Jollof Rice, v1.0

Since there are many different versions of Jollof Rice, I named it version 1.0!

Ingredients:
Rice - four or five cups (for a serving of 3 adults)
Vegetable Oil - about 4l, which is two tablespoonfuls
Salt
Sliced Onions.
Sliced Tomatoes.
Shredded pepper.
Tomato puree, three tablespoon scoops.
A tablespoon scoop of butter/margarine.
Two Knou cubes (you can use any seasoning of your choice).

Procedure:
Step 1: Pour the oil into the selected pot. Add the butter. When the combination is hot, sprinkle a little salt and add some sliced onions.

Step 2: Add the shredded pepper and stir for a few seconds. Add the tomato puree. Stir.

Step 3: Add the seasoning and stir until fried. Add the jug of hot water and stir to ensure that the combination evens out smoothly. Wait a few minutes for the combination to heat up, stirring constantly.

Step 4: Wash the starch out of the rice (simple effective procedure to eliminate the perboiling step. Add salt to the dry unwashed rice, and add three tablespoonfuls of water.Rub the salt into the rice for three minutes. Rinse away the starch.

Step 5: Add the rice to the combination. Cover the pot and wait for the rice to get soft. Always check constantly - remember you used hot water to speed up the cooking time. If the rice isn't soft and all the water is gone (which is preferable to having too much water, as you cannot sieve it out), add little quantity of water.

Step 6: When the rice is almost done, add the sliced tomatoes, and remaining slice onions to steam and cover the pot.

Step 7: After three minutes (or less, depending on how crunchy and fresh you want the tomatoes and onions to be), stir the rice to ensure that no part is lacking in the condiment.

Serve with Chicken or Fish...Enjoy!

Rice

Right now i am wondering how this happened - how I could forget about rice, a staple food in my country for this long! Rice is a daily item on everyone's menu in Nigeria, and we have so many recipes, and even so many different ways of cooking the same dish, you'll be amazed- i was once told that there are seven different ways of cooking jollof rice! Seven! I know only two!
There are some dishes that are common - jollof rice, fried rice, rice and stew, etc, while there are some that are unique - coconut rice, green rice, etc. There is also our very own native rice - ofada rice, which is the first choice at parties these days.
Let's begin the rice journey!

Soups

Nigeria is known for the strong aroma from our cooking, and every child that grew up in the country can actually tell which soup is cooking just from the smell. Its not that there is any strong spice like garlic that has a distinctive smell anyone can name, its more like a scent composition - the combination of several ingredients produces a distinctive smell.
All parts of the country have their special soup. The Calabar people and some Ibos will even tell you that there is a difference between a 'soup' and a 'stew'. And the method of cooking differs with every community that you meet.
I shall keep saying it, we are really rich!
This is a call out to everyone - send your soup recipes NOW! Eery soup that is truly Nigerian will do!

Name: Yamarita

I am currently working on a project with a bank, and like all banks, they love to do things with style. We are given tea and coffee in the morning, then our orders are collected for lunch. It was after the second day that I discovered Yamarita.



Yamarita is a variation of yam that is very simple to prepare, and can be eaten with any sauce. Here is a quick recipe that I was able to procure from a chef:

Ingredients:
African Yam - 0.5kg (for a serving of 3 adults)
Palm oil - about 2ml, which is one tablespoonful
Salt to taste
Three medium sized eggs
Chopped onions
Fresh, tomatoes, chopped.
Fresh pepper, chopped.
tomato puree, small quantity.

Procedure:
Step 1: Peel the yam tuber. Cut it up into giant chip sizes (like potato chips for a giant).

Step 2: Rinse the pieces twice and put in a pot. Pour water and boil until tender.

Step 3: When tender, drain in a cullender, and blot away any drops from the pieces.

Step 4: Get a bowl and break the eggs into it, and whip them up untl frothy.

Step 5: Add a bit of salt to the whipped egg, and place in a wider bowl. Now dip each chip of the yam in the egg mixture and roll it until it is covered completely by the egg mixture.

Step 6: Place a frying pan on low heat and add vegetable oil. Fry the yam chips, turning them when the egg is fried solid, and ensuring that it does not burn.

Step 7: Remove the fried yam pieces from the oil.

Step 8: Mix the tomato puree, chopped onions, chopped pepper, chopped tomatoes in a bowl.

Step 9: Use a spoon to gather any wayward bits of fried egg that might remain in the hot oil. Add the tomato mixture to the oil, and stir fry until tender.

Step 10: Add salt to taste. Add powder pepper to taste as well.

Serving: Place the fried yam chips in a platter. Place the tomato sauce in a bowl.

Eat!

Name: Yam Delicacy

I find that I admire LYDIA .E. EKE lot when it comes to food. She goes out of her way to get these recipes that are so precise, you would think they were Chocolate pudding recipes from Scotland. Here is another one from her and she calls it Yam Delicacy, stating that it tastes best if you use the new yam.

Ingredients:
African Yam - 0.5kg (for a serving of 3 adults)
Palm oil - about 2ml, which is one tablespoonful
Smoked Fish - 20g, which could be either one big one, or 2 small ones
Cray fish - grinded (on ground?), 3/4 cups
Dried cod fish - (or, as we call it here, stockfish), 400g
One Onion bulb
Fresh/dry hot peppers, Jamaican/African, 2g
2 teaspoonfuls of Black pepper
Five fresh leaves of Uziza leaves
4g of ginger or 2 teaspoonfuls of ginger powder
Salt to taste

Procedure
Step 1 - Slice the yam tuber, and peel the slices. Make sure the slices are not more than two inces thick. Wash the peeled slices. Peel and slice the onion as well. Set both aside.

Step 2 - Pound the crayfish and the hot peppers in a mortar, or blend them together, until pasty.

Step 3 - Cut the dry cod fish into several pieces (usually done by the seller as it is hard and a saw is needed). Split the smoked fish into large chunks and wah in hot water to remove sand and dirt.

Step 4 - Cook the chunks of dry cod in a large pot with two cups of water and half a teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoonfuls of black pepper. Cook until the dry cod is soft (It is usually very hard and might take a few minutes).

Step 5 - Add the crayfish paste, and two cups of water. Stir. Add the onion slices and the smoked fish chunks, then the ginger, and the uziza leaves. Stir.

Step 6 - Add the yam slices, the palm oil, and two more cups of water. Cook until the yam is done (as in cooked).

Step 7 - Use a ladle or seive to remove the cooked yam slices and the cod fish.

Serving: Serve the yam slice (3 per person) and cod fish (2 per person) seperately from the soup.

Eat!