GARDEN EGG SAUCE

Garden Egg Sauce is the perfect match for:

Boiled White Yam
Boiled Plantains
Agidi/Eko
Boiled White Rice (when cooked with vegetable oil)
Boiled Potatoes (when cooked with vegetable oil)

Ingredients for Garden Egg Sauce

8 big garden eggs
1 cup palm oil
1 onion
Habanero Pepper & Salt (to taste)
1 small ogiri okpei (iru)
2 small smoked mackerels
Important notes on the ingredients + alternatives

If you don't have a blender: mortar and pestle
Before you cook Garden Egg Sauce

Rinse the garden eggs very well and remove the stalk.
Blend the garden eggs. There are 3 ways to turn the garden eggs into a smooth puree:
With a blender:
Cut the garden eggs into small pieces.
Put in a blender and pour just enough water to help the blades of your blender move.
Blend till smooth.

With a mortar and pestle:

Boil some water in a pot.
Add the garden eggs and continue to cook till the are soft.
Peel the water-proof skin of the garden eggs.
Pound in a mortar till a smooth puree is achieved.
With a sieve:
Cut the garden eggs into small pieces.
Put the Garden Egg Sauce is the perfect match for:

Boiled White Puna Yam (best combo)
Boiled Plantains
Agidi/Eko
Boiled White Rice (when cooked with vegetable oil)
Boiled Potatoes (when cooked with vegetable oil)
Ingredients for Garden Egg Sauce

8 big garden eggs
1 cup palm oil
1 onion
Habanero Pepper & Salt (to taste)
1 small ogiri okpei (iru)
2 small smoked mackerels
Important notes on the ingredients + alternatives

Cooking Directions

Pour the garden egg puree into a clean pot and cook till all or almost all the water dries up. Set it aside. Skip this step if you prepared the garden egg puree using step b above.
Pour the palm oil into a clean dry pot and heat it up. Do not bleach it, you only need to heat till a piece of onion sizzles when added to the hot oil.

When the oil is hot enough, add the onions and fry for about 2 minutes.
Add the garden egg puree and stir for a bit. Cover the pot and cook-fry for some time and stir again.
Repeat step 4 till the small amount of water in the puree dried up. the paol oil will also be separated from the puree.
Add the ogiri okpei and habanero pepper blend then add salt to your taste.
Add the smoked fish, stir, cover and leave to simmer and it's done!

Use the Garden Egg Sauce to eat Boiled White Puna Yam (best combo), Boiled Plantains and Agidi/Eko. If you fried the sauce with vegetable oil, use for Boiled White Rice and Boiled Potatoes.

RICE AND BEANS JOLLOF

One way to reduce the flatulence or indigestion associated with beans is to cook it with another staple and the rice and beans recipe is one of such recipes.

Ingredients

2 cigar cups (500g) long grain parboiled rice
1 cigar cup (250g) brown/black-eyed beans
500 mls Tomato Stew
Chicken or Fish
Pepper and salt (to taste)
2 medium onions
2 stock cubes
1 teaspoon thyme

Before you cook Rice and Beans

Wash and soak the beans for about 5 hours. Discard the water and rinse the beans.
Put the beans in a pot, pour some water and set to boil.
Once the beans starts boiling, turn off the heat, throw away the water and wash again. These steps will help minimize the indigestion associated with beans for most people.
Prepare the tomato stew. Visit the Tomato Stew page for details on how to do that.
Parboil the rice using the method detailed in Parboiling Rice for Cooking Rice and Beans.
Meanwhile, cook the chicken till tender with the chopped onions, thyme and stock cubes. If you will rather use fish, boil the fish for 5 minutes using the same amount of seasoning. Fry or grill the chicken or the fish and set aside.

Cooking Directions

Cook the beans till tender and set aside.
Pour the chicken/fish stock into a pot big enough to accommodate the rice and beans, bearing in mind that the rice will rise some more.
Add the tomato stew, the parboiled rice and the cooked beans. Check that the water level is just less than the level of the rice and beans.
Add pepper and salt to taste.
Stir, cover the pot and cook at low to medium heat till the water is dry.
Serve with the fried chicken or fish and Fried Plantain.

MASA-Nigeria Hausa delicacy ( pan fry rice pudding)

Sinasir is a Northern Nigerian (Hausa) rice recipe fried like pancakes. It is prepared with the soft variety of rice, the type used for Tuwo Shinkafa.

Ingredients for Sinasir

180g soft rice for Tuwo
A handful cooked rice
½ teaspoon yeast
1 small onion
Sugar (to taste)
2 pinches of salt
Vegetable oil: for frying

Before you cook the Sinasir

Soak the 180g of soft rice for 3 to 4 hours.
Boil some rice that will be equivalent to a handful when done.
Cut the onions into tiny pieces.

Directions

Add the cooked rice to the soaked rice and blend till smooth.
Add the yeast and allow to rise.
Add the onions, sugar and salt and mix thoroughly.
Set a frying pan on the stove, preferably a non-stick frying pan.
Pour a small amount of oil into the pan.
Once hot, pour some batter into the pan making sure it is thin like pancakes.
Fry on medium heat till the top cakes.
Flip to fry the other side till golden brown. You may fry only one side if you wish. Tastes delicious either way.

HOW TO PREPARE OKPA-ENUGU MOI - MOI

9th Mile Corner in Ngwo near Enugu is well known for the special Okpa that you can trade your valued possession for. The Okpa is so good that many people have tried severally but failed to replicate the unique taste in their own homes.

But the secret to making the best Okpa is to use as few ingredients as possible because okpa beans have a natural delicious flavour. This flavour is ruined when people start adding lots of seasoning to the meal.

Other names for Okpa are Igba and Ntucha.

