How to cook Okra Soup for Kids

O kra Soup is the choice Nigerian soup when

you want to start giving your toddler adult food.

This is because not only is Okra Soup very rich in
vitamins, it is also very easy for the kids to
swallow due to its slimy nature. And it tastes good too!
There is also the classic Okro Soup for grown-ups which has more added
ingredients.

Ingredients
 Okra
 Red Palm Oil
 Iced Fish (preferably Mackerel)
 Ground Crayfish
 Salt to taste
 Vegetable – Pumpkin leaves or Spinach (Washed & Frozen)
 Seasoning – 1 Maggi/Knorr cube (Optional)

Before you cook Kiddies Okra Soup

Cut the okra fingers into tiny pieces. Grind the crayfish. Wash the pumpkin
leaves, if it is your choice of vegetable, and cut into tiny pieces. If you will
use spinach, defrost and cut into tiny pieces.
Wash, cut and boil the iced fish. Leave to cool and debone.

Cooking Directions
1. Pour red palm oil in a clean dry pot and heat to dissolve the oil if it is
congealed. Add the diced okra and start frying on medium heat, add some
fish stock (or water) from time to time till you notice the okra start to
draw. This process should take a maximum of 5 minutes to avoid over-
cooking the okra.
2. Now add the ground crayfish, the remaining fish stock, pumpkin
leaves, a pinch of salt and the fish and stir well.
3. Cover the cooking pot and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
The soup is ready to be served with mashed potatoes, Semolina or Pounded
Yam.

How to cook the Nigerian Pepper Soup

T he 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, theCatfish Pepper Soup (popularly known as Point & Kill), the Goat
Meat Pepper Soup, the Cow Leg Pepper Soup and the Assorted Beef
Pepper Soup.
Nigerian Pepper Soup [Video]
People usually go to exclusive bars or restaurants to eat the Pepper Soup.
This is because this Nigerian soup 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

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

Tools I used
 Cooker: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Pot: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Spice grinder for grinding Ehu seeds: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Spatula: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Chopping board: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Knives: Buy it in USA | in UK

Before you cook the Nigerian Pepper Soup

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Peel off the membrane from all the Ehu seeds and
grind with a dry mill.
1. Peel off the membrane from all the Ehu seeds and
grind with a dry mill.
2. Cut the onions into tiny pieces.
 3. 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
Goat Meat Pepper Soup, Cow Leg Pepper Soup or Assorted Beef
Pepper Soup just substitute chicken with 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 boil for 5 minutes and the pepper soup is
ready.
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.

How to Cook Nigerian Egusi Soup

T he Nigerian Egusi soup, prepared with melon seeds, is native to the

southern part of Nigeria - Igbos and Yorubas.

Nigerian Egusi Soup Recipe [Video]
Egusi soup is also one of the most popular soups for all Nigerians and
non-Nigerians that like Nigerian fufu recipes. It is known as Miyan Gushi
in Hausa.

Ingredients
 Egusi (Melon) seeds - 3 cigar cups | 600g
 Red Palm Oil – 2 cooking spoons
 Beef – Best cut and Shaki (cow tripe)
 Fish – Dry Fish and Stock Fish
 Crayfish
 Pepper and Salt to taste
 Vegetable – Pumpkin leaves or Bitter leaf
 Seasoning – 3 Maggi or Knorr cubes
 Traditional Seasoning – 1 Okpei (optional)

Tools I used
 Cooker: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Deep Pot: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Spice grinder for grinding egusi (melon) seeds: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Spatula: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Chopping board: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Knives: Buy it in USA | in UK

Before you cook Egusi Soup

Before preparing the soup, soak the dry fish for about half an hour. Boil
the stockfish for 20 minutes and leave in the pot with the hot water to
soak for about an hour.
Much closer to your cooking time, grind the Egusi with a dry mill. Grind
the crayfish and the dry pepper separately and set aside. Wash the
vegetable to be used. Cut into tiny pieces.
Boil the shaki, 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.
Wash the beef to be used for the soup and place in a pot and start
steaming at medium heat. There is no need to add water at this stage.
When the meat is done, add 3 cubes of Maggi/Knorr. This method makes
the meat cook faster while retaining all the taste. Also meat contains lots
of water and you will notice that the water content increases as the meat
starts to boil.

Cooking Directions
There are two main methods of cooking egusi soup. These we will call oil
before egusi and egusi before oil. Confusing? Not.

Oil Before Egusi

1. Put 2 cooking spoons of red palm oil into a dry pot and set on the
stove to heat. As soon as the oil is clearer, add the ground egusi and
start frying. This should be done at low heat to avoid burning. Keep
frying till you see the egusi getting drier. One sign of this is that it will
start sticking to the bottom of the pot.
2. Now, start adding the shaki/fish stock little by little while still turning
the egusi. When the stock is exhausted and you feel that the soup is
still too thick, you can add more water. If your choice of vegetable is
bitterleaf, it should be added now as well.
3. Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes. The egusi is done when you
notice that the oil has risen to the surface of the mix and separated
from the mix. If this is the case, add the fish, shaki and meat. Also
add pepper and salt to taste. If pumpkin leaves (or any other soft
vegetable) is your choice, please add it now.
4. Cover the pot and leave everything to steam together for 5 minutes.
The egusi soup is ready to be served with amala, Eba (garri), pounded
yam orcassava fufu.

