Compendium of Nigerian Classic Recipes for Dishes and Foods O.A.

Akinyemi (c) Dayspring Communications (To save the Home front: A highly recommended book for all Housewives , Let the War Start; Olobe lo LOko) EDIKANG IKONG SOUP serves 4 Well famous Nigerian soup, particularly indigenous to the Efiks and thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated amongst connoisseurs and lovers of good food all over the country. There are many myths attached to this superb soup but as you can see from the recipe given, it is only a simple vegetable soup. I kg / 21b assorted meats (beef, oxtail, tripe, ponmo, bokoto & bushmeat) 4 snails (washed with lemon and limes) 450g / llb stockfish (pre-soaked) 450g / llb dry fish ( thoroughly washed) 450g/ llb periwinkles (top & tail) 22 5 / 8oz whole dry prawns (cleaned) 225g / 8oz ground crayfish I medium onion 1.35kg/3 lb fresh ugwu/pumpkin leaves (washed & shredded) I kg /21b fresh waterleaf (prepared and washed) 200ml palmoil 600ml / lpt stock salt to taste Wash the meat thoroughly and place in a large pot. Add some sliced onions, ground chillies and some stock. Place on heat and cook for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the snail from shells and wash, rubbing with lime or lemon juice to remove slime. Wash the smoked dry fish with salt and soak in slightly salted eater for 5 minutes to kill any insect and loosen any sand or girt. Rinse thoroughly with lots of cold water. Top and tail the periwinkles and wash thoroughly. Add the snails, stockfish, dry fish,dry prawns and periwinkles to the pot of meat and cook for a further 10 minutes, adding more stock if required. Finally add the shredded ugwu / pumpkin leaves and waterleaf, mix in properly. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes and add the crayfish and palmoil. Give it a good stir and gently simmer for another 10 minutes until well blended and the aroma fills the kitchen. Remove from heat and serve hot with Fufu or pounded yam.

OGBONO SOUP Just like the egusi, ogbono soup is thoroughly enjoyed by all Nigerians. It is a particular favourite amongst the lbos in the east to whom this superb soup is deemed incomplete without the addition stockfish. lkg/ 21b assorted meats (oxtail, tripe, ponmo & bushmeat) 450g/llb stock fish(pre-soaked) 450g / llb dried fish (washed) 225g / 8oz whole dry prawns (cleaned) 225g / 8oz ground ogbono seeds 225g/8oz ground crayfish 25g / 8oz ground pepper 25g / loz iru

I medium onion 290ml / lOfl ozpalmoil 3pt stock or water salt to taste Washed the assorted meats thoroughly and place in a pot. Add the sliced onions, ground chillies and some stock or water. Cooked for 30 minutes. Add the washed smoked fish and stockfish, cook for a further 10-15 minutes adding a drop of water or stock as needed to stop it from burning. In another pot, heat the oil and fry the ground seeds for 3 minutes to bring out the nutty flavour. Gradually add the stock and whisk until it draws and bubbles. Add the cooked meats peppers and crayfish. Dissolve the locust bean in a little stock and add to the soup. Allow to simmer for another 10 minutes, check seasoning and serve hot with pounded yam. VARIATIONS OGBONO SOUP WITH BITTER LEAF 225g / 8oz washed bitter leaf added to main recipe OGBONO SOUP WITH UGWU 500g / llb shredded ugwu leaves added to main recipe. OGBONO SOUP WITH IGBO 225g/8oz washed igbo leaves added to main recipe OGBONO SOUP WITH WATERLEAF 500g/llb washed watterleaf added to main recipe.

GBEGIRI serves 4-6 Bean stew 450g / llb white or red beans 6 fresh chillies (liquidise) 2 medium onions ( liquidise) 450g / llb fresh tomatoes ( liquidise) I kg / 21b dry smoked fish 3 tablespoon tomato puree I oz iru (locust bean) 200ml / 7/7 oz palm-oil 2ltr / 4pts stock 225g / 8oz ground crayfish salt to taste To skin beans: Soak beans for 20 minutes. Rub and squeeze together with both hands to peel the skin off the beans. Continue rubbing and rinsing until all the skin is removed. Boil the skinned beans for 35 minutes until soft and almost cooked. Add the rest of the ingredients and more stock. Simmer for another 20 minutes , see that the beans has turned into a smooth paste and that the ingredients are well blended into it. Season to taste

AFANG SOUP serves 4-6 This is a classic Cross riverian dish and indeed one of my favourites. The unique flavours derived from the afang leaves in combination with the richness of other ingredients makes this superb soup appealing to a wider spectrum of palates. I kg / 21b assorted meats (oxtail, tripe, ponmo, bokoto & bushmeat) 4 snails (washed with lemon or lime)