Ingredients for Okpa

For 12 medium wraps of Okpa, you will need:

3 cigar cups | 450g | 1lb Okpa flour
15 tablespoons red palm oil
4 small stock/bouillon cubes (Maggi, Knorr etc)
Salt (to taste)
Habanero pepper (to taste)
1.2 litres lukewarm/tepid water
Okpa wrappers

In addition to the wrappers below, you will also need a strong food safe string/twine for tying the wrappers. I use the strings from the big Nigerian rice bag, you know, the 50kg bags of rice.

I advice that you use bowls as a last resort because Okpa needs to be completely immersed in hot boiling water for an even texture when done. This cannot be achieved with bowls.

Dry banana/plantain leaves
Tough transparent plastic bags that can withstand high heat
Aluminium foil bags
Bowls (use as a last resort)
Notes about the ingredients

Okpa beans is known as Bambara groundnut or simply Bambara nut. There are different species of Okpa. It comes in small pods which you crack open to release the seeds. The seeds are very hard and only special heavy duty grinders found in Nigeria can easily turn these seeds into powder. So, this one is not a job for your kitchen dry mill.

If you live outside Nigeria, you can buy Okpa flour on Amazon. You can also ask family or friends to send you Okpa flour from Nigeria. The customs of most countries will allow it because it is dry powder.
You need enough oil to give the okpa a popping yellow colour and to improve the taste.
Okpa does not need much seasoning so the ingredients listed above are all you need. Onions and crayfish ruin the natural delicious flavour of okpa.
The Okpa mix may seem watery but 1.2 litres of water is the quantity of water you need for the perfect Okpa texture. If you add much less water, you will end up with rocky Okpa.

Before you cook Okpa

Prepare the banana leaves by washing them in plenty of salt water. If you have a banana/plantain tree in your backyard, you need to wilt the leaves by passing them over a low flame, then leave them to dry up before using them. You cannot wrap Okpa with fresh banana leaves.
Crush the stock/bouillon cubes.
Slice the habanero pepper into small pieces.
Prepare 1.2 litres of lukewarm water.

Cooking Directions

Sift the Okpa flour into a big enough bowl. Add salt and the crushed stock cubes. Mix very well.
Add the palm oil. Mix the palm oil and flour very well till the palm oil is well incorporated into the flour. You will have a nice even yellow colour when done.
Pour a generous quantity of water in a big pot and set on the stove to boil.
Start adding the lukewarm water to the Okpa flour and mix till there are no lumps. Watch the video below to see how I crush the lumps without stress by passing the mix through a sieve with a wire mesh. You can also use a blender to get the smoothest mix. But that's a lot of washing up to do later. :)
Add the sliced habanero pepper. Check for salt and add more if necessary and it's ready to be scooped into the wrappers!
Now the water in the pot should be boiling. If not, wait for it to boil and add some spare wrappers or plastic bags before moving on to the next step. These wrappers and plastic bags act as a base for the Okpa wraps.
Now to a major step: wrapping the Okpa! In the video and images below, I showed 3 ways to wrap Okpa: 2 with the banana leaves and 1 with plastic bags. Hopefully the images and explanations make sense but if you really want to master wrapping the Okpa, watching the video is so worth it. Go to a cyber cafe if you can't watch it on your phone/gadget. Some things just can't be adequately explained in writing.
After tying one end of the banana leaves as shown in the video and image links below, stir the okpa mix very well and scoop into the leaf/plastic bag. Tie the other end with a string and place the wrapped okpa in the pot of boiling water. It is important that the Okpa is completely immersed in the hot water.
Repeat the above step for the rest of the mix. Make sure you stir the mix, scoop into the wrapper, tie with the string and put in the pot of boiling water before wrapping another one.
When done, cover the wraps with more leaves or plastic bags. Cover the pot and start cooking medium to high heat.
Cook for at least 1 hour before checking it. The Okpa is done when it is solid all over.

Wrapping Okpa

Click on the links to view images.

How to wrap Okpa with banana leaves (Method common in Enugu State, Nigeria)
Place 2 sheets of banana leaves on a flat surface.
Fold one end to meet the other (vertically).
Roll up the open end like a mat till you have enough fold to prevent a leakage.
Gather one end together and tie it up securely with the string.
Stir and pour the mix into the bag.
Tie up the other end and it is ready to go into the pot of boiling water.
How to wrap Okpa with banana leaves (method common in Anambra State, Nigeria)
Place 2 sheets of banana leaves on a flat surface.
Fold it into 2 (horizontally).
Roll up one the open end like a mat till you have enough fold to prevent a leakage.
Pick it up and place the pointed end in the cup of your palm.
Stir and pour the mix into the bag.
Fold the other end like a mat and gather the only open end together and tie it up securely with the string.
And it is ready to go into the pot of boiling water.
How to wrap Okpa with plastic bags (if you do not have banana leaves)
You can simply scoop the okpa mix into plastic bags, tie it up and place in the pot of boiling water but this is how to get the classic Okpa shape when using plastic bags.
Double the plastic bags and tie the end with a string.
Stir and scoop the mix into the bag.
Tie it about half way up the bag.
Stir and scoop the mix into the second half of the bag.
Tie again and it is ready to go into the pot of boiling water.
For breakfast, serve with cocoa drink (Milo, Ovaltine drink), Akamu or Ogi, custard meal or oatmeal. For lunch or dinner, serve with soaked Garri (asoki). You can also eat it as a snack with a chilled drink.

HOW TO PREPARE WHITE MOI-MOI ( EKURU) and EKURU STEW

White Moi Moi (Ekuru) is another way to enjoy beans. With a little alteration, it is suitable for vegetarians

White Moi Moi (Ekuru) is to regular Moi Moi what Agidi is to Agidi Jollof or what Boiled White Rice is to Jollof Rice.

It is prepared the same way as regular Moi Moi but with less added ingredients. It gets most of its taste and colour from the stew it is served with.