Egusi Before Oil

This method produces a healthier egusi soup. This is because there is no
frying involved.
 1. In this method, as soon as the shaki, fish and meat are done, remove
them from the stock (water used in cooking the meat and fish) and
place in a different pot or plate.
2. Add the ground egusi to the stock and stir. If the stock from cooking
your meat and fish is small, add some water to the same level as the
egusi.
3. Cover and cook till the egusi cakes. Stir and add a little bit more
water. watch it closely so that it does not burn.
4. Repeat step 3, adding only a small quantity of water at a time. After
about 25 minutes, you will notice the clear egusi oil coming to the
surface of the soup.
5. Add 2 cooking spoons of red palm oil and bitter leaves (if it is your
choice of vegetable), pepper and salt to taste and cook for about 7
minutes.
6. Add the the meat and fish. If using pumpkin leaves or any other soft
vegetable, add it at this time, stir the soup and leave to simmer for 2
minutes maximum.
7. Turn off the heat. Leave to stand for 2 minutes before serving.
The egusi soup is ready to be served with Eba (Garri), Agidi,
Amala, Semolina, Tuwo Shinkafa, Pounded Yam or Cassava Fufu.

How to cook Bitterleaf Soup (Ofe

Onugbu)

B itterleaf soup is one of the most traditional

soups in Nigeria. It is native to the Igbos of

Eastern Nigeria.
How to Cook Bitter Leaf Soup [Video]
The name is quite misleading in that a well prepared Bitterleaf Soup
should not have even the faintest bitterness. This is achieved by washing
and squeezing the bitter leaves (and changing the water at intervals) till
all traces of bitterness has been washed off.
One will be deemed a bad cook if his/her Bitterleaf soup tastes bitter!

Ingredients
 Washed and squeezed bitterleaf - A handful
 Cocoyam – 10 small corms
 Red Palm Oil – 2 cooking spoons (You may need a bit more)
 Assorted Beef – Includes best cut, shaki (cow tripe)
 Assorted Fish – Dry Fish and Stock Fish
 Pepper, Salt and Ground Crayfish (to taste)
 Seasoning – 3 Maggi or Knorr cubes
 Traditional Seasoning: Iru or Ogiri - 1 teaspoon

Before you cook Bitterleaf Soup

1. Make sure that the bitter leaves are well washed, such that there is
no trace of bitterness left. If not, wash and squeeze it more. If the
bitterness cannot be completely washed off (which is usually the case
with most washed bitter leaves sold in the market), boil it for about
15 minutes and wash in cold water.

2.
Wash and cook the cocoyam till soft. Remove the
peels and use a mortar and pestle to pound the corms
to a smooth paste (as shown).

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 pepper, ground crayfish, bitter leaves (if they
have not been parboiled) and cook for 10 minutes.
 Then add the cocoyam paste (in small lumps) and the palm oil then
go to step 5.

Note: If the bitter leaves were parboiled to remove the bitterness,

then for step 3; add pepper, ground crayfish, the cocoyam paste (in
small lumps), the bitter leaves and the palm oil. In other words, add
all the ingredients at this stage.
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 salt to taste and the soup is ready
Serve with Eba, Cassava Fufu, Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.

The Nigerian Vegetable Soup Edikang

Ikong
Submitted By Benedicta Ezekwe

T he Nigerian Edikang Ikong soup or simply

Vegetable Soup is native to the Efiks, people

from Akwa Ibom and Cross River states of
Nigeria. It is a general notion that the Edikang
Ikong soup is very nutritious and this is very much so. Prepared with a
generous quantity of pumpkin leaves and water leaves, this Nigerian soup
recipe is nourishing in every sense of the word.
How to Cook Edikang Ikong Soup [Video]
It is common for Nigerians to request this soup recipe after a bout of
illness as we trust it to replenish whatever was lost during the sickness.
But you don't not need to be in a state of convalescence to enjoy this
wholesome Nigerian food recipe.

Ingredients for Edikang Ikong Soup

 1kg Pumpkin leaves
 500g Water leaves
 600g Beef, Kanda, shaki and Dry fish
 Pepper, Salt and ground Crayfish: to taste
 200ml Palm oil
 Periwinkle - 1 cup
 2 medium bulbs onions
 2-3 Stock cubes
Alternative vegetables for those who cannot buy water leaves and
pumpkin leaves:
Use the following to replace the classic Nigerian vegetables for this soup:
 1kg Normal Frozen Spinach
 200g Ground Frozen Spinach
 250g Lamb's Lettuce (Canonigos in Spanish)
Defrost the frozen spinach, cut the normal frozen one into tiny pieces and
mix with the ground frozen spinach. Wring out the water from these and
add them when I add the pumpkin leaves.
Wash pick and cut the Lamb's Lettuce into tiny pieces. Add them when I
add the water leaves.

Before you cook the Edikaikong Soup

1. Wash and cut the pumpkin and water leaves into tiny pieces. Put
them in separate sieves to drain out all the water as much as
possible.
2. Cut the Kanda into small pieces. Cook the beef, kanda and the dry
fish with the 2 bulbs of diced onions and the 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes
with as little quantity of water as possible.

Cooking Directions
1. When the meat is done, add a generous amount of palm oil, the
crayfish and pepper and leave to boil for about 10 minutes. The palm
oil serves as water in the Edikaikong soup. You should try as much as
possible to make it the only liquid in the soup.
 2. Add the periwinkle and water leaves and leave to cook for another 5
minutes. You may have to cook for less time at this stage so that the
water leaves are not over-cooked.
3. Now add the pumpkin leaves and salt to taste. Stir the contents of
the pot very well and turn off the heat. Cover the pot and leave to
stand for about 5 minutes.
4. The Edikang Ikong soup is ready to be served with Garri
(Eba), Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.

Efo Riro: A Yoruba Delicacy

E fo Riro is a rich vegetable soup that is native

to the Yorubas of Western Nigeria. The

vegetables that can be used to cook this soup
are water leaves and pumpkin leaves. If these
are not readily available where you live, frozen spinach is a very good
substitute.
Nigerian Efo Riro Recipe [Video]
If you cannot find the ingredients to cook Edikang Ikong soup where you live,
Efo Riro is a very good substitute.
If you want the authentic Efo Riro, you should add tomatoes to yours but
I don't like tomatoes in any soup that I'll use to eat eba, semolina,
pounded yam and otherfufu recipes. Just add enough tomatoes to make the
soup deep red.