450g / llb stockfish (pre-soaked) 450 / llb dried fish (washed) 225g/8oz periwinkle (top & tail shell) 225g/8oz whole dry prawns (cleaned) 22 5g / 8oz ground crayfish 22 5g / 8oz ground pepper I medium onion 450g / llb afang leaves (washed, shredded & pounded) lkg/21b waterleaf (prepared & washed) 290ml /lOfl oz palm-oil 600ml/lpt stock or water salt to taste Wash the assorted meat thoroughly and place in a pot. Add the sliced onions, ground chillies and some stock or water. Cook for 30minutes. Meanwhile, remove the snails from their shells and wash with lemon or lime juice to remove slime. Wash the smoked dry fish with salt and leave soaking in boiling water for 5-8 minutes to kill any insect and loosen any sand or grit. Rinse out thoroughly with lots of cold water. With the blunt end of a knife, top and tail the periwinkles and wash thoroughly. Add the prepared ingredients and the stock fish to the pot of meat, continue cooking for additional 10 minutes, adding more stock as required. Finally, add the pounded afang leaves, washed waterleaf and crayfish. Give it a good stir and bring to the boil. Add palm oil, check seasoning and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the aroma fills the kitchen and the soup is well blended. Remove from heat, dish unto a plate and serve with pounded yam or fufu.

OFE - OWERRI SOUP serve 4-6 This is classic Oweri soup flavoured with aromatic Uzouza leaves and lightly thickened with Cocoyarn really captures the scent of the Igbo land. lkg / 2Ib assorted meats (Beef Oxtail, Tripe, Bokoto & Bushmeat )Ponmo, 450g / lib stockfish (washed & flaked ) 1 medium dry.fish (washed & flaked) 225g / 8oz ground chillies 225g / 8oz ground crayfish 225g/8oz Uzouza leaves, shredded 450g/lib cocoyam boiled and pounded 1lt / 2 pint stock or water salt to taste Wash the meat thoroughly and place in a large pot. Season with salt and ground chillies add some stock and cook for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, wash and peel the cocoyam cook until soft and pound. Add the washed smoked fish and stock to the pot of boiling meats and cook for I0 minutes. Add the stock and bring to boil. Mould the pounded cocoyam into small balls and add to soup, stir in the crayfish, shredded Uzouza leaves and oil. Adjust seasoning and simmer for 15 minutes until slightly thick. Serve hot with Ine-oka or Pounded yam

Afia Efere ( White soup) serve 4 This light Efik soup is traditionally cooked without oil using goatmeat or chicken in which case, they are called "afia efere ebot" or "afia efere unen" respectively. Fresh fish can also be used.

I kg / 2 lb fresh goatmeat I medium smoked fish (washed) 250g / 8oz fresh okro (sliced) 100g/4oz ground crayfish 250g / 8oz pounded yam 25g / I oz chopped fresh chillies I uyayakpod ( tetrapleura tetraptera) 1ltr/2 pint stock or water salt to taste Wash and cut the meat into even size pieces. Season with salt and boil for 30 minutes or until soft and tender. Add the stock, washed fish, chopped chillies, okro and ground crayfish. Break the uyayak pod into small pieces and add to the pot. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Mould the pounded yam into small rounds and drop into the soup to slightly thicken. Add seasoning and serve with pounded yam.

Akara Seke-pu INGREDIENT : 250g/8oz egusi (melon seeds) 250g/8oz beans 1 large onion (diced) I fresh chilli (diced) salt to taste groundnut-oil for frying Soak the bean in cold water for 10 minutes, wash to remove skin. Grind the beans and melon seeds together int a smooth paste. Place in a clean bowl and beat well until light and fluffy adding some water if necessary. Add the diced onion and chilli, season with salt. Heat the oil spoon the mixture into oil and fry until golden brown. Drain and serve hot.

IKOKORE (Water-yam pottage) serves 4 Wonderfully delicious made with grated water yam and favourite of ljebu's from Western Nigeria. INGREDIENT: l kg/2lb water-yam 1 medium size smoked dry fish 1 onion (ground) 100g/4oz fresh pepper (ground) 1oz iru 570ml palm-oil 2 tablespoon tomato puree salt to taste. Peel the yam, cut into medium chunks, wash thoroughly and grate into a clean bowl. Season with salt and leave aside. Pour the stocks into a clean pot add other ingredients and boil for 30 minutes. Reduce heat and scoop small handfuls of grated yam into the simmering soup to form dumplings, using up all the yam mixture. Place lid on pot and gently simmer for 30 minutes until yam is cooked. Check seasoning and serve hot.

Isi-Ewu ( spiced goat head)serve 6

Cooked and served in a thick spicy sauce, this is an authentic Eastern Nigeria dish (igbo). A real favourite amongst Nigerians and certainty not for tfie faint-hearted as the heat from the large amount of chillies used is enough to take your palate off. I have reduced the amount of chilli used in this recipe, but it can be increased to suit one's taste. A superb dish to be enjoyed on its own. INGREDIENT : 1goat (head and legs only) 3 fresh chilli pepper 8 fresh tomatoes 2 onions 1 clove garlic I teaspoon peppersoup seasoning 3tbs. lemon juice 4tbs. tomato puree 200ml/7floz palm-oil 1lt/2pints stock or water I onion (sliced) chopped wild mini salt to taste

