How to cook Nigerian Moi Moi

Moi Moi (also Moin Moin) is a great dish accessory in Nigeria. It is commonly seen accompanying Jollof Rice, Fried Rice, Fried Plantain, Custard, Akamu (Pap, Ogi) etc. It can even be eaten alone as a snack with a soft drink to wash it down.

How to Cook Nigerian Moi Moi with Foil Bags [Video]

How to Cook Nigerian Moi Moi with Leaves [Video]

Due to its popularity, Moi Moi is often served in parties, dinners and other special occasions.

Ingredients

Beans (Brown/Black eyed) - 3 cigar cups | approx. 750g Bone Marrow / Eggs (3 pcs) / Corned beef (optional) Vegetable Oil - 3 cooking spoons Tatashe (or tinned tomato puree in the absence of this) Crayfish (1 handful) Fresh Pepper (If the tatashe is not hot enough) Onions – 3 medium sized bulbs Nutmeg (1 pc or 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg) Salt to taste Seasoning – 3 Maggi/Knorr cubes

Containers

Aluminium foil or Plastic Bowls or Uma Leaves (Thaumatococcus Daniellii)

Tools I used

Cooker: Buy it in USA | in UK Deep Pot: Buy it in USA | in UK Spatula: Buy it in USA | in UK Chopping board: Buy it in USA | in UK Blender: Buy it in USA | in UK

Knives: Buy it in USA | in UK

Before you cook Moi Moi

About three hours before cooking the moi moi, soak and wash the beans to remove the coat. When the entire coat has been removed, place the beans in a bowl and pour enough water to cover it. Leave to soak for three hours. This is so that the best consistency will be achieved when you blend the beans.

It is advisable to use one of eggs, bone marrow or corned beef, not the three at the same time. If you will use eggs, cook till hard boiled, cut into small pieces and set aside. If you prefer bone marrow, cook it with salt and Maggi / Knorr cubes. If it is corned beef you will go for, open the can and separate the beef into small lumps.

Now go ahead and prepare the moi moi containers.

Next ...

Wash the tatashe, onions, nutmeg, red pepper, crayfish and set aside. Ensure to remove the tatashe seeds as they have a tendency to give meals a bitter taste.

Now that the beans is soaked (the bean seed is tender when you pinch it), it is time to blend it. It is very important that you use a very good blender for this purpose. The taste and feel of your Moi Moi depends so much on the consistency of the blend. If in doubt, put a small quantity of bean seeds in your home blender and grind to the best of its ability using as small quantity of water as possible. Feel the resulting paste with your fingers and if you notice any tiny pieces at all, then the blender is not good for Moi Moi. At this time, you may consider using the commercial heavy duty mills at your local market if you are in Nigeria. Yes, you have your health and hygiene concerns but most of the mill operators actually keep their mills clean. And they let you bring your own water and containers. So there you go!

Cooking Directions

1. Blend the beans, tatashe, onions, crayfish, pepper and nutmeg together and put in a big enough bowl.

2. Prepare about half a litre of warm water. This will be used in mixing the moi moi. You do not want to use hot water for this purpose as it may cause the mix to be lumpy.

3. Slowly add the warm water and stir the mixture at the same time. When you have achieved medium consistency, add salt to taste, 3 cooking spoons of vegetable oil, bone marrow stock (if this is what you have chosen to add to your moi moi) and Maggi / Knorr cubes.

4. Stir the mixture very well and start putting the mix in your choice of containers by following the details at How to Use the Moi Moi Containers. Now is the time to add one egg piece per bowl/ aluminium foil/ uma wrap. The corned beef pieces should be added this way too if chosen.

Note: Moi Moi is one of the Nigerian food recipes that is prepared cold. All the mixing and adding of ingredients is done off the stove. That is to say, once you start cooking, there is no going back! You cannot decide to add more salt or seasoning or a new ingredient later. So getting it right at the mixing stage is very important.

5. Pad the base of a big pot and set the moi moi containers in the pot, add a small quantity of boiling water and start cooking.

6. Add as small quantity of water as possible at a time while cooking the Moi Moi as detailed in preparation and use of moi moi containers so that the moi moi will not become watery when done. This is the case especially when using aluminium foil or uma leaves.

7. The length of time you will cook your Moi Moi depends on the quantity and the Moi Moi container you used.

The Moi Moi that gets done quickest is the one wrapped in Uma or Banana leaves, followed by Moi Moi wrapped in aluminum foils then the one that takes the most time is Moi Moi cooked in aluminium or plastic plates.