On its own, White Moi Moi is tasty due to the seasoning it contains so you can skip the stew and enjoy it with a chilled drink.

Ingredients

For 4 medium wraps of White Moi Moi, you will need:

For the White Moi Moi

360g black eyed or brown beans
1 small onion
1 big stock cube
Salt (to taste)
600mls lukewarm water
2 cooking spoons vegetable oil (optional)
For the stew
White Moi Moi (Ekuru) is another way to enjoy beans. With a little alteration, it is suitable for vegetarians.

White Moi Moi (Ekuru) is to regular Moi Moi what Agidi is to Agidi Jollof or what Boiled White Rice is to Jollof Rice.
It is prepared the same way as regular Moi Moi but with less added ingredients. It gets most of its taste and colour from the stew it is served with.
On its own, White Moi Moi is tasty due to the seasoning it contains so you can skip the stew and enjoy it with a chilled drink

Ingredients

For 4 medium wraps of White Moi Moi, you will need:

For the White Moi Moi

360g black eyed or brown beans
1 small onion
1 big stock cube
Salt (to taste)
600mls lukewarm water
2 cooking spoons vegetable oil (optional)

For the stew

250mls Tomato Stew
2 small smoked mackerels
1 small onion
1 small stock cube
Salt and Habanero pepper (to taste)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
White Moi Moi Containers

Aluminium foil or
Plastic Bowls or
Etere leaf
Tools

Blender
Spatula
Bowls
Note about the ingredients

The job of the vegetable oil is to help the Moi Moi come out of the container easily when done.

Before you cook White Moi Moi

About three hours before cooking the moi moi, soak and peel the beans.
When done with step 1, put the peeled beans in a bowl and pour enough water to cover it. Leave to soak for three hours. This is so that the best consistency will be achieved when you blend the beans.
Prepare Tomato Stew if you do not have some.
Prepare the moi moi containers.
Prepare some Smoked Fish and break into big chunks.
Pound/grind the pepper.
Cut the onions into small pieces.
Crush the stock cubes.

Cooking Directions: The White Moi Moi

Blend the beans with the onions and crushed stock cubes and pour into a big enough bowl. Please note that the total quantity of water to be used (for blending and mixing) should be 600 mls.
Add the vegetable oil (if using it) and stir.
Slowly add the remaining water and stir the mixture at the same time till you get a good mix of all the ingredients.
Add salt to taste and stir very well.
Set some water in a pot to boil. The water should be about 1 cm deep.
When the water boils, add some padding that will be a base for the Moi Moi wraps.
Scoop the Moi Moi mix into your container of choice and gently place in the pot of boiling water.
Repeat step 7 for the rest of the Moi Moi mix.
When done, cover the wraps with some leaves or a plastic bag to keep the heat in.
Cover the pot and start cooking on medium heat.
Check it from time to time and add small quantities of water at a time when necessary.
The length of time you will cook your Moi Moi depends on the quantity and the Moi Moi container you used.
The Moi Moi that gets done quickest is the one wrapped in Uma or Banana leaves, followed by Moi Moi wrapped in aluminum foils then the one that takes the most time is Moi Moi cooked in aluminium or plastic plates.
But whatever Moi Moi container you use, it is advisable to cook your Moi Moi for at least 1 hour, before checking it. Confirm that it is done by putting a knife through it, if the knife is stained with Moi Moi paste, then the Moi Moi is not done, but if the knife just has a slight smear of Moi Moi, then it's done. Also, when you cut through the Moi Moi, the insides will be set and not watery.
If you are cooking a few wraps of Moi Moi in a small pot on high heat, then it will only take about 45 minutes to get done while when you are cooking a large pot of Moi Moi, it will definitely take more than one hour.

Cooking Directions: The Stew

You can eat white Moi Moi with any tomato based stew, make sure the stew is seasoned with at least one traditional ingredient: smoked fish, iru, crayfish. This is how I prepare mine and it is so delicious, goes really well with the beans.

Put the chunks of fish in a clean pot.
Add the onions, some water, stock cube, pepper and nutmeg. Stir and start cooking.
Once it boils, add the tomato stew.
Cover and leave to simmer and it's done!
Serve with the stew or skip the stew and serve the White Moi Moi with a chilled soft drink.
250mls Tomato Stew
2 small smoked mackerels
1 small onion
1 small stock cube
Salt and Habanero pepper (to taste)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
White Moi Moi Containers
Note about the ingredients

The job of the vegetable oil is to help the Moi Moi come out of the container easily when done.

Before you cook White Moi Moi

About three hours before cooking the moi moi, soak and peel the beans.
When done with step 1, put the peeled beans in a bowl and pour enough water to cover it. Leave to soak for three hours. This is so that the best consistency will be achieved when you blend the beans.
Prepare Tomato Stew if you do not have some.
Prepare the moi moi containers.
Prepare some Smoked Fish and break into big chunks.
Pound/grind the pepper.
Cut the onions into small pieces.
Crush the stock cubes.

Cooking Directions: The White Moi Moi

Blend the beans with the onions and crushed stock cubes and pour into a big enough bowl. Please note that the total quantity of water to be used (for blending and mixing) should be 600 mls.
Add the vegetable oil (if using it) and stir.
Slowly add the remaining water and stir the mixture at the same time till you get a good mix of all the ingredients.
Add salt to taste and stir very well.
Set some water in a pot to boil. The water should be about 1 cm deep.
When the water boils, add some padding that will be a base for the Moi Moi wraps.
Scoop the Moi Moi mix into your container of choice and gently place in the pot of boiling water.
Repeat step 7 for the rest of the Moi Moi mix.
When done, cover the wraps with some leaves or a plastic bag to keep the heat in.
Cover the pot and start cooking on medium heat.
Check it from time to time and add small quantities of water at a time when necessary.
The length of time you will cook your Moi Moi depends on the quantity and the Moi Moi container you used.
The Moi Moi that gets done quickest is the one wrapped in Uma or Banana leaves, followed by Moi Moi wrapped in aluminum foils then the one that takes the most time is Moi Moi cooked in aluminium or plastic plates.
But whatever Moi Moi container you use, it is advisable to cook your Moi Moi for at least 1 hour, before checking it. Confirm that it is done by putting a knife through it, if the knife is stained with Moi Moi paste, then the Moi Moi is not done, but if the knife just has a slight smear of Moi Moi, then it's done. Also, when you cut through the Moi Moi, the insides will be set and not watery.
If you are cooking a few wraps of Moi Moi in a small pot on high heat, then it will only take about 45 minutes to get done while when you are cooking a large pot of Moi Moi, it will definitely take more than one hour.