Ingredients for Efo Riro

 Assorted meat and fish. For my Efo Riro, I used:
o Beef
o Shaki (cow tripe)
o Smoked fish
o Dry fish
o Stock fish
  Palm Oil: 20 cl
 Frozen Spinach: 1 kg
 Crayfish: a handful
 Onions: 1 medium bulb
 3 big stock cubes (spinach needs more seasoning)
 Salt & Habanero / Scotch Bonnet peppers: to taste

Other meats you can add to Efo Riro:

The more the variety of meats and fish you can add to Efo Riro, the better
so feel free to add: snails and other offals, kanda etc.

Before you cook Efo Riro

1. Soak the stockfish and dry fish for a few hours. The length of time
depends on how hard the stock fish is. Mine soaks in under 1 hour.
When soft, clean the fish, remove the bones and separate them into
small pieces.
2. Cut the frozen spinach and wring out the excess water when fully
defrosted.
3. Prepare other ingredients: pound/blitz the pepper, cut the onions and
grind the crayfish.

Cooking Directions
1. Start cooking the shaki first with as little water as possible (see video
below) as it is the toughest meat in the bunch. This soup should have
as little water as possible so add small amounts of water at a time
and top it up as you cook.
2. When the shaki starts to curl, add the dry fish and stockfish.
3. When the shaki is almost done, add beef, stock cubes and onions and
cook till all the meat and fish are well done.
4. Top up the water to about half the contents of the pot. Add the
crayfish, smoked fish, pepper and palm oil.
5. Cover the pot and cook at high heat till the oil has changed from red
to yellow.
6. Add the spinach or any other soft vegetable: pumpkin, water leaves
etc.
 7. Cover and cook still it gets a good boil, taking care not to overcook
the vegetables. Add salt to taste and leave to simmer for 2 more
minutes.
Serve Efo Riro with Semolina, Amala, Pounded Yam, Eba or any other fufu
meal.

Nigerian Afang Soup Recipe (Okazi

Soup)Submitted By Benedicta Ezekwe

T he Nigerian Afang Soup, like the Edikang Ikong

soup, is native to the Efiks, people of Akwa Ibom

and Cross River states of Nigeria but enjoyed by
all Nigerians. It is also very nutritious as the
soup consists mainly of vegetables. Afang Soup is prepared with a
generous quantity of Water leaves and the wild herbal Okazi leaves.
The Nigerian Afang Soup should not be confused with the Okazi Soup
native to the people of Imo and Abia States of Nigeria. While Afang soup
is prepared with basically vegetables, Okazi Soup is simply the Nigerian
Egusi Soup cooked with thinly sliced Okazi leaves.

Ingredients for Afang Soup

 Okazi leaves | 4 handfuls of sliced Okazi
 Water leaves | 1kg or a big bunch
 Palm oil | 30cl (about 1 small bottle of Coca Cola)
 Periwinkle - 1 cup
 Onions | 2 medium bulbs
 Beef, Kanda and Dry fish
 Pepper, Salt and Crayfish - to taste
 Stock Cubes (Maggi or Knorr) | 3 cubes

Before you cook the Nigerian Afang Soup

1. Wash, drain and slice the water leaves into tiny pieces. Grind or
pound the sliced Okazi leaves. In Nigerian markets, the sellers of
 these sliced Okazi leaves have a machine for grinding it. You can also
grind it with your blender with a small quantity of water. Take a look
at the ground Okazi leaves.
2. Grind your pepper and crayfish and cut the onions into tiny pieces.

Cooking Directions
1. Boil the beef and Kanda with the diced onions and stock cubes in a
very small quantity of water. When done, add the dry fish and cook
for about 5 more minutes.
2. Now add the palm oil, crayfish and pepper. Once it starts boiling, add
the afang (okazi) leaves, water leaves and periwinkle. When the okazi
leaves have softened and the water has dried up a bit, add salt to
taste and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes. The Afang soup is
ready!
3. Serve with Garri (Eba), Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.

How to make Kunun Aya (Tiger Nuts Milk)

T iger nuts are

abundant in Nigeria and

I used to eat lots of
them in my younger years. I have not had them in years till my friend
reminded me of these great nuts.
How to make Tiger Nuts Milk [Video]
Tiger nuts have a nutty milky taste. I can't even imagine anything that
tastes like it. Not only do they taste nice, the nuts are jampacked with
lots of health benefits.
To eat it as a snack, just chew and suck on the chaff then spit out the
chaff. Some people swallow the chaff but it is quite difficult for me to
swallow. Eat with peanuts (groundnuts) and the chaff will be softer and
easier to swallow, this great tip was from Oluwayemisi and it works!
If you buy these nuts outside Nigeria, chances are that they will be dry.
Soak them in plenty of cold water overnight before attempting to munch
on them.
Another way to enjoy these nuts is to soak, blend and strain them to get
the very delicious and refreshing Tiger Nuts Milk, known as Kunun Aya in
Hausa and Horchata de Chufas in Spanish.

Ingredients for making Tiger Nuts Milk

 600g soaked Tiger Nuts (475g dry Tiger Nuts)
 1.5 litres cold water
Other ingredients you can add to it
 Coconut
 Sugar
 Ginger
 Cinnamon
To blend it, you'll need a kitchen blender. My blender has 600W power
and it did a great job of blending the soaked nuts.
To strain it you'll need a chiffon cloth or ladies stocking/tights (pantyhose
without the panty).

Other names for Tiger Nuts

 Aki Awusa in Igbo
 Aya in Hausa
 Isip Isong in Efik/Ibibio
 Ofio in Yoruba
 Hausa Groundnut in Pidgin
 Keegun in Okun
 Chufas in Spanish
Check out this post on Facebook for more names of Tiger Nuts in other
languages.

