Month: March 2015

Drinks, Nigerian Cuisine

Friday Mocktails: Tsamiya Soda

or Tamarind Soda, in the manner of Jarritos’s Tamarindo. All that is required is tamarind syrup, topped up with soda water, tonic water or ginger ale. The plain tamarind syrup is nice, but I love the tamarind-ginger version as the flavours are very gingerale’sque. You’ll need ice, a stirrer and an umbrella. Just because. You’ll pour the […]

Nigerian Cuisine, Techniques

How To Process Agbalumo

Another look. Consider this the follow-up to The Anatomy of Agbalumo post. In the last few months, I’ve learnt more about agbalumo than I ever though, from its versatility as an ingredient to its nutritional qualities, its provenance across West Africa from Nigeria to Ghana, where it is known as Alasa, Alansa, Adisaa in Twi. The […]

Techniques

How to Chiffonade Scent leaves & Other Herbs

Soft herbs with wide leaves like scent leaves, basil, mint make great chiffonade. Chiffonade, French for ‘made of rags’ is an easy technique with beautiful results, like in the scent leaf bits which garnished my Tuwon Shinkafa in pepper soup. Here’s how to chiffonade soft herbs Wash leaves. Arrange in a pile. Roll length ways into a […]

Travel & Exploration

Agbalumo at Border Control

I’m amazed when they both know what it is. They arent familiar with African Cherry but when I mention star apple they say yes. They can’t remember agbalumo but the White American gentleman says Udara as does the South American. The dried one has them stunned. ‘I know it …but I’ve never seen it dried’. […]