But whatever Moi Moi container you use, it is advisable to cook your Moi Moi for at least 1 hour, before checking it. Confirm that it is done by putting a knife through it, if the knife is stained with Moi Moi paste, then the Moi Moi is not done, but if the knife just has a slight smear of Moi Moi, then it's done. Also, when you cut through the Moi Moi, the insides will be set and not watery.

If you are cooking a few wraps of Moi Moi in a small pot on high heat, then it will only take about 45 minutes to get done while when you are cooking a large pot of Moi Moi, it will definitely take more than one hour.

Serve with chilled fruit juice, or coconut juice.

The Nigerian Fried Rice must be the best thing that happened to birthday parties, weddings, street parties, picnics, special events and occassions.

How to Cook Nigerian Fried Rice [Video]

It is so easy to prepare that you can even cook it every weekend in your own home. Eat the Nigerian Fried Rice recipe with Moi Moi, Nigerian Salad or Coleslaw and you will

feel like you are in paradise island. Are you ready to go on the Nigerian fried rice cooking spree?

Ingredients

Rice - 3 cigar cups | 750g Vegetable Oil Chicken (whole chicken or chicken drumsticks) Cow Liver (100g) Plain Yellow Curry Powder – no chilli (1 tablespoon) Green Beans (a handful) 5 medium sized carrots Salt (to taste) Onions - 3 medium sized bulbs Seasoning – 3 Maggi/Knorr cubes & Thyme (1 teaspoon)

Tools I used

Cooker: Buy it in USA | in UK Oven for grilling the chicken: Buy it in USA | in UK Deep Pot: Buy it in USA | in UK Spatula: Buy it in USA | in UK Frying pan: Buy it in USA | in UK Sieve Chopping board: Buy it in USA | in UK Knives: Buy it in USA | in UK

Note: I do not use woks because it is a lot of work taking care of them. If the carbon steel is not rusting, the bamboo handles are coming apart so I prefer my frying pans for fried rice :)

Before you cook the Fried Rice

Cut the vegetables

Wash all the vegetables to be used in cooking the fried rice. Scrape and cut the carrots into tiny cubes. Cut the green beans into small pieces of about 0.7cm long. Soak these 2 vegetables separately in hot water for about 5 minutes and drain. Cut 1 bulb of onion. Set all these aside.

Prepare the liver and chicken

1. Cook the cow liver till done and cut into tiny pieces. To save time and energy, you can cook the liver with the chicken as I did in the video below.

2. Cut the whole chicken into pieces and cook with the seasoning and 2 bulbs of onions (chopped). When done, grill in an oven or deepfry with vegetable oil. This gives it a golden look which is more presentable especially when you are entertaining guests. Read how to season and grill chicken for more details.

Cooking Directions

1. Parboil the rice using the method detailed in parboiling rice for cooking fried rice. Wash the parboiled rice and put in a sieve so all the water drains out.

2. Pour the chicken stock into a sieve to remove all traces of onions, thyme etc used in cooking the chicken. Pour the stock into a pot and set to boil. Once the water boils, add the parboiled rice. Also, add 1 tablespoon of plain yellow curry powder, then add salt to taste. The plain yellow curry powder is merely for colouring so should not contain chilli.

3. The water level should be slightly less than the level of the rice; at most it should be at the same level as the rice. This is to ensure that all the water dries up by the time the rice is cooked. Stir the contents; cover the pot and leave to cook on medium heat. This way the rice does not burn before the water dries up.

4. Once the water has dried up, check that the rice is cooked. Perfect fried rice is one that the grains are separated from one another, resistant to the bite but not hard.

5. Now, transfer the rice to a casserole dish or another pot to help cool it down quickly. This is essential to keep the grains from sticking to each other. If left in the original hot pot, the rice will continue to cook and eventually stick together.

At this point, it is advisable to divide the vegetables into say 4, 5 or even 6 equal parts. The rice will be fried in batches so this number depends on the quantity of rice you can comfortably fry in the pan or pot. Also, divide the cooked rice and the diced cow liver into the same number of equal parts.

6. Now pour a small amount of vegetable oil into a frying pan. This quantity of oil should be such that it would be absorbed by 1 part of the cooked rice and 1 part each of the vegetables. When the oil is hot, add 1 part of diced onions and stir for 10 seconds, followed by 1 part of diced cow liver, one part each of the diced vegetables, then 1 part of cooked rice.

7. Add more salt if necessary. More curry powder may also be added at this stage if you need to touch up on the colour. Stir till all the ingredients have mixed well and transfer to a dry pot. Repeat this for the remaining batches of the ingredients.

The fried rice is ready. Serve with fried chicken. You can add coleslaw, Moi Moi or Nigerian salad.