Where to buy Tiger Nuts

There are 2 varieties of tiger nuts: brown and black. Both are readily
available in Nigeria but I think the brown ones are more common outside
Nigeria. Both taste the same to me.

1. In Nigeria, Tiger Nuts are sold by Hausa Mallams on the streets and in all major markets in

Nigeria.
2. In Spain, look for them in any Frutos Secos shop i.e. shops that sell dry fruits. Ask for chufas.
3. In the UK you can buy them on Amazon UK website.

4. In the US, it is sold by La Tienda. The vendor for tiger nuts on Amazon USwebsite is La
Tienda.

Benefits of Tiger Nuts

1. Tigernut oil is used in the cosmetic industry. As it is antidioxide (because of its high content in
vitamin E) it helps slow down the ageing of the body cells. It favours the elasticity of the skin
and reduces skin wrinkles.
2. It supplies the body with enough quantity of Vitamin E, very essential for fertility in both men
and women.

3. See more health benefits of tiger nuts here.

Directions for making Tiger Nut Milk

I only discovered this way of enjoying Tiger Nuts from the comments
in this post on my Facebook page. This website, which was kindly shared by
Hannatu on Facebook gives a very detailed recipe for making Tiger Nuts
Milk. You can also watch the video below to see how it is done.
1. Soak the very dry nuts in a generous quantity of cold water for 2
days. Keep it in the fridge for the duration of the soaking so that the
nuts do not ferment. Most tiger nuts sold in Nigeria are fresh and well
hydrated so you'll only need to soak those ones for a few hours or
overnight.
2. After the soaking, wash the nuts very well and sort out the bad ones.
 3. Put them in your kitchen blender and pour just enough water to help
the blades move. We need to make this milk as concentrated and
tasty as possible, you can add more water later if you wish.
4. At this time you can add other ingredients: coconut, sugar, ginger
and other flavours of your choice and blend them together. I prefer
anything I eat/drink as natural as possible so I do not add any other
ingredient to this drink. The natural taste of Tiger Nut Milk is so
great, you do not want to alter it at all.
5. After blending, use a chiffon cloth or ladies stocking (pantyhose) to
separate the chaff from the drink. Of course, the pantyhose should be
brand new, thoroughly washed with dish washing liquid.
6. Press the stocking to make sure you squeeze out all the milk from the
chaff.
7. Put the dry chaff back in the blender, add more water and blend
again. Then strain with the chiffon cloth.
8. Repeat the process till all the milk has been extracted. I found that
the milk I got the third time was too watery. So 2 times should be
enough and keep an eye on the quantity of water. As a guide, I got
1.5 litres of tiger nut milk from 600g of soaked tiger nuts. Yours may
vary.
9. Pour the extracted milk into bottles and store in the fridge for up to 3
days. It should last longer in the freezer. In my home, this milk
usually disappears within 2 days of making it, so I can't tell you how
long it can stay in the freezer without losing its taste! lol
Serve Tiger Nuts Milk with any snack of your choice.

How to cook Ora (Oha) Soup

O ra (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.
How to Cook Ora Soup [Video]
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 small 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)
 2 Stock cubes
 1 teaspoon Ogiri Igbo (for the traditional taste but optional)

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 2 stock cubes and cook for 5 minutes.
 3. Add the pepper, ogiri Igbo 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,
Cassava Fufu,Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.

How to Cook Nigerian Beef & Chicken

Stew

T he Nigerian Beef and Chicken Stew is non

other than Tomato Stew with added ingredients.

Though it is called Beef & Chicken Stew, feel free
to use Turkey, Fish and other forms of meat and
fish for this Nigerian stew.
How to Make Nigerian Beef & Chicken Stew [Video]
It is common to prepare this stew in large quantities and store in the
freezer for up to a month. This is because most Nigerian staple foods can
be cooked / boiled / fried and eaten with this stew:
 Rice: Nigerian Beef & Chicken Stew is the single most popular sauce
when eating boiled white rice.
 Plantain: It is not unusual for Nigerian Beef & Chicken to accompany
Fried Plantain or Boiled Plantain.
 Beans: Beans can be cooked plain and eaten with this Nigerian stew.
 Yam: You can bring out the best in the yam staple by eating it with
the beef and chicken stew. Boiled Yam and Fried Yam go really well
with this stew.
Nigerian Beef & Chicken Stew is usually a tricky Nigerian recipe to
prepare. If it is not sour or tasteless, it is burnt or too oily. Not to worry,
just follow the steps below and you will learn how to make the best
Nigerian Beef & Chicken Stew.

Ingredients for Nigerian Beef & Chicken Stew

 Tomato Stew
 Whole Chicken (hen)
 Beef
 Onions
 Habanero Pepper & Salt (to taste)
 Stock cubes & Thyme
You should try and match the quantities of ingredients above to the
quantity of the tomato stew you want to prepare. As a guide, here are the
quantities of ingredients I used for the Beef & Chicken Stew in the video
below:
 Fresh Plum Tomatoes (referred to as Jos Tomatoes in Nigeria) – 1.5kg
 Tinned tomato paste: 600g (or watery tinned Tomato Puree: 1.2kg)
 Vegetable Oil: a generous amount (see this video)
 Whole Chicken (hen) – 1.2kg
 Beef: 15 pieces of medium cuts
 Onions: 2-3 medium bulbs
 Habanero Pepper & Salt (to taste)
 Seasoning: 3 large stock cubes & Thyme (2 teaspoons)

Important notes on the ingredients

1. Chicken: Hen (female chicken) is tastier than the cockerel or rooster
so it is my preferred chicken when cooking all my Nigerian recipes.
And I prefer whole chicken because each of the different parts of the
chicken (wings, drumsticks, hips etc) has its own unique taste and all
these together makes the stew (and infact all your cooking) taste
better than if you use only one part of a chicken eg all drumsticks.
2. Tomato Stew is fresh puree tomato and the tinned tomato paste that
has been boiled and fried to remove all traces of water and the sour
taste of tomatoes. It is the base for the Nigerian Beef & Chicken
Stew.

