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128 recipes

Roasted corn and ube (African pear)

When the rains come between June and September, roadside roasters all over southern Nigeria fan charcoal under rows of maize cobs, and next to them sits a basin of ube, the purple African pear, softened in hot water. A bite of chewy, smoky corn and a scrape of the pear's rich, salty, almost avocado-like flesh is the whole point, and at home a grill or a gas flame does the job. Dropping ube into boiling water is a common mistake: the skins split and the flesh turns watery and bitter, so use water that is hot but not bubbling. Chef's tip: no ube? Fresh coconut chunks are the other classic partner for roasted corn.

25 min

Nigerian Snacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Agege bread

Hawkers carry Agege bread through Lagos traffic on their heads every morning, and the loaf, named after the Agege district where the bakeries made it famous, is the city's breakfast staple. It is nothing like an airy sandwich loaf: the crumb is tight, white, soft and slightly sweet, and it tears in stretchy strands, perfect for scooping up ewa agoyin (mashed beans with dark pepper sauce) or wrapping round akara. Bakeries knead it for a very long time; at home, a stand mixer and a long knead get close. Lagos bakers use margarine and often milk powder, so the loaf is vegetarian rather than vegan. Chef's tip: knead until you can stretch a piece of dough so thin it lets light through without tearing; under-kneading is the mistake that gives a crumbly loaf instead of the classic chewy pull.

75 min

Nigerian Breads & Parathas

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gullisuwa (fried milk balls in syrup)

Small kiosks in Kano sell gullisuwa in twists of plastic, and Hausa families make platefuls for Sallah and weddings. Milk powder, a little flour and sugar are worked into a soft dough, rolled into balls and fried slowly until deep golden, then soaked in syrup, which gives a rich, fudge-like centre and a faintly caramel crust. They recall Indian gulab jamun, but they are firmer and less spiced. Milk sugars burn fast, so the common mistake is hot oil that browns the outside in seconds while the inside stays doughy; keep it low. Chef's tip: oil your palms when rolling, so the balls stay smooth and don't crack in the pan.

50 min

Nigerian Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Plantain mosa

Blackened, very ripe plantains that are too soft for dodo find a second life as mosa, the little fried puffs that sit on Lagos party trays beside puff puff, samosas and spring rolls. Mashed plantain is mixed with flour, onion and a bit of chilli, dropped into hot oil and fried until crisp outside and custardy and sweet inside, with a gentle heat. They take less than half an hour. Plantain sugars burn fast, and too-hot oil gives dark puffs with raw middles, so fry at a steady medium heat. Most people go wrong with a batter that is too runny; it should drop from the spoon in a blob, or the puffs spread flat. Chef's tip: the blacker the plantain skin, the sweeter and softer the mosa.

25 min

Nigerian Snacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dundun (fried yam)

In the evenings, Lagos street corners fill with the smell of dundun: big woks of oil, sliced white yam frying next to plantain and akara, sold by the piece in a twist of paper with a spoon of pepper sauce. Good dundun is golden and crisp outside and soft and fluffy as a baked potato inside, with a faint sweetness from the yam. At home it is a favourite Saturday breakfast or a quick supper, and children happily eat it on its own while the adults pile on the sauce. Don't fry over a very high heat: the outside browns before the middle cooks, the commonest dundun mistake. Chef's tip: soak the yam pieces in salted water for 5 minutes and pat them dry; the salt seasons them through and they fry crisper.

30 min

Nigerian Snacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kokoro (crunchy maize sticks)

Kokoro is sold in clear bags at motor parks, markets and school gates across the Southwest, and it is the snack people tuck into a pocket for a long bus ride. The dough is made by cooking part of the maize flour with water into a thick paste, then kneading in more flour with a little sugar, salt, chilli and ginger, and rolling it into thin sticks that are fried slowly until hard and golden. The result is very crunchy, lightly sweet and peppery, and it keeps for weeks. Children love it, and it is traditionally eaten with roasted groundnuts or coconut. Avoid frying in oil that is too hot; the outside browns before the sticks are crisp all the way through. Chef's tip: roll the sticks no thicker than a pencil and fry them at a moderate heat so they crisp right through; thick sticks fried hot stay hard outside and doughy inside.