Cooking Directions: The Stew

You can eat white Moi Moi with any tomato based stew, make sure the stew is seasoned with at least one traditional ingredient: smoked fish, iru, crayfish. This is how I prepare mine and it is so delicious, goes really well with the beans.

Put the chunks of fish in a clean pot.
Add the onions, some water, stock cube, pepper and nutmeg. Stir and start cooking.
Once it boils, add the tomato stew.
Cover and leave to simmer and it's done!
Serve with the stew or skip the stew and serve the White Moi Moi with a chilled soft drink.

HOW TO BE A BETTER CHEF/ COOK

Top 10 Tips - Become a Better Cook

Everyone wants to become better in any skill they have. Cooking is no exception. Even if you think you are hopeless in the kitchen; like everything else, practice and increasing your knowledge makes perfect. Just relax and pretend that you are playing with the ingredients and you will realize that cooking is not such a daunting task. The following are All Nigerian Food Recipes' top 10 tips to becoming a better cook.

1. Add to what you know

Constantly increasing your knowledge of cooking is important because you already know the basics of cooking and you are interested in improving your skills. Search for recipes on the web and in cookery books, read them through even if it is a recipe for a meal you think you have perfected. With Nigerian food recipes, and any other world recipe, there are often many ways to cook a meal and achieve the same results. So there's always something new to learn.

When you eat a familiar meal and you notice an improvement in the taste, it is good to ask the cook what he/she did to achieve that.

2. Timing

This is one of the top tips of how to become a better cook because you may know all the ingredients you need, spend a lot of money on premium ingredients but get the timing wrong and all the money and time spent goes to nothing. Knowing the right time to add certain ingredients goes a long way to making your food taste better.

3. Organisation

Some things need to be done before you even light up the stove for example; you can take your time and cut up every vegetable that needs to be chopped, place them in separate bowls and set aside. This is so that once it is time to add these, it will be a matter of putting them into the pot rather than hurriedly washing and cutting them up just before you add them.

4. Attention to detail

Watch out for how your cooking can benefit from low, medium or high heat. Sometimes, you need high heat to get that white rice to dry quicker as medium heat will cause it to become soggy.

5. Have the basic tools you need

Something as basic as a chopping board is essential in the kitchen. It will help you cut the carrots or green bell pepper better as opposed to doing these without. It may be worth investing in that expensive blender because it gives you the best tomato puree etc.

6. Plan Ahead

It is a good idea to plan what you want to cook well ahead of time. This is so that you can be sure to buy all the necessary ingredients for preparing the recipe.

7. Choose your time carefully

It is best to cook when you are sure you will have minimal distraction. Do not plan to cook when your favourite TV programme is on air or on a day you brought some work home. The less you are distracted from your cooking, the better attention you will pay to the preparation of the meal. This way, there will be no burnt/overcooked meals later!

8. Give yourself plenty of time

Always give yourself plenty of time to cook your chosen recipe. With practice, you can estimate the time it will take to cook, say, a pot of fried rice before it is meal time. This way, you will not need to rush through your cooking. Also, if you invited friends over for a meal, you do not want to be dashing to and from the kitchen when you should be talking with your visitors.

9. Be adventurous in the kitchen

Feel free to throw a few vegetables in the frying pan to make your very own gravy. You can start by using your favourite vegetables, then eliminate and substitute later if you feel that some of them do not fit in the mix due to their taste or texture. Soon, you will be wowing your friends and family with a recipe that started as a concoction! Remember, it is your kitchen so play with the ingredients as much as you want.

10. Often does it

Practice, they say, makes perfect. The more often you cook, the more you learn new and better ways of the art of cooking. The frequency of cooking also boosts your confidence in the kitchen. Let's say you cook Jollof Rice every weekend, you will be perfecting on the different stages of the cooking such as parboiling the rice more than if you cook it only once every 2 months.

We hope that at least one of the above tips will help you in your quest to become a better cook. Happy Cooking!

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO MOI MOI PREPARATION

Due to its popularity, Moi Moi is often served at parties, dinners and other special occasions.

Ingredients

3 cigar cups or 750g Beans (Brown/Black eyed)
5 tablespoons ground crayfish
4 big stock cubes
1 habanero pepper
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
3 tatashe peppers or 800g
2 big onions
20cl vegetable oil
2 litres of cool or warm water
Salt (to taste)
Moi Moi Accessories

Add any of the following to the Moi Moi

Hard boiled eggs: Cut the eggs into small pieces.
Bone Marrow: Cook the bone marrow with spices and herbs till done then add to the Moi Moi at the mixing stage.
Corned beef: separate into small chunks and add to the moi moi during mixing. You can also add to the moi moi after dishing then into cooking bowls or foil bags.
Moi Moi Containers