Tools I used
 Cooker: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Oven for grilling the chicken and beef: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Deep Pot: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Spatula: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Sieve
 Chopping board: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Blender: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Knives: Buy it in USA | in UK

Before you cook Nigerian Beef & Chicken Stew

1. Grind / Blend the chilli pepper and cut the onions into small pieces.
2. Start preparing the tomato stew by following the steps at: How to
Prepare Tomato Stew
3. Cut up the chicken and cook with half of the chopped onions, stock
cubes and thyme. When the chicken is almost done, add the beef and
cook till well done. Then add salt, allow to simmer for about 5
minutes, transfer to a sieve to drain. Grill or fry the chicken and beef.
This is optional but it gives them a rich golden look.
Notes about cooking the chicken:
1. Add water up to the level of the contents of the pot when cooking the
chicken.
When cooking chicken, I do not add salt to the raw chicken. This is
because salt closes the pores of the chicken (and infact anything you
are cooking), this prevents the natural flavour of the chicken from
coming out into the surrounding water and prevents the seasoning
from entering the chicken to improve the taste. The result is that
your chicken stock will not have a rich natural taste. It will only have
an artifical taste of seasoning.

Salt also hardens the chicken hence it takes longer to cook.

I only add salt when the chicken is done. A lot of people think that
adding salt early makes the chicken taste better but there's a big
difference between a salty taste and a rich taste. I believe that what
gives food a rich taste is not salt but the natural flavour of the food
so allow this natural flavour to come out into your stock by NOT
adding salt too early. And remember, stock cubes already contain salt
so you really don't need more salt.
 I do not use curry powder to season my chicken (or beef) simply
because in my opinion, curry powder overtakes the taste of any food
it is cooked with (except Fried Rice) and makes the food taste so
artificial. But if you don't mind it, feel free to use it as seasoning for
your beef or chicken.

Cooking Directions
1. When you are happy that the tomatoes in your tomato stew are well-
fried, pour out the excess oil as I did in the video below.
2. Place the pot of tomato stew back on the stove and add the chicken
stock (water from cooking the chicken). There may be tiny pieces of
bones at the bottom so be careful not to add those.
3. Add the chilli pepper and the grilled chicken and beef. Stir very well
and add salt if necessary. You can also add some water at this point if
the stew is too thick.
4. Cover the pot and cook at medium heat till the contents of the pot is
well steamed. Stir again and you are done.
5. That's how to prepare the best Nigerian Beef & Chicken stew.
Use the beef and chicken stew to eat White Rice, Fried Plantain, Boiled
Plantain, Fried Yam, Boiled yam and Agidi. Some people even add it to
their Egusi Soup!

How to cook Nigerian Ewa Agoyin

Ewa Agoyin
simply
means plain
boiled
beans
eaten with
a pepper
sauce.
How to make Ewa Agoyin [Video]
This is the perfect way for those who do not like beans to enjoy it. I can
tell you that yours truly does not like beans yet, I can never get enough
of Ewa Agoyin. I don't know what it is about it that makes it taste so
good. Maybe it is the caramelized onions. All I know is that I enjoy eating
it.

Ingredients
 Beans (Brown/Black eyed): 2 cigar cups | approx. 500g
 Red Palm Oil: about 5 cooking spoons
 Plum Tomatoes: 5 big ones
 Crayfish (a handful)
 Onions – 1 big bulb
 Pepper & Salt to taste
 Seasoning – 2 Maggi/Knorr cubes

Before you cook Ewa Agoyin

1. Soak the beans in cold water for 5 hours. Boil the beans for 5
minutes and discard the water. Rinse the beans in cold water and set
aside. This soaking and pre-cooking process will help reduce the gas
inducing elements. For more on that visit: How to Reduce Beans Bloating.
2. Chop the onions, grind the crayfish and pound the pepper.
3. Blend the tomatoes and boil the tomato puree till all the water has
dried from it.
4. Pre-cook the diced onions without any added water. The aim is to get
it to caramelize a bit so that it will take less time to fully caramelize
during frying.

Cooking Directions
1. Cook the beans till done. For Ewa Agoyin, the beans needs to be very
soft.
Note: If you have a pressure cooker, beans is one of the staple foods
you will want to use it for. It considerably reduces the cooking time.
2. When the beans is done, add salt, leave to dry up all the water and
set aside.
3. To cook the Agoyin, pour the palm oil into a separate dry pot. Allow
to heat up till the oil starts smoking and the red colour changes to
clear. It is better to do this at medium heat so that the oil does not
 get too hot too quickly. Remember to turn off your smoke alarm
before doing this. :)

To keep the smoke to a minimum and still have the traditional taste
of Ewa Agoyin, I use vegetable oil and when it is very hot, I add a
small amount of palm oil. Watch the video below to see how I do
that.
4. Now add the precooked onions and stir continuously till the onions is
fully caramelized. It should be very dark in colour.
5. Add the parboiled tomato puree and stir continuously till you cannot
tell the difference between the tomatoes and onions.
6. Add the pepper, crayfish, stock cubes and salt to taste. You can also
add a little water at this point if your want.
7. Stir very well and bring to the boil. The Ewa Agoyin is ready!
Serve by dishing the beans into a plate and scooping some Agoyin stew
on it. Ewa Agoyin can be eaten on its own, with soft and stretchy bread
(known as Ewa ati Bread) or with fried plantains.