VERY IMPORTANT:

Nigerian Fried Rice can go bad very quickly. You can avoid this by spreading it to cool it then refrigerate immediately. Otherwise, eat it once you finish preparing it. If you want to serve it at a party, please cook it very close to the serving time, if not, it will go bad! If refrigerated, it can last for 48 hours without loosing its taste.

How to cook Unripe Plantain Porridge

This fast and easy recipe is cooked with unripe plantains which are known to be rich in iron.

How to Make Unripe Plantain Porridge [Video]

Ingredients

Unripe Plantain: 3 pieces Pumpkin Leaves: a big bunch (or Frozen Spinach: 10 cubes) Fish (Titus): 1 medium size Ground Crayfish: 1-2 teaspoons Onions: 2 medium sized bulbs Red palm Oil: enough to colour the meal Pepper and Salt: to taste Seasoning: 2 big stock cubes

Before you cook Unripe Plantain Porridge

Wash, peel and cut up the plantain as shown. Wash and cut the pumpkin leaves into small pieces. If you will be using frozen spinach,

allow to thaw just enough to let you cut them into tiny pieces. Leave to thaw completely and squeeze out the extra water using a sieve.

Wash, cut and remove the fish intestines. Cut up the onions into tiny pieces. Grind the crayfish and pepper. Now you are ready to cook the unripe plantain porridge.

Cooking Directions

1. Put the cut plantain in a pot. Add the chopped onions, stock cubes, fish, ground crayfish and pepper.

2. Add water to the same level as the contents of the pot.

3. Cook till the contents start to boil. Add the red palm oil and salt to taste. Cover the pot and keep cooking till done. This is when the plantain is tender to touch.

4. Add the vegetables, cover the pot and leave to simmer.

5. Once it has heated up, stir, turn off the heat and leave to stand for at least five minutes before serving.

Serve with chilled soft drink or fruit juice.

How to cook Bitterleaf Soup

Bitterleaf soup is one of the most traditional soups in Nigeria. It is native to the Igbos of Eastern Nigeria.

How to Cook Bitter Leaf Soup [Video]

The name is quite misleading in that a well prepared Bitterleaf Soup should not have even the faintest

bitterness. This is achieved by washing and squeezing the bitter leaves (and changing the water at intervals) till all traces of bitterness has been washed off.

One will be deemed a bad cook if his/her Bitterleaf soup tastes bitter!

Ingredients

Washed and squeezed bitterleaf - A handful Cocoyam – 10 small corms Red Palm Oil – 2 cooking spoons (You may need a bit more)

Assorted Beef – Includes best cut, shaki (cow tripe) Assorted Fish – Dry Fish and Stock Fish Pepper, Salt and Ground Crayfish (to taste) Seasoning – 3 Maggi or Knorr cubes Traditional Seasoning: Iru or Ogiri - 1 teaspoon

Before you cook Bitterleaf Soup

1. Make sure that the bitter leaves are well washed, such that there is no trace of bitterness left. If not, wash and squeeze it more. If the bitterness cannot be completely washed off (which is usually the case with most washed bitter leaves sold in the market), boil it for about 15 minutes and wash in cold water.

2. Wash and cook the cocoyam till soft. Remove the peels and use a mortar and pestle to pound the corms to a smooth paste (as shown).

Cooking Directions

1. Boil the shaki (cow tripe), stock fish and dry fish in 1 litre of water till they are well done. First sign of a done shaki is that the cuts will start curling on itself.

2. Wash the beef and add to the pot of shaki etc. and continue cooking. When the meat is done, add 3 cubes of Maggi/Knorr and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add pepper, ground crayfish, bitter leaves (if they have not been parboiled) and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the cocoyam paste (in small lumps) and the palm oil then go to step 5.

Note: If the bitter leaves were parboiled to remove the bitterness, then for step 3; add pepper, ground crayfish, the cocoyam paste (in small lumps), the bitter leaves and the palm oil. In other words, add all the ingredients at this stage.

4. Cover the pot and leave to cook on high heat till all the cocoyam lumps have dissolved. You can add more water if you feel that the soup is too thick.

5. Add salt to taste and the soup is ready

Nigerian Ekpang NkwukwoSubmitted By Emem Adeyemi

Ekpang Nkwukwo is one of the Nigerian cocoyam recipes made with grated cocoyam, water yam, cocoyam leaves and periwinkle. It is a Nigerian food recipe native to the South South Eastern Nigeria – the Cross River and Akwa Ibom States of Nigeria. Ekpang Nkwukwo is so special that it is reserved for special occasions.

