HMM, YUMMY YUMMY, IKOKORE FROM IJEBU NIGERIA

This is an african delicious meal precisely from the ijebu part of nigeria.
After a taste, you sure will always want more!

INGREDIENTS
Salt
Knorr Cube
Water Yam
Ground Crayfish
Chopped Fresh Pepper
Pieces of Beef
Pieces of Chicken
Dried Fish ( Preferably "Sawa") Smoked
Catfish
RECIPE
Cut Water yam in chunks, this makes it
easier for you to grate
Peel water yam, rinse and grate into a
bowl. This is the hard part and I don't like
grating wateryam because it is slimy.
You have to be careful not to cut
yourself.
In a pot, boil water and add palm oil, add
your pieces of meat and fishes and all
the obstacles you like, add crayfish too
and blended pepper add salt and
bouillon cube and salt, just a bit. If you
have stock, then you may not need to
add salt and bouillon. Allow to boil
When it is boiling, take out the pieces of
fish/meat etc as many as you can, if you
don't do this, when the Ikokore is done
cooking the pieces of fish/beef will be
stuck at the bottom of the pot. I added
smoked catfish, gizzard, beef, sawa fish.
After taking our the fishes and beef, add
a bit of bouillon cube and some salt to
the grated wateryam and mix it,
because it is going to be in lumps you
want it to have some taste.
Start adding lumps of wateryam to the
boiling pot (if the water is hot enough
the balls of wateryam should float)
Cover and allow to cook for about 10
minutes,
Now add the pieces of fish/beef you took
out earlier and sprinkle on some ground
crayfish and chopped fresh peppers (ata
rodo). This gives it a lot of flavour.
Ps. you don't need to mix the ikokore
when cooking at all. Just let it cook.

FRIED RICE RECIPES

The meal you just can't resist! FRIED RICE!!!!!

Ingredient:
•500g long grain white Rice
•500ml Chicken or Turkey stock/broth
•100g Cow Liver (use beef as a
substitute)
•2 large Carrots
•1 handful Green Peas or Runner Beans
•1 large Green bell pepper
•1 Onion bulb
• 2-3 tablespoonful Curry Powder
•1 teaspoonful Garlic Powder
•½ tablespoonful Black or white pepper
(optional)
•2- 3 Cooking spoonful Vegetable Oil
•2 stock cube or bouillon cube for
Seasoning
•Salt (to taste)
For serving the Fried Rice:
•500g Chicken/Turkey thighs or
drumsticks
• 1 teaspoon thyme(for cooking the
chicken)
• 1 teaspoon curry (for cooking the
chicken)
• 1 stock cube (for cooking the chicken)
• A few onion slices (for cooking the
chicken)
Cooking Directions
1. If you don't have stock,you can easily
prepare a tasty stock by cooking the
Chicken;
Simply, Place the Chicken in a pot,
add 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon curry,
1 stock cube and onion slices;
Add a little water and cook the
chicken for 10 minutes. Then add more
water and cook until done.
The liquid left after cooking the
chicken,is your stock. Pour the stock
into a Strainer to remove tiny chicken
bones and any other particles in it; then
set the stock aside for later use.
You can now go ahead and fry or grill
the chicken.
2. Wash and place the cow liver in a pot,
add seasoning cube and salt to taste;
Cook the liver for 10minutes, then when
cooled,cut into cubes and set aside.
Liver can also be fried , before cutting
into cubes.
Tip: If you can't stand liver, you can use
fried beef , chicken or shrimps as a
substitute.
3. Parboil the Rice using the method
HERE; then place in a sieve to drain out
excess water.
Tip: Parboiling helps to reduce the
starchy content of the rice which makes
the grains to clump together when
cooking.
The next step is to prepare the
Vegetables
4a. Wash all the vegetables.
Dice the onion & set aside ;
b. Peel the carrots & cut into small
cubes.
c. Remove the seeds of the green bell
peppers & cut into small cubes.
Tip: Although fresh veggies are the best
for Nigerian fried rice, frozen vegetables
can also be used(after thawing).
d. Place the carrots & green peas in
boiling water for 5 minutes, strain out
and place in a bowl of cold water, leave
to cool in the water, then pour into a
sieve and set aside.
Tip: this method is called blanching. It
helps to par-boil the vegetables without
cooking it through, thereby cutting down
the stir-frying process. It also helps to
preserve the vibrant color of the
vegetables.
5a . Place the reserved chicken stock
into a large pot and bring to a boil. The
stock should be at almost the same level
as the rice, so that it dries up completely
when the rice is done.
You can add some water if the stock
won't be enough to cook the Rice.
b. As the stock begins to boil, add the
parboiled rice, seasoning cubes(stock
cubes), curry powder, garlic powder,
onions and salt to taste. Leave to cook
on medium heat until it's done.
TIP; The cooked rice should not be
soggy or too tender and the grains
shouldn't stick together either.
You can Pour out the cooked rice into a
wider pot and set aside.
6. Heat up the vegetable oil; add the
carrots, peas, green bell pepper and
diced liver/meat; then add a little white/
black pepper, a garlic, curry &seasoning
cube to taste.. stir fry for 1 min and
pour into a bowl.
The Rice is going to be fried in small
batches, so you'll have to divide the stir-
fried vegetables into equal portions. The
size of your frying pan/wok will
determine how many portions you will
have.
7. Pour a portion of the stir-fried mix
into the frying pan; add the cooked rice
and stir-fry for about 2 minutes.
Tip: Do not overcrowd the pan,make
sure there is a little space in the pan so
that you can move the rice around the
pan for even distribution of heat.
Repeat this process for the remaining
rice and veggie mix.
Now your Nigerian Fried Rice is Ready to
be served with Moi- moi ,Fried plantains,
Fried or grilled turkey/ fish/beef/Chicken
or any meat of your choice. ENJOY!

