YAY! The weekend is here! It might have been a busy week for you. Well, now that you have the time, you might want to give your family a treat this weekend with some amazing home cooked meals. Here are 5 Popular Nigerian delicacies you probably should try out.
DODORISHI
Meat, bay leaves, plantain & pepper sauce makes up this appetizing dish. It can be served as lunch or dinner.
INGREDIENTS
- Half kilo of assorted meats (beef, goat meats, saki, cowleg, snails, chicken – you can pick and choose what type of meats to add)
- 5 Chili peppers, 6 Balls of tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper (tatashe)
- 1 green pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 2 Onions
- Curry powder
- Knorr stew seasoning powder
- Maggi cubes
- Thyme
- Bay leaves
- Salt
- Vegetable oil/cooking butter
- 2 – 3 pieces of ripe plantains.
PREPARATION METHOD
- Wash your assorted meat, put into a dry pot. Add your bay leaves,a pinch of salt, thyme and Knorr cubes. Use separate pots if using chicken and/or snails
- Cover the pot tightly and shake all added ingredients together(that is mixing them thoroughly).
- Leave inside pot for 20 mins without cooking. This will allow for the ingredients to penetrate into your meats. After 20 mins, add some water and cook for few mins.
- Remove from the pot after cooking and fry.
- Wash & dice your peppers and chillies. Wash & slice your tomatoes & onion
- Blend 2 tomatoes, 1 tatashe, 1 onion and 2 pieces of chilli pepper to a smooth paste
- Slice your plantain into cubes and fry
- Fry or grill your assorted meats
- Place a dried pot on the cooker,melt your cooking butter or heat up vegetable oil in it and allow to heat up for 2 minutes
- Add your sliced onions, red, yellow and green pepper. pepper. Stir and allow to cook for 1 minute
- Add your blended pepper, knorr stew seasoning, knorr cubes, curry powder, salt, thyme and let it fry for 3 – 5 minutes, depending on the quantity you have
- Add the fried dodo to the fried pepper sauce and stir. Let it simmer for 2 minutes
- Add your, fried assorted meats, stir and allow to cook for a few mins.
- Let the bay leaves be added as the last ingredient because when the leaves are over heated they turn black instead of green.
- Taste for salt and seasoning. Readjust if necessary
- Take it off the cooker and serve. Garnish with onions
ATAMA SOUP
Periwinkles, stockfish, Palm fruit, Atama and other spices are what makes up this nutritious flavoured soup.
INGREDIENTS
- Beef (1/2 kilo)
- Fresh or smoked fish (1 medium size)
- Cow skin (10 medium pieces)
- Stockfish head (1 medium head)
- 1 cup of Periwinkle in shell
- 1 small bunch of Atama leaves
- Palm fruit
- 3 tablespoons of ground crayfish
- Uyayak (local spice)
- 1 Maggi cube
- 2½ litres of Water (for extraction of the oily liquid)
- Salt to taste.
- Pepper
PREPARATION METHOD
- Wash periwinkles thoroughly. Then Wash and boil the palm fruits for about 30 minutes. Strain off the water and pound the palm fruit until the pulp/fibre separates from the nuts.
- Boil some clean water and add to the pounded palm fruit and mix thoroughly to separate the oily extract from the rest of the pulp, then strain off the oily extract.
- Wash, cut up and season your meat with salt, Knorr cube and small pepper, then steam for about 5 minutes on low heat. Then add about 1½ cups of water and the stockfish head and continue boiling for about 20 minutes till the meat is almost cooked, and remove from heat.
- Cut the Atama leaves into very fine pieces. Pound them for about 10 minutes till the leaves are finely pounded. Then place the oily extract on the burner and allow to boil for about 5 minutes to remove all moisture.
- Add cooked meat and washed smoked fish, meat stock, periwinkle, crayfish, pepper and maggi cube and Uyayak. Stir and allow to boil for about 10 minutes. Add the atama leaves and boil without stirring for another 10 minutes. Stir and add salt to tast.
- Allow to simmer for another 15 –10 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat and serve with pounded yam, garri or cassava fufu.
YAM PORRIDGE
This recipe is also known as “Asaro”. Made with Yam, vegetables, your choice of seafood(Titus fish, shrimps OR crayfish). Makes for a great dinner idea.
INGREDIENTS
- Yam
- Palm Oil (to color)
- 1 smoked fish (titus/mackerel) OR Dry fish
- 1 tablespoon ground crayfish
- 1 medium onion
- Fresh green vegetable e.g Pumpkin, Parsley or Scent leaf (Effirin or Nchanwu)
- Habanero or Chilli Pepper
- Salt – to taste
- Maggi Cubes
PREPARATION METHOD
- Peel & cut the yam tuber into medium sizes. Wash the yam cubes and place in a sizeable pot.
- Wash & cut the onions into tiny pieces. Grind / Blend the chilli pepper. Set these aside. If using dry fish, soak and pick the bones at this time.