Aluminium foil or
Plastic Bowls or
Etere leaves
Jacket Moi Moi

Tools I used

Cooker
Deep Pot
Spatula
Chopping board
Blender
Knives

Notes about the ingredients

The tomato puree gives the Moi Moi its classic peachy colour. If you are in Nigeria, the best ingredient to use is tatashe pepper. I do not like the taste of red bell peppers in my Moi Moi hence I do not recommend it but you can try it and see if you like it.
Nutmeg gives the Moi Moi its classic taste. If you've ever eaten Nigerian Moi Moi at a party and wondered why it tastes better than the ones you make, it is probably because you do not add nutmeg to your Moi Moi.
2 litres of water is the exact quantity of water that gives me the perfect texture of Moi Moi that I and my family love. Please note that this qauntity includes the water used in blending the beans. If using bone marrow, the quantity of stock should be part of the 2 litres of liquid you will use in mixing the Moi Moi. If after using this quantity and you are not happy with the texture, adjust the quantity of water accordingly.
It is best to use cool or warm water when mixing Moi Moi. You do not want to use hot water for this purpose as it may cause the mix to be lumpy.
Using the right amount of oil in your Moi Moi ensures that it has a good texture and rolls off the tongue when you eat it but feel free to use any amount of oil you want. And it is advisable to use tastless and odourless oils in your Moi Moi so that rules out olive oil.

Before you cook Moi Moi

About three hours before cooking the moi moi, soak and wash the beans to remove the coat. When the entire coat has been removed, place the beans in a bowl and pour enough water to cover it. Leave to soak for three hours. This is so that the best consistency will be achieved when you blend the beans.
It is advisable to use one of eggs, bone marrow or corned beef, not the three at the same time. If you will use eggs, cook till hard boiled, cut into small pieces and set aside. If you prefer bone marrow, cook it with salt and Maggi / Knorr cubes and set aside the stock. If it is corned beef you will l go for, open the can and separate the beef into small lumps.
Now go ahead and prepare the moi moi containers.
Next ...

Wash the tatashe pepper (if using it). Ensure you remove the tatashe seeds as they have a tendency to give meals a bitter taste.
Cut the onions into pieces, grind the crayfish with a dry mill. If using the heavy duty grinder in Nigerian markets, these won't be necessary.
Crush the stock cubes and set aside. Wash the habanero/scotch bonnet peppers and set aside.
Now that the beans is soaked (the bean seed is tender when you pinch it), it is time to blend it. It is very important that you use a very good blender for this purpose. The taste and feel of your Moi Moi depends so much on the consistency of the blend. If in doubt, put a small quantity of bean seeds in your home blender and grind to the best of its ability using as small quantity of water as possible. Feel the resulting paste with your fingers and if you notice any tiny pieces at all, then the blender is not good for Moi Moi. At this time, you may consider using the commercial heavy duty mills at your local market if you are in Nigeria. Yes, you have your health and hygiene concerns but most of the mill operators actually keep their mills clean. And they let you bring your own water and containers. So there you go!

Cooking Directions

Blend the beans, tatashe or tomato puree, onions, crayfish, habanero pepper and ground nutmeg together with some of the water and pour the mix into a big enough bowl.
Add the vegetable oil and the bone marrow stock (if this is what you have chosen to add to your moi moi).
Slowly add the remaining water and stir the mixture at the same time till you get a good mix of all the ingredients.
Add salt to taste and stir very well.
Note: Moi Moi is one of the Nigerian food recipes that is prepared cold. All the mixing and adding of ingredients is done off the stove. That is to say, once you start cooking, there is no going back! You cannot decide to add more salt or seasoning or a new ingredient later. So getting it right at the mixing stage is very important.
Pad the base of a big pot, pour some water and set on the stove. The depth of the water should be at most 1 inch.
Dish the Moi moi mix into containers of your choice, add egg/bone marrow/corned beef to each container, seal/cover and set them in the pot.
Add as small quantity of water as possible at a time while cooking the Moi Moi as detailed in preparation and use of moi moi containers so that the moi moi will not become watery when done. This is the case especially when using aluminium foil or etere leaves.
The length of time you will cook your Moi Moi depends on the quantity and the Moi Moi container you used.
The Moi Moi that gets done quickest is the one wrapped in etere leaves, followed by Moi Moi wrapped in aluminum foils then the one that takes the most time is Moi Moi cooked in aluminium or plastic plates.
But whatever Moi Moi container you use, it is advisable to cook your Moi Moi for at least 1 hour, before checking it. Confirm that it is done by putting a knife through it, if the knife is stained with Moi Moi paste, then the Moi Moi is not done, but if the knife just has a slight smear of Moi Moi, then it's done. Also, when you cut through the Moi Moi, the insides will be set and not watery.
If you are cooking a few wraps of Moi Moi in a small pot on high heat, then it will only take about 45 minutes to get done while when you are cooking a large pot of Moi Moi, it will definitely take more than one hour.
Serve with chilled fruit juice or coconut juice. Serve as a side dish to Jollof Rice, Fried Rice or Fried Plantains. For breakfast, serve with Custard or Akamu (Pap, Ogi).

VEGETABLE SAUCE

VEGETABLE SAUCE

It is very rich in vitamins and nutrients. So there is no reason why you should not be cooking this recipe as soon as possible

Ingredients

1 chicken stock or whole chicken if you can afford it.
2 cooking spoons vegetable oil
5 Spring onions
8 fresh plum tomatoes (Jos tomatoes)
8 medium Carrots
1 small cabbage
3 medium Irish potatoes
1 red bell pepper (optional)
1 green bell pepper
Salt (to taste)
3 big stock cubes
1 tablespoon thyme

Before you cook the Vegetable Sauce

Wash and cut the vegetables: plum tomatoes (remember to remove the seeds), carrots, cabbage and bell pepper as shown. Remember to scrape the carrots before cutting. Set these aside.
Peel the Irish potatoes, wash and cut into small pieces. Blend into a thick paste and set aside. This will be used as thickener for the Vegetable Sauce.