Ingredients for Ekpang Nkwukwo

Cocoyam – 500g Water Yam – 250g (Optional) Vegetable – A big bunch of tender Cocoyam leaves | Pumpkin leaves & Scent

leaves (Nchanwu) Palm oil – a generous quantity Crayfish – a handful 3 medium bulb Onions Periwinkles – 2 milk cups | 300g if shelled or 500g of unshelled periwinkle Assorted Beef & Offal Dried fish Snail (Optional) Pepper & Salt to taste Seasoning – 2 Maggi / Knorr cubes

Before you cook the Nigerian Ekpang Nkwukwo

1. Wash and cook the beef, offals and dry fish with the seasoning till done.2. Peel, wash and grate the cocoyam and water yam (if you will be using this). Mix

the two together and set aside.

3. Prepare the pot by rubbing a generous amount of red palm oil on the insides of the pot.

4. Wash the tender cocoyam leaves and tear into medium pieces. If using pumpkin leaves, wash these and set aside.

5. Blend the pepper and crayfish and set aside.

6. Wash the shelled or unshelled periwinkles.

7. Wash and slice the scent leaves into tiny pieces.

Cooking directions for Nigerian Ekpang Nkwukwo

1. If you will be using unshelled periwinkles, place these at the base of the well-oiled pot.

2. Scoop a small quantity of the grated cocoyam into a piece of the torn cocoyam leaf or one pumpkin leaf. Wrap the cocoyam with the leaf and place in the pot. Repeat this procedure till all the grated cocoyam (and water yam) is exhausted.

3. Add the pepper, crayfish, onions, shelled periwinkles and assorted beef.

4. Add hot water to the level of the pot contents and set to cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

5. Now, add the scent leaves, a generous amount of palm oil and salt to taste. Cook for more 5 minutes and the Ekpang Nkwukwo is done.

6. Leave to stand for 5 minutes and stir.

That's how to cook the Nigerian Ekpang Nkwukwo.

How to cook Nigerian Ewa Agoyin

Ewa Agoyin simply means plain boiled beans eaten with a pepper sauce.

How to make Ewa Agoyin [Video]

This is the perfect way for those who do not like beans to enjoy it. I can tell you that yours truly does not like beans yet, I can never get enough of Ewa Agoyin. I don't know what it is about it that makes it taste so good. Maybe it is the caramelized onions. All I know is that I enjoy eating it.

Ingredients

Beans (Brown/Black eyed): 2 cigar cups | approx. 500g Red Palm Oil: about 5 cooking spoons Plum Tomatoes: 5 big ones Crayfish (a handful) Onions – 1 big bulb Pepper & Salt to taste Seasoning – 2 Maggi/Knorr cubes

Before you cook Ewa Agoyin

1. Soak the beans in cold water for 5 hours. Boil the beans for 5 minutes and discard the water. Rinse the beans in cold water and set aside. This soaking and pre-cooking process will help reduce the gas inducing elements. For more on that visit: How to Reduce Beans Bloating.

2. Chop the onions, grind the crayfish and pound the pepper.

3. Blend the tomatoes and boil the tomato puree till all the water has dried from it.

4. Pre-cook the diced onions without any added water. The aim is to get it to caramelize a bit so that it will take less time to fully caramelize during frying.

Cooking Directions

1. Cook the beans till done. For Ewa Agoyin, the beans needs to be very soft.

Note: If you have a pressure cooker, beans is one of the staple foods you will want to use it for. It considerably reduces the cooking time.

2. When the beans is done, add salt, leave to dry up all the water and set aside.3. To cook the Agoyin, pour the palm oil into a separate dry pot. Allow to heat up

till the oil starts smoking and the red colour changes to clear. It is better to do this at medium heat so that the oil does not get too hot too quickly. Remember to turn off your smoke alarm before doing this. :)

To keep the smoke to a minimum and still have the traditional taste of Ewa Agoyin, I use vegetable oil and when it is very hot, I add a small amount of palm oil. Watch the video below to see how I do that.

4. Now add the precooked onions and stir continuously till the onions is fully caramelized. It should be very dark in colour.

5. Add the parboiled tomato puree and stir continuously till you cannot tell the difference between the tomatoes and onions.

6. Add the pepper, crayfish, stock cubes and salt to taste. You can also add a little water at this point if your want.

7. Stir very well and bring to the boil. The Ewa Agoyin is ready!

Serve by dishing the beans into a plate and scooping some Agoyin stew on it. Ewa Agoyin can be eaten on its own, with soft and stretchy bread (known as Ewa ati Bread) or with fried plantains.

The Nigerian Vegetable Soup Edikang IkongSubmitted By Benedicta Ezekwe

The Nigerian Edikang Ikong soup or simply Vegetable Soup is native to the Efiks, people from Akwa Ibom and Cross River states of Nigeria. It is a general notion that the Edikang Ikong soup is very nutritious and this is very much so. Prepared with a generous quantity of pumpkin leaves and water leaves, this Nigerian soup recipe is nourishing in every sense of the word.