KUNU DRINK FROM NORTHERN NIGERIA

KUNU ZAKI DRINK
Kunu is a popular drink from the
northern part of nigeria. This drink has
two form depending on the main
ingredient used; Kunu Zaki from millet
and Kunu Gyada from rice.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups Millet
- 1/2 cup Sweet potatoes (Fresh or
Dried)
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger (Fresh or Dried)
- 1 teaspoon Cloves
- Sugar to taste
- 2 Litres Water
What you do
Wash millet to remove stones (incase
there are any), Soak Millet for 10 hours
in cold water (preferably overnight).
Pound sweet potatoes, ginger and
cloves. Put millet and all the other things
you've pounded together and ground or
blend.
Mix the blended or grounded millet into
paste and divide the paste into two
parts. Set one part aside.
Boil some water. Pour the boiling water
into the remaining paste and stir until
it's thick, just like pap(akamu) leave it
uncovered and allow it to cool.
Then pour the other part you've kept
aside and stir (after sometime it's going
to be a bit watery, which is ok).Leave it
to stay over night (it's better to do the
whole thing in the evening except for
the soaking that should be done in the
morning).
Sieve it in the morning. Add sugar to
your taste,allow to chill by refrigerating or adding blocked cubes.

ZOBO DRINK PREPARATION FROM NIGERIA

How to Make Nigerian Zobo Drink
also known as Zoborodo
Zobo 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.

To get a fine taste and aroma, You may add
artificial flavours, sweetener and sugar if you wish.
Ingredients
2 small bowl of dry Zobo(Roselle)leaves
1 glove of garlic
1 big piece of ginger
1 big very ripe pineapple
Flavor to taste
Water

*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 flavors/
color 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 color 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!

MOI MOI PREPARATION FROM NIGERIA

Today's african meal is MOI MOI .it is most time pronounced in different ways, Some parts of Nigera calls it moyi moyi,moin moin or mai mai. It is a rich protein meal.
Moi moi can be eaten alone as a meal or served with pap, rice or stew

*Moi Moi ingredients

*900g Black eyed or brown beans
*2 Tatashe(red bell pepper)
*2 scotch bonnet pepper( atarodo/fresh
pepper)
*2 cooking spoonful Vegetable Oil
*2 cooking spoonful palm oil
*2 tablespoonful red tomato
*5 Tablespoonful ground Crayfish
*large Onions bulbs(optional quantity)
*4 eggs
*4 cubes for Seasoning
Maggi
*Water
* Salt to taste