65 min

Nigerian Snacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gbegiri (Yoruba bean soup)

Order amala at any buka in Ibadan or Oyo and the server will ask "abula?", meaning a ladle of gbegiri and a ladle of ewedu poured side by side, usually crowned with a spoon of pepper stew. Gbegiri itself is smooth, mellow and earthy: peeled black-eyed beans cooked until they fall apart, beaten to a cream and simmered with red palm oil and pungent locust beans. Many cooks add ground crayfish or smoked fish; this is the meat-free way, which loses nothing of its velvet texture. Serve it with amala and ewedu or spooned over boiled yam. The mistake to avoid is leaving bean skins in, which turns the soup grey and gritty, so rub and rinse until the beans are white. Chef's tip: whisk the cooked beans with a balloon whisk or the traditional ijabe broom rather than a blender for the lightest, fluffiest gbegiri.

90 min

Nigerian Soups

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Okpa (Bambara nut pudding)

Early in the morning in Nsukka and Enugu, sellers set out wheelbarrows piled with steaming okpa wrapped in leaves or cooked in small tins, and students and workers eat it standing up with a bottle of cold drink or a cup of pap. It is made from Bambara nut flour beaten with palm oil, warm water, pepper and salt into a bright orange batter and steamed until it sets into a firm, dense pudding with a nutty, earthy taste. It is filling and naturally high in protein. Bambara nut flour is sold in African shops as okpa flour. Undercooked okpa tastes raw and bitter and is hard to digest, so steam until a knife comes out clean. A common mistake is a batter that is too thick, which steams into a hard, dry block instead of a soft-set pudding. Chef's tip: mix the oil into the dry flour before adding any water; it keeps the batter smooth and gives okpa its even colour.

95 min

Nigerian Breakfast & Brunch

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ojojo (water yam fritters)

Ojojo is what Yoruba households do with water yam when they want a snack instead of a pottage, and roadside fryers in the Southwest sell it hot in paper with akara. The grated yam is mixed with chopped onion, fresh chilli and salt, then dropped by the spoonful into hot oil, where it puffs into craggy, golden fritters with a crisp shell and a soft, slightly chewy centre. Eat it hot with a pepper sauce, or with ogi (fermented corn pap) for breakfast. Wear gloves to peel and grate water yam, which makes the skin itch. Chef's tip: grate the yam just before frying and don't let the batter sit; it darkens and loosens as it stands.

30 min

Nigerian Snacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tuwo masara (stiff maize swallow)

On the Plateau and throughout the north, a pot of white maize flour turned stiff with a wooden paddle is the daily partner to miyan kubewa (okra soup), miyan kuka and vegetable soups. Tuwon masara is smooth, slightly springy and mild, with a faint sweetness of corn. The secret is to start with a thin cooked paste and only then add the dry flour, which keeps it lump-free; dumping all the flour into boiling water is the mistake that gives raw, gritty pockets. Chef's tip: use a sturdy, flat wooden spoon and press the tuwo hard against the side of the pot when you turn it.

30 min

Nigerian Basics

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Boiled groundnuts in the shell

Freshly dug groundnuts appear in markets from Ibadan to Kano when the rains come, still muddy in their pale shells, and hawkers sell them boiled in salt water by the cupful, often next to roasted corn. Boiling turns the kernels soft and creamy, like a cooked bean, with salt seeping through the shell. They are eaten warm on the way home, cracked open with the thumbs. Using dried shop peanuts and boiling them for the same time is the usual mistake: they stay hard, so soak dried ones overnight and boil for 2–3 hours. Chef's tip: let them sit in the hot brine for 15 minutes after cooking, so the salt soaks in.

55 min

Nigerian Snacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nigerian coconut candy

Children across Nigeria spend their pocket money on coconut candy, little clusters of fresh coconut set in amber caramel, sold in small bags by school gates and at market stalls. Made at home it takes about half an hour, with a chewy-crunchy bite and a toffee flavour against the clean taste of fresh coconut. Taking the caramel too far is the common mistake, since dark caramel tastes bitter, so stop at a deep golden colour. Children can help shape the cooled candy, but keep them away from the hot sugar. Chef's tip: use freshly grated coconut, not desiccated; its moisture keeps the clusters chewy in the centre.