Singe the hairs off the head and legs of goat, scrape and singe alternatively until all the hairs are off. Burn the hoofs and horns, peel them off with the point of a heavy knife. Wash the head and legs thoroughly with soap and a rough sponge or brush. Chop into small pieces with a sharp cleaver and rinse thoroughly, discarding the brains. Pour over the lemon juice and mix in. Leave to rest for 15 minutes. Grind together the onions, garlic, chillies and tomatoes. Place meat in a large pot, add the sliced onions, chillies, stock and seasonings. Cover and cook for 45 minutes. Check and stir frequently. Finally add the grind chillies, tomatoes, onions, palm-oil and wild mint. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes until meat is tender. Adiust seasoning and serve in traditional earthenware dishes garnish with chopped mint. ABAK AFANG SOUP Serves 4-6,

1Kg / 2Ihassorted meats (beef oxtail, tripe, ponmo, bokoto & bushmeat,, 450g lib stockfish (pre-soaked), 1 medium dry fish (washed & flaked), 450g / lib afang leaves (pounded), 225g/8oz periwinkle (top & tailed), 225g / 8oz ground chillies, 225g / 8oz ground crayfish, lit / 2pints palm-nut concentrate, salt to taste, Wash the meat thoroughly and place in a large pot. Season with salt and ground chillies. Add some stock and cook for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, wash the oil-palm and cook until soft to make the concentrate. Add the washed smoked fish and stockfish to the pot of boiling meat and cook for 10 minutes. Add the palmoil concentrate, bring to the boil and cook till slightly reduced and soup coats of a,spoon. Add the pounded afang leaves and periwinkles. Stir in the crayfish and cook for 15minutes until well blended. Check seasoning and serve with pounded yam., TO MAKE OIL - PALM CONCENTRATE, l kg/2Ib oil-palm kernels, 3pints hot water, Wash the palm kernels and place to cook in a clean pot with some water. Bring to the boil and cook until tender. Drain and place kernels in a mortar, pound to pulp. Mix pulp with hot Water and squeeze to remove oil. Pass through a sieve to separate the kernels and shaft. Canned palm-nut concentrate which is readily available in shops and supermarkets could be used instead.

ABAK ATAMA SOUP serves 4-6, This is a rich-palm nut soup, highly spiced and flavoured with the aromatic atama leaves (a spicy aromatic leave that could be used dried or fresh). The dried leaves are a lot more pungent in flavour. l kg/11b assorted meats (beef oxtail tripe, ponmo, bokoto & bushmeat) 450g / lib stockfish (pre-soaked) 1 medium dry fish (washed & flaked) 225g/8oz atama leaves (washed & shredded) 225g/8ozperiwinkle (top & tail) 225g / 8oz ground chillies 225g / 8oz ground crayfish 11t / 2pt palm-nut concentrated salt to taste Wash the meat thoroughly and place in a large pot. Season with salt and ground chillies. Add some stock and cook for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, wash the oil-palm and cook until soft to make the concentrate. Add the washed smoked fish and stockfish to the pot of boiling meats and cook for 10 minutes. Add the palm oil concentrate and Atama leaves bring to the boil and cook till slightly reduced and soup coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the crayfish and periwinkles, cook for 15minutes until well blended, check seasoning and serve with pounded yam.

BANGA SOUP / OBE EYIN serves 4 Palm-nut soup 500g / l1b Assorted parts of meat 225g / 8oz stockfish (pre-soaked) 225g / 8oz bush meat (washed) 1kg / 2Ib oil-palm nuts 225g / 8oz ground crayfish 1pt stock or water 225g / 8oz Okro (sliced) 100g / 4oz ground pepper 1 onion (sliced) salt to taste

Place the washed meat in a large pot, add a drop of water or stock season with salt and ground pepper and boil for 30 minutes or until tender. Add the smoked fish and stockfish, cook for another 10 minutes. Prepare the oil-palm nut to extract the oil by boiling the washed nuts for 20 minutes until soft. Remove from water and pound to remove the oil. Pass through a sieve to separate the kernels from the chaff. Pour the strained pulp into the meat together with the sliced peppers onions' tomatoes puree and Okro. Sprinkle in the crayfish and cook for 15minutes until the soup is fairly reduced and thickened to coat the back of spoon. Check seasoning and serve with pounded yam (Iyan) or Usin/Egun obobo (starch & plantain pudding). VARIATIONS Fresh fish crayfish and shrimps could be used instead of meat with a small amount of ground egusi (melon seeds) added instead of Okro. Freshly washed bitter leaf could also be added. Ora (Oha) Soup

Ora (Oha) soup is native to the South Eastern Nigeria. It is a very traditional soup similar to the bitterleaf soup but cooked with Ora leaves. Ora (Oha) Soup is special because the tender ora leaves used in preparing this soup recipe are seasonal unlike their bitterleaf counterpart which can be found all year round. Though it is only the vegetable that distinguishes the Ora Soup and the Bitterleaf Soup, they taste so different that it is hard to believe the difference just one ingredient can make in a recipe. Ingredients for Ora (Oha) Soup

Vegetable - Ora leaves Cocoyam 8 corms Red Palm Oil 3 cooking spoons Assorted Beef Includes best cut, shaki (cow tripe) Assorted Fish Dry Fish and Stock Fish Chilli Pepper, Salt and Crayfish (to taste) Seasoning 3 Maggi or Knorr cubes

Before you cook the Nigerian Ora Soup 1. Grind the crayfish and pepper and set aside.

