepper. Allow to boils for five to ten minutes and you just made a delicious egusi soup.

Nigerian egusi soup could be eaten with rice, but most especially eba and fufu.

I also enjoy eating this soup and pounded yam together.

Note: This soup can also be made with fluted pumpkin, the same process should be followed the only different is that bitter leaves should be replaced with fluted pumpkin leaves

The second egusi soup recipe is very simple to make. You can still follow the same process outlined above. Parboil the meat; add the dry fish, stock fish once it is soft for consumption. Also add the palm oil, 2 cubes of maggi, salt and pepper, dawadawa or okpei. Then add the ground egusi (here there is absolutely no reason to add water or make into paste)
The only different between the two recipes is that the egusi is fried at the beginning in the recipe above while it is added at the end here.

A combination of Ofe Egusi & Pounded Yam would be perfect for launch