30 min

Nigerian Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ikokore (Ijebu water yam pottage)

Ikokore is the Ijebu people's own pottage, made in Ijebu-Ode and towns across Ogun State from water yam, the purple-tinged yam that grates into a sticky paste. Spoonfuls of that paste go into a pepper and palm-oil sauce and set into soft, dumpling-like lumps, so it is part soup and part porridge, rich and spicy. Smoked fish and crayfish are traditional; this meat-free version uses mushrooms for their savoury bite. It is eaten as a complete meal, often on its own or with a cold drink. Water yam makes the skin itch, so wear gloves to peel and grate it. If water yam is hard to find, white yam works but sets softer. Chef's tip: drop the paste in and leave it for 10 minutes before you stir; stirring too soon is the mistake that turns the lumps into a smooth paste.

60 min

Nigerian Vegetarian

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Asaro (yam pottage)

Lagos home cooks make asaro on busy weekdays because it needs one pot and very little fuss, and children usually love its soft, sweet-savoury comfort. Chunks of white puna yam simmer in a blended sauce of red bell pepper, tomato and scotch bonnet with palm oil, and as they cook some pieces collapse into a thick, orange porridge while others stay whole. It is often made with crayfish or smoked fish; this meat-free version gets its depth from locust beans and a vegetable stock cube. A handful of greens stirred in at the end turns it into a full meal, and it needs nothing alongside. For children, use half a scotch bonnet or leave it out. Chef's tip: don't stir in the first 15 minutes; mash only a third of the yam at the end, so there is both creamy sauce and tender chunks.

50 min

Nigerian Vegetarian

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chapman (Nigerian fruit punch)

Order a chapman in a Lagos club house or at an owambe party and it arrives in a tall glass full of ice, glowing red and crowded with slices of cucumber, orange and lemon. Lemon-lime and orange sodas are mixed with blackcurrant cordial and grenadine for a sweet, fruity, fizzy drink with a fresh edge from the cucumber. The classic recipe adds a few dashes of aromatic bitters, and those bitters contain alcohol; leave them out (or use an alcohol-free bitters) and it is fully alcohol-free and fine for children. Adding the soda too early is the usual mistake, as it goes flat, so mix the syrups and fruit first and top up just before serving. Chef's tip: chill every bottle well beforehand, so less ice melts into the drink.

10 min

Nigerian Drinks

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Amala (yam flour swallow)

Amala gets its dusky brown colour from elubo, yam that has been peeled, sliced, sun-dried and milled, which gives it a faintly smoky, earthy taste. Ibadan's amala joints serve it from morning to night, soft and steaming, wrapped in leaves or cling film, with ewedu, gbegiri and stew; it is pinched off with the fingers and dipped, never chewed for long. Making it takes five minutes and a strong arm: the flour goes into boiling water and is stirred and turned against the side of the pot until it is perfectly smooth and stretchy. Lumps are the usual mistake, so add the flour off the heat and stir hard from the first second. Chef's tip: use a sturdy wooden spatula (omorogun) and press the dough against the pot rather than just stirring it round; that is what makes it silky.

15 min

Nigerian Basics

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ayamase (ofada green pepper stew)

Ofada rice, the short, fragrant local rice from Ogun State, is almost always served in Lagos with ayamase, a stew so green and so hot it is sometimes called designer stew. Green bell peppers and green scotch bonnets are blended coarse, dried out in the pot, then fried in palm oil that has been bleached clear, with plenty of iru for a deep, funky savouriness. Assorted meat (beef, tripe and cow skin) and boiled eggs are folded in. Watery pepper is the mistake that makes it taste sour and raw, so boil the blended pepper dry before it meets the oil. Chef's tip: bleaching palm oil makes heavy smoke; open the windows, keep the lid nearby and never leave the pot.

120 min

Nigerian Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ewedu (jute leaf soup)

Bright green, light and famously slippery, ewedu is the soup that makes amala slide down so easily, and in Ibadan and across Oyo State it is rare to see one without the other. Only the tender jute leaves are picked from the stems, boiled for a few minutes and then beaten with a small broom until finely shredded and stretchy, with a few locust beans for a savoury, funky depth. Some cooks add crayfish; this version keeps it meat-free. It tastes fresh and grassy and is eaten with amala, gbegiri and a red pepper stew. Frozen chopped ewedu or Egyptian molokhia leaves work well outside Nigeria. Chef's tip: cook it briefly and uncovered; long boiling or a lid turns the bright green an olive drab, the most common ewedu mistake.