2. Wash and boil the cocoyam corms till soft. Remove the peels and use a mortar and pestle to pound the corms to a smooth paste. 3. Using your fingers, cut the Ora (Oha) leaves into tiny pieces. This technique is to prevent the vegetable from becoming darker in colour. This happens when you cut the ora leaves with a knife. Cooking Directions 1. Boil the shaki (cow tripe), stock fish and dry fish in 1 litre of water till they are well done. First sign of a done shaki is that the cuts will start curling on itself. 2. Wash the beef and add to the pot of shaki etc. and continue cooking. When the meat is done, add 3 cubes of Maggi/Knorr and cook for 5 minutes. 3. Add the pepper and ground crayfish and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cocoyam paste in small lumps and then the palm oil. 4. Cover the pot and leave to cook on high heat till all the cocoyam lumps have dissolved. You can add more water if you feel that the soup is too thick. 5. Add the ora (oha) leaves and leave to cook for about 5 minutes. 6. Add salt to taste and the soup is ready to be served with Eba, Foo Foo, Semolina or Amala.

Nsala Soup

Nsala soup is a tasty, fast and easy soup recipe that has its origins in the riverine areas of Nigeria. Ingredients Cat Fish Utazi Leaves (crongromena ratifolia) Raw White Yam / Yam Powder / Potato Puree - Thickner Chilli Pepper, Salt and Ground Crayfish (to taste) Seasoning 3 cubes of Maggi / Knorr and Ogiri Okpei (Nigerian traditional seasoning)

Before you cook Nsala Soup Cut the catfish into 1 inch thick cylindrical discs and remove the intestines. Place in bowl. Pour hot water on the fish to remove the slimy substance on the outer skin. Leave for 2 minutes and wash the fish with cold water. This process of pouring hot water also toughens the fish so that the pieces do not dissolve while cooking the soup. Boil a few cubes of raw white yam. When soft, pound with a mortar and pestle till a smooth paste is formed, then set aside. You can substitute white yam with yam powder or potato puree for the thickening. Wash and cut the utazi leaves into tiny shreds. Blend the chilli pepper, the crayfish and the shredded utazi leaves and set aside. Utazi is bitter in taste and only used for flavouring so one or two leaves should be enough. Cooking Directions 1. Place the catfish in a pot and pour enough water to cover the fish. Add the seasoning and cook till done. Feel free to add beef and dry fish to this soup recipe. 2. When the catfish is done, add the crayfish, pepper and utazi leaves blend. Also add the yam paste in small lumps and salt to taste. Note: Catfish is what makes Nsala soup what it is, giving it the unique taste that it has, therefore it cannot be substituted with any other kind of fish. 3. Cover the pot and allow the contents to cook at high heat till all the yam paste have dissolved. While cooking, if you think that the yam paste will make the soup too thick, you can remove some that are yet to dissolve. 4. The Nigerian Nsala Soup is ready to be served with Amala, Eba (Garri), Yam Foo Foo, Semolina etc.

How to make Coleslaw

Coleslaw simply means cabbage salad. It is a blend of finely shredded cabbage, carrots and a few other crunchy vegetables. It is then generously dressed with mayonnaise and salad cream. It is generally eaten as a side dish to such foods as Jollof Rice, Fried/Barbecued Chicken, Moi Moi and many other rice dishes. Coleslaw is usually served chilled to allow the dressing settle into the vegetables. Ingredients

1 small cabbage 1 small green bell pepper tin of green peas 2 medium carrots 1 medium onion 5 tablespoons of salad cream (preferably Heinz Classic Salad Cream) 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise teaspoon sugar A pinch of salt

Preparation All the vegetables need to be washed. 1. Cut the cabbage, green bell pepper and onions into very tiny pieces. 2. Scrape and shred the carrots using a grater, then use a knife to cut across the shreds to make the pieces even smaller. 3. Put the cabbage, green pepper, green peas, onions and carrots into a large bowl and stir till you get a good mix. 4. In a separate, smaller bowl, mix the salad cream, mayonnaise, sugar and salt. 5. Pour the cream mix into the bowl of vegetables and stir very well. 6. Chill and serve. Note: If you prefer the coleslaw creamier, you can increase the quantity of the salad cream. Feel free to add a pinch of ground pepper if you like it spicy. Coleslaw can be eaten alone or as a side dish to Jollof Rice, Coconut Rice, Fried Rice and other Nigerian rice dishes.

How to make Nigerian Salad

Nigerian Salad is so unique that there is no other place that prepares such filling and exotic salad as this recipe. It can be had as a meal on its own or as a side dish to the various Nigerian Rice Recipes.

The quantities of ingredients stated are what will give you a typical taste of the Nigerian Salad. The quantities can be halved or multiplied and the same taste will be achieved. Ingredients

1 medium bunch of Lettuce 5 medium sized Carrots 4 small pcs of Irish Potatoes 2 medium pcs of Cucumber 3 medium Eggs 1 415g tin of Baked Beans in tomato sauce 200g of Sweet Corn 5 pcs of Plum Tomatoes (Jos Tomatoes) Salad Dressing the classic Heinz Salad Cream works best with the Nigerian Salad recipe. A close substitute is the Heinz Caesar Salad Cream. You can use mayonnaise too.