It is common for Nigerians to request this soup recipe after a bout of illness as we trust it to replenish whatever was lost during the sickness. But you do not need to be in a state of convalescence to enjoy this wholesome Nigerian food recipe.

Ingredients for Edikang Ikong Soup

Pumpkin leaves | a big bunch Water leaves | even bigger bunch Beef, Kanda and Dry fish Pepper, Salt and ground Crayfish - to taste Palm oil | 30cl (about 1 small bottle of Coca Cola) Periwinkle - 1 cup Onions - 2 medium bulbs Seasoning – 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes

Before you cook the Edikaikong Soup

1. Wash and cut the pumpkin and water leaves into tiny pieces. Put them in separate sieves to drain out all the water as much as possible.

2. Cut the Kanda into small pieces. Cook the beef, kanda and the dry fish with the 2 bulbs of diced onions and the 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes with as little quantity of water as possible.

Cooking Directions

1. When the meat is done, add a generous amount of palm oil, the crayfish and pepper and leave to boil for about 10 minutes. The palm oil serves as water in the Edikaikong soup. You should try as much as possible to make it the only liquid in the soup.

2. Add the periwinkle and water leaves and leave to cook for another 5 minutes. You may have to cook for less time at this stage so that the water leaves are not over-cooked.

3. Now add the pumpkin leaves and salt to taste. Stir the contents of the pot very well and turn off the heat. Cover the pot and leave to stand for about 5 minutes.

4. The Edikang Ikong soup is ready to be served with Garri (Eba), Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.

igerian Afang Soup Recipe (Okazi Soup) Submitted By Benedicta Ezekwe

The Nigerian Afang Soup, like the Edikang Ikong soup, is native to the Efiks, people of Akwa Ibom and Cross River states of Nigeria but enjoyed by all Nigerians. It is also very nutritious as the soup consists mainly of vegetables. Afang Soup is prepared with a generous quantity of Water leaves and the wild herbal Okazi leaves.

The Nigerian Afang Soup should not be confused with the Okazi Soup native to the people of Imo and Abia States of Nigeria. While Afang soup is prepared with basically vegetables, Okazi Soup is simply the Nigerian Egusi Soup cooked with thinly sliced Okazi leaves.

Ingredients for Afang Soup

Okazi leaves | 4 handfuls of sliced Okazi Water leaves | 1kg or a big bunch Palm oil | 30cl (about 1 small bottle of Coca Cola) Periwinkle - 1 cup Onions | 2 medium bulbs Beef, Kanda and Dry fish Pepper, Salt and Crayfish - to taste Stock Cubes (Maggi or Knorr) | 3 cubes

Before you cook the Nigerian Afang Soup

1. Wash, drain and slice the water leaves into tiny pieces. Grind or pound the sliced Okazi leaves. In Nigerian markets, the sellers of these sliced Okazi leaves have a machine for grinding it. You can also grind it with your blender with a small quantity of water. Take a look at the ground Okazi leaves.

2. Grind your pepper and crayfish and cut the onions into tiny pieces.

Cooking Directions

1. Boil the beef and Kanda with the diced onions and stock cubes in a very small quantity of water. When done, add the dry fish and cook for about 5 more minutes.

2. Now add the palm oil, crayfish and pepper. Once it starts boiling, add the water leaves and periwinkle. When the water leaves have softened and the water has dried up a bit, add the okazi leaves, salt to taste and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes. The Afang soup is ready!

3. Serve with Garri (Eba), Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.

How to cook Ora (Oha) Soup

Ora (Oha) soup is native to the South Eastern Nigeria. It is a very traditional soup similar to the bitterleaf soup but cooked with Ora leaves. Ora (Oha) Soup is special because the tender ora leaves used in preparing this soup recipe are seasonal unlike their bitterleaf counterpart which can be found all year round. Though it is only the vegetable that distinguishes the Ora Soup and the

Bitterleaf Soup, they taste so different that it is hard to believe the difference just one ingredient can make in a recipe.

Ingredients for Ora (Oha) Soup

Vegetable - Ora leaves Cocoyam – 8 corms Red Palm Oil – 3 cooking spoons Assorted Beef – Includes best cut, shaki (cow tripe) Assorted Fish – Dry Fish and Stock Fish Chilli Pepper, Salt and Crayfish (to taste) Seasoning – 3 Maggi or Knorr cubes

Before you cook the Nigerian Ora Soup

1. Grind the crayfish and pepper and set aside.

2. Wash and boil the cocoyam corms till soft. Remove the peels and use a mortar and pestle to pound the corms to a smooth paste.

