Now that mangoes are in season properly, we’re enjoying them in all sorts of ways, one of which is in sauces. This version features fresh mango flesh, tamarind ‘water’, cilantro – my favourite ever herb and mazarkwaila, sugar cane sugar! Now sugar cane is one of my favourite things ever and I’d never come across it […]
Kaya of things and Kayan Kanshi of things that smell good, nice. Of herbs and spices. I’m confronted with this name when I walk into a store for some Balangu. It reminds me in many ways of the tea masala mix I saw and bought in Nairobi – a fragrant mix of whole spices which […]
‘Kilishi’ is a northern Nigerian nut-seasoned sun-dried meat snack similar to beef jerky. It generally refers to beef, sheep or goat meat processed by dressing, slicing, sun drying, application of some slurry of spices and roasting over coals/ fire. Birthplace Kano city it seems but of course also found in other northern states and places. History […]
What you do when you ferry leftovers across skies, from Abuja to Lagos – you make Jollof. You add some yaji and kulikuli to the mix. You also treat the Balangu three ways: You attempt to make a floss of it, dambu – attempt she says because laziness and smoke and we did have small chunks […]
The North of Nigeria has a long tradition of excellence in meat preparation and handling from Tsire to Dambu, Kilishi to Balangu, these specialty meats delight palates the world over particularly in Nigeria. My reading and research suggests that Suya is the umbrella name for many meat products from the north of Nigeria though in […]
My fascination for the Northern Nigerian Kitchen – The Arewa Kitchen is growing more and more and more. This week, I’d love to share snippets of what I’ve learnt about the cuisine. I will share drinks, meats and more but first up, breads! I love the ‘breads’ and pancakes. My first introduction was Masa, then […]
Because sometimes, in spite of your best intentions, things will fail spectacularly. All that’s important then is what you learn and what you decide to do with it. The idea for a goat confit came after a discussion with a friend, B. I don’t remember the exacts but I know I was at a store […]
I’ve been cooking a lot of Acha – everyone in mia familia loves it, picky eaters included. It is a great grain – available, inexpensive, gluten free, easy to cook and super nutritious. I mean, how good can it get? Here are a few ways we’ve had it – as porridge (least favourite but take 2 on […]
Cooking the Acha was easier than I thought and damn tasty too. My plan was to make a couscouseque warm salad with fruits and nuts and lots of colourful vegetables. To serve, here are two options Option 1, with a soft-boiled egg With soft boiled eggs: spoon fonio into a bowl (with some zobo-pepper sauce) […]