How to Cook Nigerian Tomato Stew

B y Tomato Stew, I mean stew used to

prepare the Nigerian Jollof Rice recipes: Jollof

Rice, Coconut Rice, Rice & Beans, etc. This
tomato stew also forms the base for the Nigerian
Beef & Chicken Stew. I always prepare a large quantity of the tomato
stew and store in my freezer. This makes cooking my Nigerian Jollof Rice
recipes or the Spaghetti Surprise recipe so easy.
Watch How to Make Nigerian Tomato Stew [Video]
Please note that this tomato stew does not have any seasoning and other
ingredients because it is just a base. If you watch my Nigerian Jollof Rice,
Nigerian Coconut Rice and my Nigerian Spaghetti Surprise videos, this is
the tomato stew that I added while cooking those recipes.
I get a good number of questions about what I mean by tomato stew and
how I make it, that's why I made this page and the video below.
For the recipe on how to make the Nigerian tomato stew with all the
added ingredients visit this page: How to Cook Nigerian Beef & Chicken Stew

Ingredients for Nigerian Tomato Stew

 Fresh Plum Tomatoes (referred to as Jos Tomatoes in Nigeria, tomate pera in Spanish
and pomodoro pera in Italian) – 1.5kg
 Tinned tomato paste: 600g (or watery tinned Tomato Puree: 1.2kg)
 Vegetable Oil: a generous quantity (see the video below)
 Onions 1 to 2 medium bulbs

Important notes on the ingredients

1. Tomatoes: Plum tomatoes are the best for the Nigerian Tomato Stew
(and other Nigerian recipes) because all the other types of tomatoes
either have a very strong taste, have lots of seeds or contain lots of
water.
2. Vegetable Oil: There's always a debate about this one. But I will insist
that you need more than enough oil when frying the tomatoes. This is
so that the tomatoes will not burn till all the sour taste is gone and
the water has dried from the tomatoes. You will pour out the excess
oil when the tomatoes are well fried as I did in this video. Just think
about this as "sort of" deep frying the tomatoes. Not that you'll need
that much oil but you get the gist.

If you don't use enough oil, your stew will have a sour taste and it
will burn even if you stand there stirring frantically :( Cooking should
be fun, not tedious. And why worry when you'll pour out the excess
oil when you are done? In my opinion, anybody worried about his/her
health should stay away from this stew because it is fried.

This oil you pour out is red hence it is perfect for cooking Egusi Soup,
Okra Soup and Ogbono Soup for those who cannot buy or do not
want to use palm oil. Once it has cooled down, put it in the fridge or
freezer because it will go bad if left on the kitchen counter.
3. Tinned tomato paste/puree: The tinned tomato paste sold in Nigeria
is usually very thick. If you try to fry this tomato paste as is, it will
burn straight away. What I normally do is to add some water to it to
bring it to the softer consistency as I did in the video below. There
are other types of tomato purees sold in Europe and the rest of the
world and these are usually watery. If that is the only type you can
buy, then you need to cook it with the fresh tomato puree (as
explained below) to get it to dry up a bit and get rid of the sour taste
before frying.

One more thing; the tinned tomato paste/puree is optional. Its job is
to improve the redness of the tomato stew, making it look richer and
more appetizing. If you don't want to use it, replace with fresh plum
tomatoes. In Nigeria, it is common to use tatashe (Nigerian big red
peppers) to improve the redness of the tomato stew. Please note that
tatashe is not the same as bell peppers.

Tools I used
 Cooker: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Deep Pot: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Spatula: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Sieve
 Chopping board: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Blender: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Knives: Buy it in USA | in UK

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. If using the thick tinned tomato paste that is common in Nigeria, mix
it with cold water to get a softer consistency. See the video below for
how I did this.
3. If you are using the watery tinned tomato puree that is common in
Europe and other parts of the world, open the tins or packets and set
these aside, you'll need them soon.
4. Cut the onions into small pieces.

Cooking Directions
 1. Pour the fresh tomato blend into a pot and cook at high heat till
almost all the water has dried. If you have the watery tinned/boxed
tomato puree, add these to the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook
till the water in the tomato puree have dried as much as possible.
2. Add the vegetable oil and the chopped onions.
3. Cook at very low heat and stir at short intervals till the oil has
completely separated from the tomato puree. The tomato puree will
also have streaks of oil, unlike when you first added the oil and it was
a smooth mix of the tomato puree and oil. Taste the fried tomato
puree to make sure that the raw tomato taste is gone. With time and
experience, you can even tell that the tomato puree is well fried from
the aroma alone.
4. If you are happy with the taste and you are sure that all the water
has dried as much as possible, pour out the excess vegetable oil like I
did in this video, then use it in your cooking.
5. If you are not using it immediately, leave to cool down, dish in
containers and store in the freezer.
To use, bring out from the freezer and allow to defrost at room
temperature and use in your Nigerian Jollof Rice, Nigerian Coconut Rice, Nigerian
Rice & Beans,Spaghetti Surprise. Add pepper, seasoning, chicken, beef, fish,
turkey etc to get theNigerian Beef & Chicken Stew used for eating
Nigerian White Rice and other Nigerian staple food.

How to Make Nigerian Chapman Drink

S ometime ago, on my Facebook fan page, a

fan asked me for the Nigerian Chapman drink

recipe. That question took me down memory
lane, to the first time I had a chapman at a
Chinese restaurant in the Coal City of Enugu. I remember I loved it so
much. So I thought, hang on my lovely, we are going to make that
chapman together!
How to make Nigerian Chapman Drink [Video]
So off I went to Google in search of the Nigerian Chapman drink recipe. I
found a few websites on how to make Nigerian Chapman but the day I
wanted to make mine, I dug deeper and found this website that is wholly
dedicated to this special Nigerian drink. The recipe for Chapman on that
website is so detailed that nobody will have any problems making the
drink.
So here, I'll show you how I made mine. I'll leave out a lot of the details
because I think the recipe has been done enough justice on the website
above.

