Harmattan – the season of dry and dusty, of conjunctivitis and freshly pressed mosquitoes (is this just at my end?) Of orange fruit and vegetables – carrots, agbalumo, oranges and tangerines. This season past, I noticed a few things – the regular fruits on display, but a little bit more as well…Read on. In Season:...
The last cups are poured slowly, sipped with dreamy eyes. Eyes glazed with memories of mornings and glasses of juice – mostly orange, memories of heat at noon and refreshing drinks, full of muddled mint and ice. Holidays for me are mostly about the unhurried cups of tea at dawn, the fresh juices I down...
This has to be one of my greatest discoveries of 2014 – that frying boiled yam, cut up in little chunks is an adventure in textures. A couple of months ago, my children wanted fried yam but what we had was boiled. So I lightly greased a pan, seasoned the yam and fried away. The results? Golden...
I’m a yam fan – fried, pounded, roasted – all and every way. I’m a fan of waffles. Plain, with squash and pumpkin, many ways. And then…why not Yam waffles. 1. one/ a good way to use leftover boiled yam (another is in a hash…awesome) 2. an exploration
This is a simple salad with a bit of sweet and spice. Follow the ‘guidelines’ in ‘The Art of The Savoury Salad‘, I went about building.
Many years ago, I ‘met’ Dambu Nama and was fascinated. A cross between looking like steel wool shreds and candy floss, this ‘meat snack’ looked wispy but gained ground and flesh as you chewed. After wondering for ages, I learnt the mystery behind its texture. Typically, the meat is cooked in a mixture of spices...
Two years ago, I discovered Oven-baked Jollof rice. I’d made rice a few times in a clay pot in the oven but it never occured to me that Jollof could be made in the same way. It was at my sister-in-laws in Mount Vernon, New York where I saw her cook up the most amazing...
…or Twelve (12) Shades of Jollof Rice. Jollof rice in the simplest terms is a beacon for West African cuisine. Texturally, it’s half way between the separate, not mushy grains of a pilaf and the ‘sauced’ creaminess of a risotto. Here are twelve (12) takes from classic to not. 1. Classic: Nigeria & Along the coast of West Africa...
Updated in August 2024 with additional links and photos —– Jollof rice: rice perfection that’s half way between the dryness of pilaf and the creaminess of risotto. ‘Traditionally’, Jollof rice is made with specific ingredients which define the perfect pot – from long-grain rice to scotch bonnet peppers and Maggi cubes for seasoning. I present – the Jollof essentials. Truth too is,...