Cooking Directions

Wash and cut the whole chicken into pieces. Place in a pot, add chopped spring onions, stock cubes and thyme. Add water to cover the contents of the pot and start cooking.
When done, add salt to taste and top up the water to the same level as the contents if necessary.
Once it boils, add the chopped tomatoes and the vegetable oil. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes.
Now, add the potato puree, chopped bell peppers and cabbage. Stir, cover and allow to cook for 5 minutes on high heat. Add salt to taste and the sauce is ready to be served.
Note: Feel free to experiment by varying the thickness of the vegetable sauce. This you can achieve by increasing or decreasing the amount of potato puree added till you get a consistency that appeals to you.

Tip: The smoothest puree usually settles at the bottom so you may want to use only that (if it is sufficient) and discard the frothy part at the top.

Serve with white rice, boiled yam, fried plantain or mashed potatoes.

HOW TO MAKE NIGERIA BANGA RICE

Nigerian Banga rice (Urhobo Amiedi)

, Here is my all time favourite rice dish. To many Urhobos, this rice dish beats jollof, fried rice, coconut rice (and so on) any time anywhere, to some, not all

Ingredients

Banga palm fruit ( extract)-50cl.

1 medium size onions

5 Cameroon pepper ( chopped)

Fresh prawns/ or dried ones

Ground dried cray fish

Ground dried prawns (please note this is different in taste and flavour than ground crayfish)

Knorr cubes,

Salt

rice

 Method
1- per-boil your rice,wash properly and set aside.

2.- pour the extract into a pot on heat, add your stock, bring it to boil

3. Add the chopped onions into the pot. 5 mins later add the dry grounded crayfish and the dry grounded prawns.

4. Wash rice with lukewarm water. When the oil starts to separate from the soup add the rice, salt and cayenne pepper and stir the rice. Turn heat down and cover the pot, allow it to cook under a low heat.

5. Wash your dried fish, set a side, remove the dried prawns head, oporo, and wash the dried prawns under running water, and add together with the dried fish, open the pot and spread on the boiling rice
Your banga rice is set in 30 minutes, relax with a chilling juice or mineral water- come to my open kitchen at Mudase #30/33 the Autograph Mall Abacha road.

How To Cook farmhouse (Beans,plantain and yam porridge)

Some call it porridge while some say it is farmhouse, either. Some are afraid of beans because of bloating, and some gas! It make them fart, but if you do it my way, No bloating No farting!

Ingredients

3 cigar cups (approx. 750g) brown/black eyed beans
Red palm oil (enough to colour)
1 medium onion
Pepper & Salt (to taste)
1 big stock cube
500g Yam
500g  Plantain
You can also add crayfish if you want but I prefer not to add it because it makes the beans have an over-seasoned taste.

Before you cook Beans Porridge

Soak the beans in cold water for 5 hours. Boil the beans for 5 minutes and discard the water. Wash the beans in cold water and set aside. This soaking and pre-cooking process will help reduce the gas inducing elements.
Chop the onions, grind the crayfish and pepper.
If you will use yam/plantain/sweet potatoes, wash, peel and cut them into 1 inch cubes and set aside. If you will use baby corn, drain the preservation liquid, rinse and set aside.

Cooking Directions

Put the beans in a pot and pour water up to the level of the beans and start cooking.
Note: If you have a pressure cooker, beans is one of the staple foods you will want to use it for. It reduces the cooking time considerably.
Cook till tender, adding more water from time to time, if necessary. Always keep the water at the same level as the beans so that when the beans is done, you will not have too much water in the porridge.
When the beans porridge is soft, add the onions, crayfish, pepper and seasoning.
Add the red palm oil, salt to taste and cook for more 5 minutes on medium heat.
Note:To get the most out of beans, it is best to cook it with one of the following:  yam, ripe/unripe plantain.  If you will add any of these, this is when to do so. Then instead of cooking for 5 minutes, cook till the added yam / plantain
The beans porridge is ready. If you cooked the beans porridge without any of the additions, .

How To Cook farmhouse (Beans,plantain and yam porridge)

Some call it porridge while some say it is farmhouse, either. Some are afraid of beans because of bloating, and some gas! It make them fart, but if you do it my way, No bloating No farting!

Ingredients

3 cigar cups (approx. 750g) brown/black eyed beans
Red palm oil (enough to colour)
1 medium onion
Pepper & Salt (to taste)
1 big stock cube
500g Yam
500g  Plantain
You can also add crayfish if you want but I prefer not to add it because it makes the beans have an over-seasoned taste.

Before you cook Beans Porridge

Soak the beans in cold water for 5 hours. Boil the beans for 5 minutes and discard the water. Wash the beans in cold water and set aside. This soaking and pre-cooking process will help reduce the gas inducing elements.
Chop the onions, grind the crayfish and pepper.
If you will use yam/plantain/sweet potatoes, wash, peel and cut them into 1 inch cubes and set aside. If you will use baby corn, drain the preservation liquid, rinse and set aside.

Cooking Directions

Put the beans in a pot and pour water up to the level of the beans and start cooking.
Note: If you have a pressure cooker, beans is one of the staple foods you will want to use it for. It reduces the cooking time considerably.
Cook till tender, adding more water from time to time, if necessary. Always keep the water at the same level as the beans so that when the beans is done, you will not have too much water in the porridge.
When the beans porridge is soft, add the onions, crayfish, pepper and seasoning.
Add the red palm oil, salt to taste and cook for more 5 minutes on medium heat.
Note:To get the most out of beans, it is best to cook it with one of the following:  yam, ripe/unripe plantain.  If you will add any of these, this is when to do so. Then instead of cooking for 5 minutes, cook till the added yam / plantain
The beans porridge is ready. If you cooked the beans porridge without any of the additions, .