Before you prepare the Nigerian Salad Wash and cook the Irish Potatoes till done. The eggs should be hard boiled. To save time, these two can be cooked in the same pot as they need almost equal amount of time to get done. All the vegetables need to be washed. 1. Cut the lettuce into thin shreds. 2. Scrape and shred the carrots using a grater. 3. Peel and cut the boiled potatoes into sizeable cubes. 4. Peel, remove the seeds and cut the cucumber as shown. If you want more green color in your salad, you may peel the cucumber in stripes. 5. Remove the seeds from the plum tomatoes and cut into small pieces. 6. Place all the cut vegetables in separate containers. Open the sweet corn and drain the preservation water. Rinse the seeds and set aside. Also open the baked beans tin and set aside. Remove the shells of the hard boiled eggs, slice thinly and set aside. An egg slicer is perfect for this job. Preparation 1. With the exception of the egg, start putting the ingredients in small batches into a big salad bowl till all are exhausted. 2. Now, place the sliced eggs on the salad, covering the top. 3. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least one hour. This is to allow all the ingredients to mix well. 4. Serve with a salad dressing of your choice but the Heinz Salad Cream works best with this recipe, seconded by a caeser salad dressing. Notes and Tips If you prefer your Nigerian Salad crunchy, substitute the lettuce with cabbage. You can also use the two as the lettuce adds a green color to the salad.

The above are the minimum ingredients for making a Nigerian salad. More ingredients such as boiled macaroni, corned beef, green bell pepper, green peas etc can be added for varied flavour. The Nigerian Salad is best consumed within 24 hours of preparation if no salad dressing is added to it. If you are lucky to buy a baby cucumber, it may not be necessary to remove the seeds. Nigerian Salad can be eaten alone or as a side dish to Jollof Rice, Coconut Rice, Fried Rice and other Nigerian rice dishes

How to cook Fried Rice

The Nigerian Fried Rice must be the best thing that happened to birthday parties, weddings, street parties, picnics, special events and occassions. How to Cook Nigerian Fried Rice [Video] It is so easy to prepare that you can even cook it every weekend in your own home. Eat the Nigerian Fried Rice recipe with Moi Moi, Nigerian Salad or Coleslaw and you will feel like you are in paradise island. Are you ready to go on the Nigerian fried rice cooking spree? Ingredients

Rice - 3 cigar cups | 750g Vegetable Oil Chicken (whole chicken or chicken drumsticks) Cow Liver (100g) Plain Yellow Curry Powder no chilli (1 tablespoon) Green Beans (a handful) 5 medium sized carrots Salt (to taste) Onions - 3 medium sized bulbs Seasoning 3 Maggi/Knorr cubes & Thyme (1 teaspoon)

Before you cook the Fried Rice Cut the vegetables

Wash all the vegetables to be used in cooking the fried rice. Scrape and cut the carrots into tiny cubes. Cut the green beans into small pieces of about 0.7cm long. Soak these 2 vegetables separately in hot water for about 5 minutes and drain. Cut 1 bulb of onion. Set all these aside. Prepare the liver and chicken Cook the cow liver till done and cut into tiny pieces. Cut the whole chicken into pieces and cook with 1 teaspoon of thyme and 2 bulbs of chopped onions. When the chicken is almost done, add 3 cubes of Maggi / Knorr seasoning and a small amount of salt. Remember to add water sparingly. Cook till tender. Put the pieces of chicken in a sieve to drain, then fry with vegetable oil. It can also be

grilled in an oven till it is golden. This gives it a glowing look which is more presentable especially when you are entertaining guests. Cooking Directions 1. Parboil the rice using the method detailed in parboiling rice for cooking fried rice. Wash the parboiled rice and put in a sieve so all the water drains out. 2. Pour the chicken stock into a sieve to remove all traces of onions, thyme etc used in cooking the chicken. Pour the stock into a pot and set to boil. Once the water boils, add the parboiled rice. Also, add 1 tablespoon of plain yellow curry powder, then add salt to taste. The plain yellow curry powder is merely for colouring so should not contain chilli. 3. The water level should be slightly less than the level of the rice; at most it should be at the same level as the rice. This is to ensure that all the water dries up by the time the rice is cooked. Stir the contents; cover the pot and leave to cook on medium heat. This way the rice does not burn before the water dries up. 4. Once the water has dried up, check that the rice is cooked. Perfect fried rice is one that the grains are separated from one another, resistant to the bite but not hard. 5. Now, transfer the rice to a casserole dish or another pot to help cool it down quickly. This is essential to keep the grains from sticking to each other. If left in the original hot pot, the rice will continue to cook and eventually stick together. At this point, it is advisable to divide the vegetables into say 4, 5 or even 6 equal parts. The rice will be fried in batches so this number depends on the quantity of rice you can comfortably fry in the pan or pot. Also, divide the cooked rice and the diced cow liver into the same number of equal parts. 6. Now pour a small amount of vegetable oil into a frying pan. This quantity of oil should be such that it would be absorbed by 1 part of the cooked rice and 1 part each of the vegetables. When the oil is hot, add 1 part of diced onions and stir for 10 seconds, followed by 1 part of diced cow liver, one part each of the diced vegetables, then 1 part of cooked rice. 7. Add more salt if necessary. More curry powder may also be added at this stage if you need to touch up on the colour. Stir till all the ingredients have mixed well and transfer to a dry pot. Repeat this for the remaining batches of the ingredients. The fried rice is ready. Serve with fried chicken. You can add coleslaw, Moi Moi or Nigerian salad.