3. Using your fingers, cut the Ora (Oha) leaves into tiny pieces. This technique is to prevent the vegetable from becoming darker in colour. This happens when you cut the ora leaves with a knife.

Cooking Directions

1. Boil the shaki (cow tripe), stock fish and dry fish in 1 litre of water till they are well done. First sign of a done shaki is that the cuts will start curling on itself.

2. Wash the beef and add to the pot of shaki etc. and continue cooking. When the meat is done, add 3 cubes of Maggi/Knorr and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add the pepper and ground crayfish and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cocoyam paste in small lumps and then the palm oil.

4. Cover the pot and leave to cook on high heat till all the cocoyam lumps have dissolved. You can add more water if you feel that the soup is too thick.

5. Add the ora (oha) leaves and leave to cook for about 5 minutes.

6. Add salt to taste and the soup is ready to be served with Eba, Cassava Fufu, Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.

How to cook Nigerian Nsala Soup (White Soup)

Nsala soup or White Soup is a tasty, fast and easy soup recipe that has its origins in the riverine areas of Nigeria.

How to Cook Nsala Soup [Video]

Nsala Soup is perfect for a cold rainy day due to its spicy taste. Because it is so easy to prepare, you can count on it

to save the day when you run out on soup a few days before the big soup day ;)

Ingredients

Cat Fish: 4 one-inch thick pieces Fresh or dry Utazi Leaves (Gongronema latifolium) Thickener: Raw White Yam / Yam Powder / Potato Puree Habanero peppers : to taste Salt (to taste) Crayfish (a handful for 4 cuts of fish) Seasoning – 1 stock cube (Maggi / Knorr) and Ogiri Okpei / Iru (Nigerian

traditional seasoning)

Alternative Ingredients for Nsala Soup

You can use Conger Eel (Congrio in Spanish) instead of Cat fish. Buy the part towards the tail because the pieces you'll get from there are smaller and do not have large holes in them.

When using yam powder as thickener, mix the powder with hot water first to make a thick smooth paste (as if you are making pounded yam) before adding it to the soup. Adding the powder directly into the soup will make the soup mushy and you may end up with lumps.

In the absence of habanero pepper, you can use dry chilli pepper.

Utazi leaves do not have any good alternative. If you don't have it, no worries because it only adds a slightly bitter flavour to the soup.

Before you cook Nsala Soup

1. Cut the catfish into 1 inch thick cylindrical discs and remove the intestines. Place in bowl and pour very hot water on the fish. This process of pouring hot water on the fish toughens the skin of the fish so that the pieces do not disintegrate while cooking the soup. Leave for about 2 minutes and wash the fish with cold water. You should also wash off any slimy substance on the outer skin of the fish at this time.

2. Boil a few cubes of raw white yam. When soft, pound with a mortar and pestle till a smooth paste is formed, then set aside. You can substitute white yam with yam powder or potato puree for the thickening.

3. Wash and pound/blend the utazi leaves, the chilli pepper and the crayfish and set aside. Utazi is bitter in taste and only used for flavouring so one or two leaves should be enough especially when using the fresh leaves.

Cooking Directions

1. Place the catfish in a pot and pour enough water to cover the fish. Add the seasoning and cook till done. Feel free to add beef and dry fish to this soup recipe.

2. When the catfish is almost done, add the crayfish, pepper and utazi leaves blend. Also add the yam paste in small lumps and salt to taste.

Note: Catfish is what makes Nsala soup what it is, giving it the unique taste that it has so it is essential to this recipe. The only other fish that I have found to be close to Cat fish as regards to this recipe is Conger Eel.

3. Cover the pot and allow the contents to cook at high heat till all the yam paste have dissolved. While cooking, if you think that the yam paste will make the soup too thick, you can remove some that are yet to dissolve.

The Nigerian Nsala Soup is ready to be served with Eba (Garri), Semolina, Amala, Pounded Yam etc

How to cook Banga Soup (Ofe Akwu)

The Nigerian Banga Soup or Ofe Akwu is native to the Niger Delta and the South Eastern parts of Nigeria. In the Niger Delta areas, Banga soup is commonly eaten with various fufu recipes – Pounded Yam, Semolina, Garri and Cassava Fufu. In the South Eastern parts of Nigeria, Banga Soup is referred to as Ofe Akwu where Ofe means Soup / Stew and Akwu means palm fruit and is used

mainly as stew for the White Rice recipe.

The palm fruit oil extract used in cooking Banga Soup / Stew is quite different from the Palm Oil used in cooking Nigerian food recipes. Palm Oil is pure oil extracted from the palm fruit pulp at high temperatures while the palm fruit oil extract used for the Banga Soup is extracted at a very low temperature and is a mixture of oil and water. Palm fruit oil extracted for Banga Soup contains less saturated fat than palm oils.