RIVERS NATIVE SOUP

River state native soup is one of my favorite Nigerian soup, it happens to be my favorite native soup. You can follow either my written instruction or follow your instinct,

I did not grew up in River state. And both my primary and secondary education was out side of the state. During this time, mum was always doing this for dad, an Ogoni man, I tasted almost every indigenous food and also learned to make quite a number of them. The good thing is that they share similar recipes with the Igbos. mum is from IMO state

So if you are dating an Ikwerre guy or married to a man/woman from River State Nigeria you can go ahead and serve him/her some of our Igbo foods he will love it.

Let’s get back to the topic of the day, River state native soup… here goes… Mrs chika is one person that is making me polish my cooking skills. Lol. Is good you have a person in your kitchen who knows what taste of food is all about. Who can look at you in the eyes and say, THIS IS NOT THE TASTE! Let's go

For some reason I just like to try new recipes once they appealed to me, I like to ask questions and try them out in my own kitchen, that is perhaps the reason I have learned to make virtually all the Foods Eaten In Nigeria.

How To Make River State Native Soup

Below are the ingredients for making the popular native soup in River state Nigeria, like I always assert; the ingredients would serve about 6×2 people, you can increase or decrease the quantity of each ingredient depending on the number people would be eating your food.

You can make this soup as simple as possible, if you can’t find the ngolo ( sea food) and prawns. I can’t find the english name for Ngolo, is it clams?

1KG of meat
10 pieces of stock fish.
2 cups of sliced uziza leaves
2 medium size dry fish
Cocoa yam as thickener (see image)
15-20cl of palm oil
2-3 cubes of maggi
1-2 cups of periwinkles
1-2 cups of ngolo
1 cup of ground crayfish
Salt and pepper to taste.
two handful of fresh prawns
2 spoons of ofor (alternative thickener)

What you find above is a plate containing Ngolo, Periwinkles (isam) and prowns, the exact way they are sold in Nigerian markets. You can purchase them from every major Nigerian markets, especially in the states sorrounded by water.

The cocoayam should be about 1KG, the ofor serves as alternative thickener (incase the cocoayam didn’t thicken the soup), in most cases, you wouldn’t use it (the ofor)

How to Prepare Nigerian Native soup

You might wanna start by parboiling the shrimps, wash and parboil with a small pot, add half cup of water, a cube of maggi and a pinch of salt, allow to boil for up to 5 minutes, remove the head and set aside in a clean plate.

STEP 1
I like to start by parboiling the meat with all the necessary ingredients, most cooks forget that parboiling the meat and obtaining the stock (water left after parboiling) is an important part of Nigerian cooking process.

I like to parboil the meat with just 2 cubes of maggi, 1 bulb of onions, salt and maybe a sachet of onga classic (a very popular Nigerian spice for soup). My choice of meat is hard to cook, takes about 50-60 minutes before you commence with the rest of the cooking.

Step 2
Use this time to prepare the other ingredients; wash and slice the uziza leaves.

Soak the stock fish and dry fish with boiled water and wash thoroughly to remove sand and center bone. Grind the crayfish and fresh pepper also, you can grind together or grind separately.

Step 3
Add the washed dry fish/stock fish in the boiling meat on fire, after about 30-50 minutes of cooking just the meat. Once they are soft and the water is almost dried (about 1 cup left) add about 5-7 cups of water, palm oil and the ground crayfish. This step was visually demonstrated in the video below, so if you like watching better than reading you can scroll down to see the video.

Allow the soup to cook for another ten minutes before adding salt to taste, a cube of maggi. Maggi is a natural food sweetener, used in making almost all the {foods eaten in Nigeria} you can refer to our ingredients catalogue for an in-depth understanding of all the ingredients used in making Nigerian foods.

Step 4
Add the washed/cleaned ngolo, stir, add the cocoa yam, allow to dissolve in 8-10 minutes, if it is still very watery you can add a spoon of ofor, cook for three minutes before adding the periwinkles, prawns and sliced uziza leaves which is likely the last ingredient while making River state native soup.

Allow to simmer for another five minutes and you just made Nigerian’s most popular native soup. wow! Try it at home.

HOW TO COOK UN-RIPE PLANTAIN PORRIDGE

This menu is rich in iron. Easy to prepare, my assistant chef is always happy doing this menu, he said he even do it in the dream, lol! Very easy, but highly nutritional-in mudase kitchen in the autograph hall in numbers 30/33 sank abacha road, it comes with it green veg and looking inviting. Let go into the kitchen!

Ingredients

Unripe Plantain: 3 pieces
Pumpkin Leaves: a big bunch
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 in the pix
Rinse 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 tiny pieces. Leave to thaw completely and squeeze out the extra water using a sieve.
Wash, cut and remove the fish intestines.
Grind the crayfish and pepper. Always set your items handy, let it be in a tray,so you don't forget any key spice.

Cooking Directions

Put This 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.
Rinse 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 tiny pieces. Leave to thaw completely and squeeze out the extra water using a sieve.
Wash, cut and remove the fish intestines.
Grind the crayfish and pepper.

Cooking Directions

Put the cut plantain in a pot.
Add the chopped onions, stock cubes, fish, ground crayfish and pepper.
Add water to the same level as the contents of the pot.
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.
Add the vegetables, cover the pot and leave to simmer.
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. cut plantain in a pot. Add the chopped onions, stock cubes, fish, ground crayfish and pepper.
Add water to the same level as the contents of the pot.
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.
Add the vegetables, cover the pot and leave to simmer.
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. The leaves will be ever fresh, ready and looking green- am proud of my kitchen. Share this treat with friends and family.

HOW TO WASH YOUR SNAIL'S

Snails have a very sticky substance known as snail slime that we must remove before using the snails in our cook our food.

Tools

You will need a blunt object for breaking the shells of the snails.
You will need a pointed object to push the snail out of the shell.
Items that remove snail slime

The following items can remove snail slime:

1. Salt

Salt has an abrasive property that is why it is used to remove snail slime. Simply pour lots of salt into a bowl of shelled snails. Rub the salt on the snails till the slime is gone.