How to cook the Nigerian Pepper Soup

The Nigerian Pepper soup is a popular Nigerian soup recipe. It is such a versatile recipe as it can be prepared with different types of meat and fish. Thus there is the Chicken Pepper Soup, the Cat Fish Pepper Soup (popularly known as Point and Kill), the Goat Meat Pepper Soup, the Cow Leg Pepper Soup and the Assorted Beef Pepper Soup. People usually go to exclusive bars or restaurants to eat the Pepper Soup. This is because this Nigerian food recipe is believed to be prepared with 'secret' ingredients that only the restaurant Madams know about. Yes, the Pepper Soup ingredient which gives this recipe its unique aroma and taste, is truly the best kept secret. But our job here at All Nigerian Food Recipes is to expose all Nigerian food recipes and cooking secrets so that you can prepare them right inside your own kitchen whenever you want to. Ingredients for Pepper Soup

Cat Fish | Chicken | Goat Meat | Cow Leg | Assorted Beef - 1 kg Ehu - 4 seeds Chilli Pepper (to taste) Dry Uziza - 2 teaspoons Onions - 2 medium bulbs Crayfish - 2 tablespoons of ground Crayfish Salt - to taste Seasoning 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes & 1 teaspoon of Thyme

Before you cook the Nigerian Pepper Soup 1. To prepare Cat Fish Pepper Soup, wash and cut the cat fish into 1-inch thick slices. Boil some hot water and pour on the pieces of fish to firm them up. This toughens the skin of the fish so that it does not fall apart during cooking. 2. If preparing Chicken pepper Soup, it is preferable to use whole chicken instead of drumsticks. The different parts of the chicken will bring variety to the pepper soup. So wash and cut up the whole chicken and set aside. 3. If you want to prepare Assorted Beef Pepper Soup then you should buy different parts of beef - best cut, offal (shaki, round-about, liver and kidney). Wash the offal thoroughly especially the round-about which should be turned inside out during the washing. Cut these into medium pieces, just big enough to be chewed in one go. 4. For Goat Meat Pepper Soup and Cow Leg Pepper Soup, just wash and cut the goat meat or cow leg into medium pieces. In this case also, make the pieces just big enough that it can be chewed in one go.

5. Now it is time to prepare the 'secret' ingredient. Using an old frying pan, roast the Ehu seeds (stirring constantly) till you can smell it. Don't worry you will know when it is OK to take it off because it has a distinctive aroma. Another way to know that it is OK is to take one of the seeds and try to remove the outer membrane. If the membrane comes off easily, then the Ehu is done.

6. Peel off the membrane from all the Ehu seeds and grind with a dry mill. 7. Cut the onions into tiny pieces. 8. Rub the dry uziza with your fingers to break them into tiny pieces. Cooking Directions 1. This cooking direction describes Chicken Pepper Soup. To prepare Cat Fish Pepper Soup, Goat Meat Pepper Soup, Cow Leg Pepper Soup or Assorted Beef Pepper Soup just substitute chicken with cat fish, goat meat, cow leg or beef and offal respectively. 2. Place the pieces of chicken in a pot and pour enough water to cover the contents of the pot. Add the stock cubes, thyme and onions and cook till done. Note: When cooking Assorted Beef Pepper Soup, you should cook the shaki for sometime before adding the other beef parts. Shaki is tough and will take longer to cook than the other beef parts. Cow leg is a tough meat part so when cooking Cow Leg Pepper Soup, you should use a pressure cooker if you have one. This will save you some gas or electricity. 3. By now, you will notice that some of the water has dried. Add more water to bring it to the level of the contents of the pot. 4. Add the ground Ehu, crayfish, dry uziza, chilli pepper and salt to taste. Ehu has some spicy taste so you should add chilli pepper with care. Even though it is called pepper soup, you still want to be able to taste and enjoy the recipe itself. Too much chilli pepper will ruin it for you. 5. Cover the pot and leave to cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. The pepper soup is ready. 6. Pepper Soup should always be served hot. It can be eaten alone with a chilled drink by the side. You can also eat it with Agidi, White Rice or Boiled Yam.

Spaghetti Surprise

Raise your hand if you think that cooking spaghetti and eating it with the good old tomato stew is oh-so-boring. We think so too. That's why we present the Spaghetti Surprise to you. This Nigerian food recipe is prepared with the ingredients you see in Nigerian markets and in food stores all over the world. So there is no reason why you

should not prepare this recipe today, right now. Go ahead, give it a try and you will be deliciously surprised. Ingredients for Spaghetti Surprise

Spaghetti - 250g Beef - 5 normal cuts Cabbage - 1 small bulb Carrots - 4 medium pieces Green peas - 1 cup Tomato stew - 2 cooking spoonfuls Pepper and salt - to taste Onions - 2 medium bulbs Seasoning 3 Maggi/Knorr cubes & Thyme (1 teaspoon)