Ingredients for Banga Soup

Palm Fruits – 1 kg Beef Dry Fish Vegetable – Scent Leaves Onions – 2 medium bulbs Crayfish – A handful | 2 tablespoons of ground Crayfish Salt and Chilli Pepper – to taste Seasoning – 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes

Before you cook the Nigerian Banga Soup

1. Wash and cook the palm fruits till done. A good sign that the palm fruit is done is that you will notice cracks on the flesh of the fruits. The palm fruit is also soft to the bite.

2. Pound the palm fruits in a mortar with a pestle till all the flesh are separated from the nut to form a smooth pulp as shown in the photo.

3. Cook the beef and the dry fish with 1 bulb of diced onion and the 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes till done.

4. While you have the beef cooking, extract the palm fruit oil from the palm fruit pulp by washing it in warm water. Small quantities of the palm fruit pulp should be washed in as small quantity of warm water as possible. If the palm fruit oil starts getting too thick, pour the liquid into another container through a sieve to prevent the palm fruit fibres from entering into the oil that will be used in cooking the Banga Soup. Repeat this till all the palm fruit pulp has been washed.

A more efficient extraction process can be achieved by separating the palm nuts from the pulp before washing the pulp in warm water.

During the extraction process, if you think that there is still some oil on previously washed palm fruit pulp; re-wash these when you change the water before washing new palm fruit pulp.

Water should be used sparingly during the extraction process so that at the end, the extracted liquid will have the consistency of evaporated milk or tomato juice bearing in mind that you still have to add the beef stock.

5. Leave the extracted palm fruit oil to stand for some time then slowly pour this into the pot that will be used to cook the Banga Soup / Stew, taking care not to pour the tiny pieces of fibre that have settled at the bottom.

6. Wash and cut the scent leaves into tiny pieces. The scent leaves are what gives the Banga Soup its unique aroma and taste. If you are outside Nigeria, this may be hard to find, so you can use pumpkin leaves or any other vegetable in place of scent leaves.

7. Cut the remaining bulb of onion, grind the crayfish and pepper and set aside.

Cooking Directions

1. Set the pot of palm fruit oil on the stove and start cooking at high heat. Leave to boil till you notice come clear oil at the surface of the Banga Stew. If you think that the Banga Soup is watery, cook till the soup has thickened to the consistency you like for your stews.

2. Now, add the beef, dry fish and stock, the onions, crayfish and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add the scent leaves and salt to taste. Leave to cook for 2 mins. The Banga Soup is done. Serve with White Rice or use the Banga Soup to eat Garri, Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.

How to cook Banga Soup (Ofe Akwu)

The Nigerian Banga Soup or Ofe Akwu is native to the Niger Delta and the South Eastern parts of Nigeria. In the Niger Delta areas, Banga soup is commonly eaten with various fufu recipes – Pounded Yam, Semolina, Garri and Cassava Fufu. In the South Eastern parts of Nigeria, Banga Soup is referred to as Ofe Akwu where Ofe means Soup / Stew and Akwu means palm fruit and is used

mainly as stew for the White Rice recipe.

The palm fruit oil extract used in cooking Banga Soup / Stew is quite different from the Palm Oil used in cooking Nigerian food recipes. Palm Oil is pure oil extracted from the

palm fruit pulp at high temperatures while the palm fruit oil extract used for the Banga Soup is extracted at a very low temperature and is a mixture of oil and water. Palm fruit oil extracted for Banga Soup contains less saturated fat than palm oils.

Ingredients for Banga Soup

Palm Fruits – 1 kg Beef Dry Fish Vegetable – Scent Leaves Onions – 2 medium bulbs Crayfish – A handful | 2 tablespoons of ground Crayfish Salt and Chilli Pepper – to taste Seasoning – 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes

Before you cook the Nigerian Banga Soup

1. Wash and cook the palm fruits till done. A good sign that the palm fruit is done is that you will notice cracks on the flesh of the fruits. The palm fruit is also soft to the bite.

2. Pound the palm fruits in a mortar with a pestle till all the flesh are separated from the nut to form a smooth pulp as shown in the photo.

3. Cook the beef and the dry fish with 1 bulb of diced onion and the 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes till done.

4. While you have the beef cooking, extract the palm fruit oil from the palm fruit pulp by washing it in warm water. Small quantities of the palm fruit pulp should be washed in as small quantity of warm water as possible. If the palm fruit oil starts getting too thick, pour the liquid into another container through a sieve to prevent the palm fruit fibres from entering into the oil that will be used in cooking the Banga Soup. Repeat this till all the palm fruit pulp has been washed.

