My Guide to Food – Exploring and Mapping intersections between Nigerian Cuisine and Foods of the World
Plantain is a starchy ‘fruit’ that’s used throughout its various stages of ripeness. Through its colour gradients, from green to black, the sweetness and texture change. It’s important to say that in Nigerian cooking, most traditional applications and preparation of plantain are savory from appetizer to mains and sides so even when sweet ripe plantains […]
I wrote this a year ago in January 2020 days after we moved. I wanted to be intentional about documenting the journey, and observing myself – the things that I did for comfort and what helped. Pepper soup helped. A lot! Even before we arrive, I know I’ll have pepper soup in the first few […]
And also with gram/ besan/ lentil flours or powders. Think of it this time as using flours of convenience, whatever they bean :). I first used these flours when I lived abroad, several moons ago and found it tricky sometimes to get black-eyed beans or didn’t want to expend the energy required to peel them. […]
I grew up eating plantains as an essential part of my Nigerian diet and I find it fascinating to experiment with them. I’ve tried chocolate-filled gnocchi and Plantano Frito tortillas for nouveau cuisine, and traditional Nigerian steamed pudding. And so when I read about bacon-wrapped plantains at Cynthia’s of Taste of Home, its fate was […]
I know, I’m here telling you about this sauce that rocks my world, and at the same time I’m asking, telling ‘Don’t judge me’. Don’t judge me by the chilies I eat, or the spices I like, don’t judge me. Don’t judge me, don’t judge my food, don’t judge my heritage. We like what we […]
I haven’t had palm oil stew in such a long time – I think I forgot how easy it was to make – no stock required which reduces the cooking time by half. The meats used are often smoked or dried so that too contributes to the ease of prep. This is my dad’s ‘recipe’ […]
This post is prompted by me seeing green tatashe in the market and remember that they are the base for Ofada sauce. Quite simply, Ofada sauce is a green pepper stew base fried in epo gbigba, palm oil which has been bleached, and seasoned with iru. The common proteins associated with this are a variety […]
A big thank you to My Diasporan Kitchen, whose blog post was the perfect guide for this experiment. Here’s how to bleach palm oil: First, read the recipe on ‘how to’ very well. Though most Nigerians are conversant and confident with oil cooking, frying etc, it’s good to read the recipe, become familiar with the […]
Peppers are one of the most commonly preserved ingredients across Nigeria. Sun-dried, all sorts of peppers are available in super markets – whole, dried and also ground to what Nigerians call ‘dry pepper’. They go in spice blends, like yaji – a mix of defatted peanuts and spices, used in suya Here’s an attempt to […]
Hi. My name is Ozoz. I’m a Nigerian food explorer who’s on a quest – to find and share the sweet, sweet nectar that’s food