2. Garri

Garri is Nigeria's grain staple food used in preparing Eba, a type of fufu meal. Garri works the same way as salt. Pour lots of Garri grains on a bowl of shelled snails and rub till the slime is gone. Garri is quite expensive and is essential commodity if you live outside Nigeria so it’s a no-no for me. I strictly reserve my Garri for Asoki things. LOL

3. Lime

The acid in lime juice attacks snail slime and cleans up the snail quickly.

4. Lemon

Though lime and lemon have acidic properties but I find that lemon is more efficient than lime. Maybe lemon's acid is more active than that of lime. You can see the slime curdle almost as soon as you sprinkle lemon juice on the snails.

Lemon is the most efficient of all the items that remove snail slime especially when you are cleaning a bowl of snails.

5. Alum

Alum is the most effective of all the items that can remove snail slime. It gives the snails a squeaky clean. It takes a lot of hard work though and it is not as efficient at cutting the slime as lemons especially at the beginning when the slime is still very thick and concentrated.

That is why I use a combination of lemon and alum (efficiency and effectiveness) for a squeaky clean result.

Alum is a safe additive to foods but you should do your own research before you use it.

There are a few other methods of removing snail slime. For instance, I have heard about boiling the snails for a bit or pouring hot water on them but I do not use that method because boiling the snails and pouring away the water would be depleting the nutrients that the snails contain.

Directions for Removing the Slime from Snails

Before you start:

Cut the lemons into two equal parts and set aside. For 10 big snails, you will need about 3 juicy lemons.
Bring out the alum ready for use. A piece of alum is enough for 10 snails.
Break the snails

Using the blunt object, hit hard on the snail shells to break up the pointed end of the shell. Then use the pointed tool/utensil to push the snail till it comes off the other end.
Note: If you break the whole shell into pieces, the resulting tiny shells may be stuck on the snail and these are difficult to remove because of the slime. So make as little mess as possible when breaking the shell.

Remove the tiny pieces of shells at the point where the snail attaches itself to the shell. Be careful when doing this because those tiny shells can be very sharp.

Remove the snail's intestines and feel the snail with your fingers to make sure there are no tiny shells left behind.

Repeat the process for the rest of the snails and place them in a bowl.

Remove the slime

Sprinkle the lemon juice on the snails in the bowl and mix very well, making sure the juice touches every snail.

While the juice is attacking the slime, use the blunt side of a knife to scrape off the brown stains on the white parts of the snail. Watch the video below to see what I am referring to.

Then use the half moon cuts of lemons to scrub the snails all over till all the slime is gone. Even before you do this, you will notice that the snail slime is no longer that slimy.

When done, rinse and continue with alum. Concentrate on rubbing the alum in the parts where the lemons did not reach. Spread the tongue of the snail and rub the alum in there.

When it feels squeaky clean, rinse very well in plenty of water.

Cut the tongue of the snail and clean the exposed area with alum.

Rinse again in plenty of cool water to remove all traces of alum from the snails. Once you rinse very well, the alum will not change the taste of the snail.

That's it! You can now use the snails for Peppered Snail and in Nigerian soups recipes. Snails go well with Bitterleaf Soup, Ora (Oha) Soup and Ofe Owerri.

VERY EASY WAY TO PEEL YOU BEANS

For those who love beans, and those who believe in the potency of these cereal, then let us dance around ways in which our work will look easy.

Soak the beans for 1 hour. If you are using brown beans, this time may be less. You will know the beans seeds are ready to be peeled when they are swollen and the skin is baggy. The skin should also come off easily when you rub the beans seeds.
Put a small amount of beans into your blender.
Pour water to twice the level of the beans.
Press the Pulse/Turbo button on your blender for 1 second, let go; press it again and let go. Do this 5 times and that is enough to peel the beans without blending them.
If your blender does not have a pulse/turbo button, switch to Speed 1 for 1 second, turn it off; Speed 1, OFF and so on 5 times.
Pour into a big bowl.
Repeat this for the remaining soaked beans.
Decant the peeled beans into another bowl via a sieve. As the water goes into the second bowl, shake the bowl containing the peeled beans from side to side so that it is mostly the skin that goes into the second bowl.
Repeat Step 7 till all the coat is removed. If there are any stubborn seeds that were not peeled, rub them with your fingers to peel them. Are you satisfied with my lesson today? We learn by the day. For real -nicolesrecipeandcatering.blogspot.com- ever ready!

DELICIOUS FRIED COCONUT RICE

This Nigerian food is called the coconut fried rice

This menu is improved upon by Mrs. Chika, my boss, her input gave this menu a boost. Join me as we do it together.

Ingredients

3 cigar cups | 750g long grain parboiled rice
600 mls Coconut Milk
Chicken (chicken/beef stock)
Chilli pepper/ Anambra peper)
Salt (to taste)
1 medium onions
3 stock cubes
1 cup dried oporo(dried shrimps)remove the head and tail.
250grms carrot( diced)
100grms of green beans ( diced)
Before you cook Coconut Rice

Now is the time to extract the coconut milk. I use my blender to blend my coconut after removing it from the shell, blend it with little content of water, after blending, pour it into a sieve and you have your milk-wow! Simple!
Parboil the rice using the method detailed in parboiling rice for cooking coconut rice. Wash the parboiled rice and put in a sieve to drain.

Cooking Directions

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.
Pour the chicken stock, coconut milk and the pot. Set on heat to boil, taste and feel the desired taste, once you get that taste, add the parboiled rice, If necessary, top up with water to bring the water level to the same level as the rice. This is to ensure that all the water dries up by the time the rice is cooked.
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. That's the way coconut rice is cooked. Stir fry your carrot and green beans, spread it on it, chop little anambra pepper to have what will hit you a bit according to my boss.-you can now sit back, relax and enjoy, ever fresh, ever ready! My kitchen slogan.