Wikipedia says ‘Short ribs are a cut of beef taken from the brisket, chuck, plate, or rib areas of beef cattle. They consist of a short portion of the rib bone, which is overlain by meat which varies in thickness.’ For the longest of times, I’ve been planning a cook with Malt – since 2011. Five years on, I’ve braised pork leg in some and made a bacon jam. Here, I present to you, feef short ribs spiced with yaji, popularly used in Nigerian suya. Get your Beef Short Ribs Season with yaji Brown in a lightly greased pan. Note...
![Garri-crusted [Chicken] Scotch Eggs](https://www.kitchenbutterfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/29832212555_18bfa6a9fd_c.jpg "Garri-crusted [Chicken] Scotch Eggs")
Garri-crusted [Chicken] Scotch Eggs
When your goals are soft, jellied yolks, you know you’ve hit a home run with this chicken mince scotch eggs, coated in a yaji/suya-spice, garri crust. Garri makes a delightful crust instead of breadcrumbs. Gluten-free too. These gladdened my eyes and heart. To make this, you’ll need to: 1. Boil your eggs to perfection. And perfection is whatever you like. I cooked my eggs in boiled, simmering water for ten minutes then dunked in cold water immediately after. They were perfectly medium-boiled. I try to pull them out a minute or two to the texture I like because I think they’ll...
1934 – 2016: On My Cookshelf/ A Short History of Nigerian Cookbooks
There is a certain depth of documentation that comes with Independence, allows records be collected and preserved for posterity. This Independence week, I’m showing ‘liberty’ and freedom in food :). I’ve always found cookbooks fascinating. I’m the sort of person whose bedtime reading is ingredient lists and recipe directions – a veritable feast as I lay my head down to sleep. Every year I resolve in January, on journeys and trips, in bookstores…not to buy another cookbook. And every single time, every damn time, I say ‘Sod it, you only live once – buy this book.’ It’s why I have...
Ram-stuffed Plantains
This year I begged for got some ram as a gift after the Sallah break. Thank you SS. So, what did I do with it? Well, I braised it – in a flavourful mix till it was tender. Then I took it out of the braising liquid, let it cool down before shredding. The shredded bits went in a pan – a bit dambun style – where they browned a bit with yaji, cilantro stalks and spring onions. Out of the pan it came and unto a plate to cool. What next I hear you ask and why the ‘plenty work’...
On Independence: Freedom & Cultural Exchange
October 1st is in a few days – I have a plan 🙂 – to share musings and recipes and what Freedom means to me. Independence makes me think of Freedom..and food and Acaraje – the Nigerian export to Brazil via slave trade. Freedom is Cultural Exchange…in which some changes become celebrations of shared history. Cultures and traditions transcend time and place as a result of access: geography and information. The movement of people, ideas and techniques cause cultures to diffuse, spread. In some places they replace, become tradition, in others they are rejected outright and in some they are adapted in...
How To Make ‘Great’ Nigerian Stock
Stock – the bedrock of Jollof Rice, of Fried Rice, Stews and more is easy to make. Nigerian stock differs from ‘Western’ style stocks because of the ingredients used. Your average Nigerian stock has red onions, fresh ginger and garlic, curry powder and dried thyme and more. In Europe, America and some other parts of the world, stock is commonly made with white onions, carrots and celery. The resulting flavours are different from our Nigerian-style stock. The key though, and one thing both focus on is flavour. My best pot has a bit of heat from the chilies, ginger and...
Independence Day | Around Nigeria & The New Nigerian Kitchen in 57 Bites
Fifty seven bites. 57. One to celebrate each year of Independence and in no particular order.The recipes, ideas, concepts embrace and celebrate Nigeria, old and new. I find my love for this country on its plate. I say you have to do whatever you need to find your connection with this place…it’s always going to be home to me, always and forever. Lord, give our country peace, love and sense! Click on each one to open up the story, history, recipe. Akara (Prawn) Toast Peanutty Akara Acaraje Bean & Corn Salad Frejon Jollof Beans Snail salad Sauteed snails Snail Jollof...
Kitchen Hacks: Buying Chicken Backs for Stock
I consider stock – vegetable, chicken or beef – essential to my kitchen. From Jollof Rice to Fried, stews and other sauces, it changes the game infusing it with rich flavour and essence. When I was younger, I used stock that was the result of cooking meat which would accompany the meal. Over time, that changed because of time and the desire to explore. I didn’t have the time or energy to cook up a pot of meat just for the stock and also because I began to serve grilled, stir-fried meats, seafood and other proteins on the side. But, still...
Tanzanian Street Food, a la Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam
Street food is a window into the soul of any nation’s cuisine. What foods are battered, sold wrapped in paper and bags are often the bedrock upon which a great proportion of the population eat and feast. I find it one way to discover a city, to embrace it, to discover all the ways in which we’re similar, or ways I wish we were. In Nigeria, some of our most popular street food are fried – Akara, fritters of beans and puff puff, fried dough. It’s fascinating to see the same sort of foods on the streets of cities and places unfamiliar. A kind...