Soak the beans for about 30 minutes then wash it, by scrubbing
off the skin
Make sure to remove all the bean coat
until you are left with white coat-less
beans.
Here's how to peel beans in 5 minutes
If you have a good blender, you can
grind the beans at this point, but if not,
let the coat-less beans soak in water
again for at least 2 hours to soften it
further.
Tip: Most blender can blend the beans
after the first soaking , so you may not
need to soak the beans any further.
** If you're using bean flour check step 1
below
**Now choose what extra garnishes you
want to add to the Moimoi;
If it's eggs, boil the eggs, remove the
shells and slice into small pieces, then
set aside.
If it's fresh fish, boil the fish,remove
bones and cut into small pieces.
If you prefer corned beef or sardines,
then take it out of the can, and set
aside.
**Grease/Oil the containers you'll be
using.
If you prefer Banana Leaves/ Uma
Leaves(Thaumatococcus Daniellii), then
wash thoroughly and leave to dry out in
a colander/sieve.
**Wash the peppers and slice the onions.
Now to cook the Moi moi...
1. Strain the beans, pour it into your
blender( do this in batches).
Add the peppers(you can also add thick
tomato paste, to give it more color).
Add the onions, crayfish and stock
cubes.
Add a little water to help the blender
work better. Grind the beans until you
get a very smooth consistency, without
granules or beans lumps.
If you're using bean flour, mix the flour
in a little water to form a thick paste,
then pour the paste into a blender,add
the peppers,onions, crayfish and stock
cubes and blend until smooth.Then go to
step 2
2. Pour the blended beans into a wide
bowl;Stir and slowly add some water and
continue stirring until you get a lighter
consistency, but not too watery.
*Now, add the vegetable oil, taste for
salt and if need be, add a little salt
( remember you already added stock
cubes, so go easy on the salt).
Mix thoroughly and then take out your
greased moi moi containers or moi moi
leaves.
3. Pour the mixture into each of the
containers and add your egg or any
other garnishes you prefer. Seal or cover
the containers and set aside.
4. Now, line the base of your pot with foil
paper or the some moi moi leaves;
Pour in some water and set to boil. When
the water is boiling, place the sealed Moi
moi into the pot of boiling water and
leave to steam.
5. As the Moi moi starts to cook. Add a
little quantity of water from time to
time,so that it doesn't begin to burn
underneath.
But be careful not to add to much water
as it might get into the Moi moi
containers and ruin the food by making it
watery.
6. After about 45 minutes, put a knife
through the Moi Moi; if the knife comes
out clean, then the moi moi is ready.
Note that the cooking time for Moi Moi
depends on the type of container you
are using and also on the quantity of moi
moi you are cooking(5 pieces of Moi moi
in a small pot, will definitely cook faster
than 30 pieces of moimoi in a large pot).
If you are in doubt about whether the
Moi moi is well cooked or not; it is
advisable to leave it to cook for about 1
hour 30 minutes(adding some water
occasionally). The moi moi tends to cook
faster with the foil, nylons and leaves,
but takes longer with the plastic bowl.
7. Now , take out the Moi moi from the
pot and leave to cool a bit before
unwrapping or turning it onto a plate.
Enjoy!
Tip: A steamer is great for cooking Moi
moi.
Another cool way to steam wrapped Moi
moi without dipping it in water, is by
placing it into a metal colander or sieve,
then place the colander inside a large
pot that has a little water in it.Make sure
the colander isn't touching the water.
Cover the pot and leave to cook. You can
add a little water from time to time as
the water evaporates.

To enjoy moi moi better, serve with fried tomato sauce.

BANKU preparation from Ghana Africa

Today's african meal is BANKU from ghana.

This is a Fufu fufu-like staple from Ghana
made from partially-fermented ground
maize and grated Cassava.
Ingredients:
750g cornflour or ground maize
750g grated cassava
Method:
Combine the cornflour and grated
cassava with just enough warm water to
dampen all of it then mix well. Cover the
container with a clean cloth and allow to
stand in a warm place for 2 to 3 days. (In
cooler climates fermentation may take up
to 4 days.) When properly fermented the
mix should have a slightly sour aroma
(rather like that of rising bread).
Once ready knead the fermented dough
with your hands until it is thoroughly
mixed and slightly stiffened. Then bring
250ml water to boil in a large pot. Slowly
add the fermented dough to this and
cook on a low simmer for 20 minutes or
more, stirring constantly and vigourously.
The banku will become thick and stiff
(like fufu) and will become slightly grey.
When ready, form the banku into serving-
sized balls (some 10cm in diameter) and
serve with tomato fried sauce

Banku preparation, from Ghana Africa

Today's african meal is BANKU from ghana.

This is a Fufu fufu-like staple from Ghana
made from partially-fermented ground
maize and grated Cassava.
Ingredients:
750g cornflour or ground maize
750g grated cassava
Method:
Combine the cornflour and grated
cassava with just enough warm water to
dampen all of it then mix well. Cover the
container with a clean cloth and allow to
stand in a warm place for 2 to 3 days. (In
cooler climates fermentation may take up
to 4 days.) When properly fermented the
mix should have a slightly sour aroma
(rather like that of rising bread).
Once ready knead the fermented dough
with your hands until it is thoroughly
mixed and slightly stiffened. Then bring
250ml water to boil in a large pot. Slowly
add the fermented dough to this and
cook on a low simmer for 20 minutes or
more, stirring constantly and vigourously.
The banku will become thick and stiff
(like fufu) and will become slightly grey.
When ready, form the banku into serving-
sized balls (some 10cm in diameter) and
serve with tomato fried sauce

Amala and Ewedu preparation from the yoruba tribe of Nigeria

Today's african meal is from the yoruba
tribe in Nigeria
Amala and Ewedu
Serves
2
Cook time
10 minutes
Region
Nigerian
Ingredients
1 cup ewedu
1 tablespoon crayfish
1 tablespoon iru (locust beans)
salt to taste
1 cup Amala/yam flour
1 1/2 cup water
Directions
Step 1
In a blender, add all the ingredients.
Blend for 30 seconds or until everything
is puréed.
Step 2
Add to the pot and bring to a boil. Add
salt to taste and stir so it does not get
burned on the bottom. Serve with stew
and amala.
Step 3
In a pot bring the water to a boil. Add
the amala while whisking at the same
time to ensure there are no air bubbles
so it does not get lumps. Mix until it
forms a stretchy texture. Add about two
tablespoons of water and allow to cook
for 3 minutes on low heat, turn some
more until the amala is one whole
texture. Serve immediately