Ingredients for Nigerian Chapman drink

The following are what I used for 2 classic dimpled
mugs of chapman: 1 for me, one for hubby ;-)
 ½ cup Grenadine Syrup
 A few dashes of Angostura Aromatic Bitters™
 35 cl Fanta Orange
 35 cl Sprite
 ½ an Orange
 ½ a lemon
 Ice cubes
Optional Ingredient:
 Ribena™ Blackcurrant
To garnish:
Fell free to add any citrus and other fruits of your choice: cucumber,
strawberry, orange, lemon, lime, even bananas. I used the following:
 ½ an orange
 ½ a lemon
 ½ a cucumber
Notes on the Ingredients and alternatives
1. Grenadine Syrup gives the drink its classic red colour. You can buy
this at your local supermarket or on Amazon websites as listed below.
If you can't find Grenadine Syrup, you can use red currant (extract
the juice) or pomegranate but these don't give the drink the same
taste.
2. Ribena concentrated blackcurrant adds to the red colour and gives
the drink a sweetened taste but it is optional. Concentrated Ribena
 blackcurrant is easily available in Nigeria and your local supermarkets
anywhere in the world.
3. You can make your ice cubes with a mixture of the Fanta and the
Sprite. This is so that your drink does not go flat as is the case when
the ice cubes are made with water.
4. Even though the Nigerian chapman contains a very small quantity of
alcohol, I know there are those who will like to make a version that
does not contain any trace of alcohol. If you want to make that, you
can skip the Angostura Bitters but I warn you, the Nigerian Chapman
will not be the same without Angostura Bitters. :)
5. Wondering other recipes you can use the remaining Angostura Bitters
for? You can use it in cookies, cakes, ice cream, salads and other
cocktail drinks. Or you can just keep it and use for Chapman, it does
not expire in a hurry.
6. You should be able to buy Angostura Bitters from all big food and
beverages shops in Nigeria, in your local super markets and on
Amazon websites.
Where to buy the tools and ingredients you will need to make a
chapman:
 Angostura Bitters: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Grenadine Syrup: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Classic Dimple Mugs Buy it in USA | in UK
 Chopping board: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Knives: Buy it in USA | in UK

Before you make the Chapman

1. Make the ice cubes either with water or a mixture of the fanta and
the sprite.
2. Make sure the Grenadine Syrup, Fanta and Sprite are chilling in the
fridge.
3. Cut the orange and the lemon into two equal parts each then cut one
half of each into thin quarters. Reserve the other halves for squeezing
into the drink.
Directions for making the Chapman
1. Put a few ice cubes in the mugs.
2. Add half a cup of the Grenadine Syrup, this should be about one third
of the dimpled mug.
3. Add a few dashes of Angostura Bitters (to your taste).
4. Add a squeeze of orange and lemon each.
5. Share the Fanta equally between the two mugs, do the same for the
Sprite. Remember to leave some space because the garnishings will
take up their own volume.
6. Add your sliced garnishings: cucumber, orange and lemons. This list
goes on and on, some people even add bananas to theirs :)
7. Top off with Ribena blackcurrant if you have it.
8. Stir with the straws and it is ready for drinking!
Enjoy it on a warm sunny day or on any special occassion with
any Nigerian snack.

How to Make Nigerian Zobo Drink aka

Zoborodo

Z obo drink is a Nigerian beverage made from

dried Roselle plant flowers. The drink is also known

as Roselle drink and called Sorrel drink in the
Carribean.
How to make Nigerian Zobo Drink [Video]
Zobo has a sour taste so it can clash with sugars. This why I prefer to
keep my Zobo drink as natural as possible hence I use only natural
ingredients when preparing the drink. You may add artificial flavours and
sweeteners such as Nutri-C and sugar if you wish.
Ingredients for Nigerian Zobo drink
The following are what I used to make 5 litres of Zobo drink. You can get
more with the same quantity of ingredients depending on the
concentration you want. If you will be using
artificial flavours, you need to add more water.

 2 De Rica* cups of dry Zobo leaves

 1 glove of garlic
 1 big piece of ginger
 1 big very ripe pineapple
 Enough water (watch the video below)

* In Nigeria, when we use up the tomato paste in the 850g tin of any
brand of tomato paste, we wash the tin and use it for measuring food
items and ingredients. This measuring cup is fondly called De Rica cup
because it is the most popular brand of tomato paste. :)
To garnish:
Fell free to add any sliced citrus fruits of your choice: orange, lemon,
lime.

Before you make the Zobo drink

1.
Wash the dry Zobo leaves repeatedly in cold water. Zobo leaves are
usually very dusty so make sure you wash off all the dust. It will
seem like all the flavours/colour of the zobo are being washed off but
don't worry, you will see that the dry zobo leaves still have a lot of
the colour intact when you start boiling it.

2.
Wash, peel and cut the pineapple into thin slices. Some people add
the peel of the pineapple when making the zobo drink but I don't do
this simple because I always think that dirt is stuck in the peels of
pineapples :)
3.
Peel and cut the ginger and garlic into tiny pieces.

Directions for making the Zobo drink

1.
Put the washed zobo leaves into a deep pot.

2.
Add the pineapples and pour enough water to cover the contents of
the pot and then some.

3.
Start cooking at medium to high heat and let it boil for 5 minutes.

4.
Add the ginger and the garlic, add more water and keep boiling for at
least 30 minutes. This is the time it will take for the zobo leaves to be
completely soft and the pineapples tender.

5.
Turn off the heat and set aside to cool down completely.

6.
When cool, wringe out the juice from the pineapples and zobo leaves,
leaving only the zobo juice in the pot.

7.
Pour the juice through a sieve to take out the remaining large
particles then pour it through a chiffon cloth to remove the tiniest
particles.