- Pour enough water to cover the yam cubes and start cooking at medium to high heat. If you are using dry fish, add it now.
- When the yams have got a good boil, add the onions, ground crayfish, pepper, Maggi cubes, palm oil & the smoked fish.
- Cover the pot and continue cooking till the yam is done. Add salt to taste and stir very well. Cook at high heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add the green vegetable, stir and leave to stand for about 3 minutes then serve!
GROUNDNUT SOUP
Groundnut soup is tasty and nutritious, garnishing with vegetable just makes it better! It is best enjoyed with swallow meals.
INGREDIENTS
- 500g raw peeled groundnuts (peanuts)
- Assorted meat & fish (Beef
- Shaki (cow tripe)
- Dry fish OR Stock fish)
- Palm Oil
- A small bunch of Pumpkin leaves
- Spinach or Bitterleaf
- 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
- Any Soup seasoning
- Salt (to taste) & ground dry pepper.
PREPARATION METHOD
- Before cooking your groundnut soup, Soak the stock fish & dry fish for a few hours. The length of time depends on how hard the stock fish is. You may also decide to boil it a bit.
- When soft, clean the fish, remove the bones and separate them into small pieces.
- Roast the raw groundnuts in a pan, stirring constantly till they look golden brown( Make sure the groundnuts do not get burnt), After this set aside to cool down completely then grind into powder with a dry mill.
- Wash & cut the pumpkin leaves into tiny pieces. If using spinach, cut into small pieces, if using bitterleaf: wash till the bitterness is fairly out & set aside.
- Prepare other ingredients: grind the pepper and grind the crayfish.
- Start cooking the shaki first as it is the toughest meat in the bunch. Always keep water to the same level as the contents of the pot and top it up as you cook.
- When the shaki starts to curl, add the dry fish and stockfish.
- When the shaki is almost done, add beef and soup seasoning. Cook till all the meat and fish are well done.
- Add the crayfish, salt and pepper, cover and cook till it boils.
- Transfer the meat and fish to another pot/container leaving the stock in the pot.
- Add the ground groundnuts and stir very well till there are no lumps. Reduce the heat to very low and start cooking.
- Stir every 5 minutes and top up the water if necessary. To avoid the mixture from burning, watch it closely and stir as often as necessary.
- Cook till a thin film of clear oil appears on the surface. This should take about 15 minutes. Add palm oil and stir very well.
- Add the beef and fish, stir and cook on low heat till it boils. For those who prefer their groundnut soup without vegetables add the vegetables, stir and leave to simmer. Stir again.
NKWOBI
Who says you cant make your own home made Nkwobi right from the comfort of your kitchen! Made with cooked cow foot mixed in spicy palm oil paste.
INGREDIENTS
- Cow foot (cut into sizeable pieces)
- Palm Oil
- 1 tablespoon powdered edible potash (Akanwu/Kaun/Keun)
- 1 teaspoon ground Ehu seeds (Calabash Nutmeg)
- 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
- Habanero Pepper (Atarodo)
- 1 medium onion
- Maggi cubes
- Salt (to taste)
- Onion & Utazi leaves (For garnishing)
PREPARATION METHOD
- Cow foot meat is quite tough, using a pressure cooker is advised to help you save your gas/ electricity. The cow foot should be cut into medium chunks when buying.
- Put the powdered potash into a bowl. Add a small quantity of water (about 4 table spoons) and stir well. Pass it through a fine sieve and set the liquid aside.
- Cut 1 onion into 4 big chunks, Pound the pepper with a mortar and pestle. Grind the crayfish, Crack and remove the outer shell of the ehu then grind with a dry mill.
- Wash and put the cow foot chunks in a pot, Add your maggi cubes (crushed) & the chunks of onion.
- Add a small quantity of water and start cooking at medium heat till well cooked. Add just enough water to prevent burning as you cook. There should not be any stock (water) in the pot when the meat is done.
- While the meat is cooking, pour the palm oil into a clean dry pot, Pour in the potash mixture (sieved) into the oil.
- Stir with a wooden spatula as you pour the potash. You’ll notice the palm oil would begin to curdle and turn yellow.
- Keep stiring till all the oil has turned yellow, Add the ground crayfish, pepper and ehu seeds. Stir very well till they are all incorporated.
- When the meat is done, add salt, stir and cook till all the water has dried. Add the well done cow foot to the palm oil paste and stir very well with the wooden spatula.
- Put it back on the stove/cooker and heat till the Nkwobi is piping hot. Keep stirring it to ensure it does not burn.
- To prepare the garnish, cut the onions into rings and cut the utazi leaves into long thin slices. Serve the Nkwobi in a wooden mortar (if you have one at home) or you can serve nicely in a plate.
- Add the thin slices of the utazi leaves & onion rings on top for the full effects. Your Nkwobi is ready!
- This meal can be best served with a nice chilled glass of juice.