Before you cook the Nigerian Spaghetti Surprise 1. Break the spaghetti into short pieces. Please if you have any Italian friends, don't let them see you breaking up spaghetti! 2. Cut the beef into small pieces. It is best to buy the part of beef that has streaks of fat in it. This greatly improves the taste of this Nigerian food recipe. 3. Wash and cut the cabbage into small pieces. Also wash, scrape and cut the carrots into tiny pieces. Cut the onions into small pieces and remove the green peas from the pods. If you will use tinned green peas, simply drain the preservation water and rinse with some fresh water. 4. If you do not have Tomato Stew, this is the time to make some. Cooking Directions 1. Cook the beef with the onions, thyme and stock cubes (Maggi or Knorr). The water used in cooking the beef should be about the same level as the contents of the pot. When done, add two cooking spoons of a well-fried Tomato Stew. Add salt and pepper to taste, leave to boil for about 5 minutes and set aside. 2. While the meat is cooking, boil the spaghetti in a generous amount of water. Cook the spaghetti till it is almost done to your personal preference. Some like their spaghetti hard to the bite while others prefer it well done and soft. 3. Now drain the water from the spaghetti and pour the mixture of beef stock and tomato stew you prepared earlier into the pot of the almost-done spaghetti and set to cook at low heat. The spaghetti should now be able to absorb all the ingredients from the beef stew while it is getting completely done. 4. When the water is almost dry, add the diced carrots, stir and keep cooking for 2 minutes maximum. Then add the cabbage, green peas and more salt if necessary. Stir the contents of the pot very well, cover the pot, turn off the

heat and leave to stand for about 5 minutes. The Spaghetti Surprise is ready to be served. The Spaghetti Surprise is perfect when eaten on its own but feel free to eat this dish with Fried Plantain or Fried Chicken. Spaghetti cooking tips Spaghetti should be cooked with a very big pot. That is to say, the pot should contain the spaghetti and still have plenty of unused volume. Spaghetti should also be cooked in plenty of water. The quantity of water should be at least double the quantity of the spaghetti. To cook spaghetti, first of all, boil water; add a few spoons of vegetable oil to the boiling water and add the spaghetti. Stir the contents very well. In fact stir till the water starts boiling again before covering the pot. The large amount of water, the boiling water and the vegetable oil altogether prevent the spaghetti strands from sticking together while cooking.

How to cook Coconut Rice

This Nigerian food is called the Jollof Rice with a twist! It feels good to see the looks on your guests' or friends' faces when they think you are serving them the good old Jollof Rice but bam, the moment the first spoon enters the mouth, you are sure to get the looks of pleasure! It makes you feel good, doesn't it? Yes, it looks the same as the Jollof Rice you know but the aroma and taste is different. Why don't you surprise your guests tonight by preparing this easy dinner recipe? Ingredients

Rice - 3 cigar cups | 750g 12 medium sized fresh Plum Tomatoes (Jos Tomatoes) 1 coconut 20g of tinned / canned tomato puree Vegetable Oil Chicken (whole chicken or drumsticks) Pepper - to taste Salt (to taste) Onions - 3 medium sized bulbs Seasoning 3 Maggi/Knorr cubes & Thyme (1 teaspoon)

Before you cook Coconut Rice If you will use whole chicken then you need to start early. Wash and cut the whole chicken into pieces. Place the pieces in a pot; add water till it just covers the pieces of chicken, add the chopped onions (2 bulbs) and 1 teaspoon of thyme and start cooking. The cooking time depends on the type of chicken. The rooster or cockerel cooks much faster than the hen. When the chicken is almost done, add 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes and a small amount of salt. Keep

cooking till done. Put the pieces of chicken in a sieve to drain, then fry with vegetable oil. You can also grill it in an oven. This is to give it a golden look which is more presentable especially if you have guests for dinner. Now is the time to extract the coconut milk. This is quite an easy task if you follow the procedure detailed in How to Extract Coconut Milk. Set the coconut milk aside. Parboil the rice using the method detailed in parboiling rice for cooking coconut rice. Wash the parboiled rice and put in a sieve so all the water drains out. Now, it is time to prepare the tomato sauce. It is usually advisable to prepare tomato sauce before hand and keep in the freezer. This is so that whenever you want to cook any jollof rice related dish, it is just a matter of adding it to your cooking. Wash, blend and fry the fresh tomatoes in vegetable oil and chopped onions (1 medium bulb). Remember to remove the tomato seeds. Fry till all the water and sour taste are gone from the tomato puree. A well-fried tomato puree is essential to this Nigerian food recipe. Read How to Prepare Tomato Stew for details on how to make the perfect tomato sauce. Cooking Directions 1. Now we need a pot big enough to accommodate the rice till it is done. Bear in mind that the rice will normally rise by at least one quarter of its quantity from the parboiled state to the done state. 2. Pour the chicken stock, coconut milk and the tomato sauce into the selected pot. Set on the stove to boil. Add the drained parboiled rice, salt and pepper to taste. The water level should be the same as the level of the rice. This is to ensure that all the water dries up by the time the rice is cooked. 3. Cover the pot and leave to cook on medium heat. This way the rice does not burn before the water dries up. If you parboiled the rice as described at parboiling rice for cooking coconut rice, the rice should be done by the time the water is dry. Confirm that the rice is done by tasting it. Thats the way coconut rice is cooked. Serve with fried plantain, Moi Moi, Nigerian salad or coleslaw.