8.
Add any artificial flavours of your choice at this time and stir.

9.
Pour into bottles and refrigerate.
Serve with ice and garnishing. Enjoy it on a hot sunny day with
any Nigerian snack.

How to cook Fried Rice

T he 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 orColeslaw 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)

Tools I used
 Cooker: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Oven for grilling the chicken: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Deep Pot: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Spatula: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Frying pan: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Sieve
 Chopping board: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Knives: Buy it in USA | in UK
Note: I do not use woks because it is a lot of work taking care of them. If
the carbon steel is not rusting, the bamboo handles are coming apart so I
prefer my frying pans for fried rice :)

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

1. Cook the cow liver till done and cut into tiny pieces. To save time and
energy, you can cook the liver with the chicken as I did in the video
below.
2. Cut the whole chicken into pieces and cook with the seasoning and 2
bulbs of onions (chopped). When done, grill in an oven or deepfry
with vegetable oil. This gives it a golden look which is more
presentable especially when you are entertaining guests. Read how to
season and grill chicken for more details.

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 orNigerian salad.
VERY IMPORTANT:
Nigerian Fried Rice can go bad very quickly. You can avoid this by
spreading it to cool it then refrigerate immediately. Otherwise, eat it once
you finish preparing it. If you want to serve it at a party, please cook it
very close to the serving time, if not, it will go bad! If refrigerated, it can
last for 48 hours without loosing its taste.
Spaghetti Surprise

R aise your hand if you think that cooking

spaghetti and eating it with the good

oldbeef/chicken stew is oh-so-boring. I think so too.
That's why I bring to you the Spaghetti Surprise
recipe.
How to Cook Spaghetti Surprise [Video]
This recipe is prepared with the ingredients you see in Nigerian markets
and in food stores all over the world. There's even a bag of frozen
vegetables (shown in the video) that I use to prepare this recipe in no
time. 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.
How did I come up with the name Spaghetti Surprise? It's a long story,
but to cut it short: One day, I was out of most food ingredients and I was
wondering what to cook. I brought out all the fresh ingredients in my
fridge and thought I would make something with Spaghetti. Hubby asked
me what I finally decided to cook and I said, "I'm not sure, some
concoction of sorts but I assure you, it's edible". He said, "Oh, it's a
surprise then".
And indeed we were pleasantly surprised when the meal was done so we
named it Spaghetti Surprise. lol

Ingredients for Spaghetti Surprise

 Spaghetti: The quantity you can wrap between your thumb and index finger.
 Beef: 5-6 normal cuts
 Vegetables: 500g
o Cabbage
o Green Pepper
o Carrots
o Green peas
o Green beans
 Tomato Stew: 600 mls or 20 fl. oz.
 Pepper and salt (to taste)
  Onions: 1 medium bulb
 Seasoning – 2-3 stock cubes cubes & Thyme (1 teaspoon)

Before you cook the Nigerian Spaghetti Surprise

1. Make some Tomato Stew if you do not have any.
2. Break the spaghetti into short pieces. I usually break one strand of
spaghetti into three pieces. Please if you have any Italian friends,
don't let them see you breaking up spaghetti! LOL
3. 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 recipe.
4. Wash and cut the cabbage, green pepper and green beans 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.

Cooking Directions
1. Cook the beef with the onions, thyme and stock cubes (Maggi or
Knorr).
2. While the meat is cooking, start cooking the spaghetti in a generous
amount of water.
3. When the beef is done, add the Tomato Stew. Add the vegetables, salt
and pepper to taste and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. When the spaghetti is done to your personal preference, drain the
water and pour the mixture of beef stock and tomato stew you
prepared earlier into the pot of spaghetti. Stir well, cover and leave to
stand for about 5 minutes.
5. 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.

Tips for Cooking Spaghetti

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
and cover the pot. With some spaghetti, you need to stir till the water
starts to boil 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 make Nigerian Salad

N igerian 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.
How to Make Nigerian Salad [Video]
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.

Tools I used
  Glass Bowl Buy it in USA | in UK
 Chopping board: Buy it in USA | in UK
 Knives: Buy it in USA | in UK

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 Unripe Plantain Porridge

T his fast and easy recipe is cooked with

unripe plantains which are known to be rich in

iron.

How to Make Unripe Plantain Porridge [Video]

Ingredients
 Unripe Plantain: 3 pieces
 Pumpkin Leaves: a big bunch (or Frozen Spinach: 10 cubes)
 Fish (Titus): 1 medium size
 Ground Crayfish: 1-2 teaspoons
 Onions: 2 medium sized bulbs
 Red palm Oil: enough to colour the meal
 Pepper and Salt: to taste
 Seasoning: 2 big stock cubes

Before you cook Unripe Plantain Porridge

Wash, peel and cut up the plantain as shown. Wash and cut the pumpkin
leaves into small pieces. If you will be using frozen spinach, allow to thaw
just enough to let you cut them into tinypieces. Leave to thaw completely
and squeeze out the extra water using a sieve.
Wash, cut and remove the fish intestines. Cut up the onions into tiny
pieces. Grind the crayfish and pepper. Now you are ready to cook the
unripe plantain porridge.

Cooking Directions
1. Put the cut plantain in a pot. Add the chopped onions, stock cubes,
fish, ground crayfish and pepper.
2. Add water to the same level as the contents of the pot.
3. Cook till the contents start to boil. Add the red palm oil and salt to
taste. Cover the pot and keep cooking till done. This is when the
plantain is tender to touch.
4. Add the vegetables, cover the pot and leave to simmer.
5. Once it has heated up, stir, turn off the heat and leave to stand for at
least five minutes before serving.
Serve with chilled soft drink or fruit juice.
http://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/plantain/unripe-plantain-porridge.html