A more efficient extraction process can be achieved by separating the palm nuts from the pulp before washing the pulp in warm water.

During the extraction process, if you think that there is still some oil on previously washed palm fruit pulp; re-wash these when you change the water before washing new palm fruit pulp.

Water should be used sparingly during the extraction process so that at the end, the extracted liquid will have the consistency of evaporated milk or tomato juice bearing in mind that you still have to add the beef stock.

5. Leave the extracted palm fruit oil to stand for some time then slowly pour this into the pot that will be used to cook the Banga Soup / Stew, taking care not to pour the tiny pieces of fibre that have settled at the bottom.

6. Wash and cut the scent leaves into tiny pieces. The scent leaves are what gives the Banga Soup its unique aroma and taste. If you are outside Nigeria, this may be hard to find, so you can use pumpkin leaves or any other vegetable in place of scent leaves.

7. Cut the remaining bulb of onion, grind the crayfish and pepper and set aside.

Cooking Directions

1. Set the pot of palm fruit oil on the stove and start cooking at high heat. Leave to boil till you notice come clear oil at the surface of the Banga Stew. If you think that the Banga Soup is watery, cook till the soup has thickened to the consistency you like for your stews.

2. Now, add the beef, dry fish and stock, the onions, crayfish and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add the scent leaves and salt to taste. Leave to cook for 2 mins. The Banga Soup is done. Serve with White Rice or use the Banga Soup to eat Garri, Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.

Nigerian-style meat pie is regarded as the “cadillac” of snacks and holds its position as a favorite at every event.

Meat filling is the KEY to whether your meat pie will fly off the buffet table or if everyone will walk right past it.

Here’s how to prepare it in just one easy step or you can look through our photo slideshow.

Ingredients 2 diced Irish potatoes 2 Lbs of minced meat Chopped quarter onion 2 tablespoons of flour

2 whole tomatoes dash of dried pepper Bell pepper, Scotch bonnets (optional) Seasoning

Directions

learn to roll the dough in easy steps.

Quick Note: The eggs are NOT to be added to the dough mix. Save it till the very end to coat the edges of the dough and get it to stick together…also creates the golden-brown look

Ingredients 4 cups of Flour Tablespoonful of baking powder 500 grammes or 2 sticks of Margarine 2 eggs Pinch of Salt Teaspoonful Sugar(optional) 1 cup of ice cold water

Butter is NOT a substitute for margarine in this recipe. Use Margarine, not butter!

Directions1. Mix baking powder and salt into Flour. If you choose to add sugar, here’s where

you mix it in

PHOTOS: Meat pie Recipe – How To Make The Dough in Easy Steps

80%cook it

buy it (20%)

cook it (80%)

Ready in: 30 minutes | Serves: 8 | Review: Tasty ‘n’ Filling

The first part of making your meat pie is preparing the meat filling that goes inside the dough – Got it!

See: How to prepare Nigerian style meat pie filling

Now, learn to roll the dough in easy steps.

Quick Note: The eggs are NOT to be added to the dough mix. Save it till the very end to coat the edges of the dough and get it to stick together…also creates the golden-brown look

Ingredients 4 cups of Flour Tablespoonful of baking powder 500 grammes or 2 sticks of Margarine 2 eggs Pinch of Salt Teaspoonful Sugar(optional) 1 cup of ice cold water

Butter is NOT a substitute for margarine in this recipe. Use Margarine, not butter!

Directions1. Mix baking powder and salt into Flour. If you choose to add sugar, here’s where

you mix it in

Ewa Agoyin Lovers (how To prepare It) by labalaba(f): 6:07pm On Jun 03, 2011 Copied from ; http://www.9jafoodie.com/ewa-agoyin/

IngredientFor the beans:2 cups red beanssalt to tasteFor the sauce:1 large white onion (chopped)1 cup palm oil1tsp salt1 cube maggi1/4 cup dried blended crayfish2 large roma tomatoes4 habanero peppersanother half size medium onion

DirectionBeans:Add 4 cups of water to a pot, set on low heat.wash and add the beans.  leave on low heat for 2hr:30min or until the beans is very soft.Add salt to taste.

Sauce: (agoyin pepper)

In a blender, combine the roma tomatoes, habanero pepper and the half medium onion. CHOP. Set a medium sized pot on low heat, add the palm oilBleach the oil  for 6-7mins ( it might get smoky)Turn the heat to minimum, add the chopped onion, stir at interval until the onion is caramelized (the colour should be black).  This takes about 30-40mins.Add in the blender chopped pepper, cook for about 15mins.Add in the crayfish, salt and magi.Taste for seasoningCook on medium heat for another 10mins.Serve on beans

Copied from ;http://www.9jafoodie.com/ewa-agoyin/