How to Cook Nigerian Tomato Stew

Tomato Stew is very common in Nigeria. You will usually find that most families make this in considerable quantities and store in the freezer. This is because most staples can be cooked / boiled / fried and eaten with this stew viz: Rice - Tomato Stew is the single most popular sauce when eating boiled white rice. The Jollof Rice Recipes are cooked with the simpler version of the tomato stew. This is the tomato stew with no added meat or chicken. Plantain It is not unusual for Tomato Stew to accompany Fried Plantain or Boiled Plantain. Beans Beans can be cooked plain and eaten with the Nigerian tomato stew. Yam You can bring out the best in the yam staple by eating it with tomato stew. Boiled Yam and Fried Yam go really well with this stew.

Tomato Stew is usually a tricky Nigerian recipe to prepare. If it is not sour, it is burnt or too oily. Not to worry, just follow the steps below and you will learn how to make the best Nigerian Tomato Stew. Ingredients

Fresh Plum Tomatoes (referred to as Jos Tomatoes in Nigeria) 1kg Vegetable Oil 30 cl Chicken/Turkey/Beef 1kg Onions 3 medium bulbs Chilli Pepper & Salt to taste Seasoning 2 cubes of Maggi / Knorr & Thyme (2 teaspoons)

Before you cook Tomato Stew 1. Wash and blend the fresh plum tomatoes. Remember to remove the seeds unless you are sure your blender can grind them very well. 2. Cook the chicken / turkey / beef with 1 medium bulb of onions (chopped), the 2 seasoning cubes and thyme till done. Fry or grill the chicken / turkey / beef if you want to. This is optional. Note: Remember to add water sparingly so that your tomato stew will not be watery when done. You can always add more water during the final stages of the cooking if the chicken / turkey / beef stock is not enough. If you want to make tomato stew that you will store in the freezer to be used in cooking Jollof Rice recipes then you will not need to add chicken / turkey / beef at this time. Cook these the day you want to prepare the Jollof rice recipes. 3. Grind / Blend the chilli pepper. Cooking Directions 1. Pour the tomato blend into a pot and cook till almost all the water has dried. 2. Add the vegetable oil and the remaining 1 bulb of onions (chopped). For your tomato stew to fry very well and not have any form of sour/raw taste, you need to add a generous amount of vegetable oil. Don't worry about having too much oil because you can pour out the excess oil after frying the tomato puree. 3. Cook at low heat till all the water has dried. You can confirm this because the tomato puree starts to stick to the base of the pot. 4. Stir constantly till you notice that the vegetable oil is separated from the tomato puree. Unlike when you first added the oil and it formed a smooth mix with the tomato puree. Taste the fried tomato puree to make sure that the raw tomato taste is gone. Note: With time and experience, you can even tell that the tomato puree is well fried from the aroma.

5. At this time, if you think there is too much oil, pour out the excess and add the chicken / turkey / beef with the stock, and then add pepper and salt to taste. 6. Cover the pot and allow to contents of the pot to boil for 5 minutes. 7. Thats the way the best Nigerian tomato stew is made. Use tomato stew to eat White Rice, Fried / Boiled Plantain, Fried / Boiled yam. Add it when cooking your Jollof Rice recipes and even to your Egusi Soup!

Mixed Vegetables Jollof Rice

This Nigerian food is very similar to the basic Nigerian Jollof Rice. But it looks better and has a slightly different aroma and taste to it due to the added vegetables. Why not try something different for dinner by adding just 2 wellknown vegetables?

Ingredients

Rice - 3 cigar cups | 750g 12 medium sized fresh Plum Tomatoes (Jos Tomatoes) Carrots 5 medium sized Green Pepper (Bell pepper) 1 piece 20g of tinned / canned tomato puree Vegetable Oil Chicken (whole chicken, drumsticks or chicken breast) Pepper - to taste Salt (to taste) Onions - 3 medium sized bulbs Seasoning 3 Maggi/Knorr cubes & Thyme (1 teaspoon)

Before you prepare Mixed Vegetables Jollof Rice What to do before preparing the mixed vegetables recipe is basically the same as what needs to be done for the basic Jollof Rice. The only additional thing you need to do is to wash, scrape and cut the carrots into small cubes. Also wash and cut the green pepper into small pieces. Preparation The preparation is also the same for Jollof Rice. Remember the point during the preparation of Jollof Rice, when you have added all the ingredients and you are waiting for the water to dry? This is where the mixed vegetable part comes in. 1. When the water is almost dry, add the diced carrots, cover the pot and continue cooking. 2. When the water is completely dry, turn off the stove. Add the diced green pepper and turn the rice with a wooden spoon.

Why can't we add the green pepper when we added the carrots? This is because green pepper is a soft vegetable so even the slightest heat is enough to get it done. If added at the same time as the carrots (which are harder) they will turn very dark green by the time the water has completely dried. So to keep the green pepper green and freshlooking, we need to add them when we have turned off the cooker. Do you see the change in your Jollof Rice? This we achieved by adding just 2 vegetables. Isn't it interesting? Serve with fried plantain or Moi Moi. Feel free to throw in coleslaw or Nigerian salad too.