25 min

Nigerian Soups

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ila asepo (Yoruba okra soup)

Ibadan and Abeokuta buka ladle ila asepo over amala at lunchtime: a bright, chunky okra soup cooked in a palm-oil pepper base, rather than the plain boiled okra of other regions. Iru and crayfish give depth, assorted meat and smoked fish give body, and prawns go in at the end, so every spoonful is drawy, savoury and loaded. It is just as good with eba or pounded yam. Cooking the okra too long is the usual mistake; it loses its stretch and its green colour, so add it last and give it only 4–5 minutes. Chef's tip: chop the okra by hand into small dice instead of blending it, and the soup keeps its pleasant crunch.

85 min

Nigerian Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dakuwa (groundnut and grain balls)

Hawkers in northern towns carry dakuwa on trays to schools and motor parks, and it keeps well enough to be a travelling snack. Roasted groundnuts are pounded with toasted maize or millet, sugar and warm spices until the oil from the nuts binds everything, then pressed into firm balls that are sweet, nutty and gently peppery. No cooking beyond toasting is needed. The usual mistake is over-blending until the nuts turn to butter and the mixture goes greasy; pulse and stop as soon as it holds when squeezed. Chef's tip: shape the balls while the mixture is still warm from the processor, when the oils are soft and it presses together easily.

40 min

Nigerian Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Abacha (African salad)

Abacha is the evening snack of Anambra and Enugu, sold by women on street corners and served at Igbo weddings and funerals, where people call it African salad. Dried cassava shreds are softened in water and tossed in ncha, a thick yellow emulsion made by stirring palm oil with potash water, together with fermented oil bean (ugba), sliced onion, pepper and ground calabash nutmeg, then finished with garden egg leaves and fresh garden eggs. It is chewy, oily, peppery and fresh all at once. Stockfish, ponmo or crayfish are often added; this is the meat-free way. Outside Nigeria, African shops sell abacha and ugba; leave the ugba out if you cannot find it. Chef's tip: soak the abacha only until it is just pliable; left too long it turns mushy, which is the mistake that ruins the texture.

40 min

Nigerian Salads

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ukwa (African breadfruit porridge)

Ukwa is festival and family food in the Igbo Southeast, cooked for guests and for the New Yam season, and its price in the market shows how prized it is. The seeds of the African breadfruit are dehulled and slow-cooked with a little potash until soft and creamy, then finished with palm oil, onion, pepper and fragrant utazi or scent leaves, giving a rich, nutty, slightly beany porridge. Dried fish is often stirred in; this version stays meat-free. Some cooks add fresh sweetcorn or cooked maize in the last 10 minutes. A pressure cooker saves an hour of simmering. Chef's tip: add the salt and stock cube only once the seeds are soft; seasoning early, a common mistake, keeps them hard for much longer.

120 min

Nigerian Vegetarian

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ekuru (white bean pudding with pepper sauce)

Pale and plain on purpose, ekuru is moin moin's quiet cousin: the same peeled black-eyed bean paste, but steamed with nothing in it except a little salt, so it comes out white, light and airy. In Ijebu and around Ogun State it is a breakfast and market snack, and all the flavour comes from the sauce served with it, a fried mix of red peppers, scotch bonnet, onion and locust beans in palm oil. The contrast of mild, fluffy pudding and hot, oily sauce is the whole point. This version is entirely plant-based. Chef's tip: beat the bean paste hard for several minutes before steaming; the trapped air is what makes ekuru light rather than dense.

90 min

Nigerian Snacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fio fio (pigeon pea pottage with cocoyam)

Pigeon peas are called fio fio or echicha in Enugu, and around Udi and Nsukka they are cooked into a thick pottage for family meals, sometimes with fresh corn in season and often with cocoyam, which melts into the pot and thickens it. The peas stay firm and nutty, the cocoyam turns soft and creamy, and the palm-oil pepper sauce ties it together into a hearty, savoury meal. Dried pigeon peas are sold in African and South Asian shops (as toor or gandules). Pigeon peas are tough and need a long simmer; the mistake is seasoning or adding cocoyam before they are completely tender. Wear gloves to peel cocoyam, which can itch. Chef's tip: soak the peas overnight and boil them hard for the first 10 minutes; it shortens the cooking and makes them evenly tender.

120 min

Nigerian Vegetarian

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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