OFE OWERRI

INGREDIENTS:
Meat, okazi leaves, cocoyam paste, pumpkin leaves seasoning, dried fish, stock fish, snails, pepper, water, salt and palm oil.

HOW TO PREPARE IT

Cook the cocoyam and pound with mortar to form a paste. Cook the meat with seasoning and pepper for 10 minutes, and then add the stock fish and cook for another 40 minutes add palm oil, dried fish, snails, pepper and cocoyam paste. Then cook for 10 minutes.

Stir and add the shredded pumpkin leaves, okazi leaves and seasonings, allow to simmer for 5 minutes, then you can serves with fufu, eba or pounded yam.

EGUSI SOUP

This humble melon seed soup is quite popular all over Nigeria. Although cooking techniques and the kind of vegetables used might differ from region to region it is still absolutely delicious when properly cooked.

Ingredients 500g / llb bushmeat
500g / lib stockfish (pre-soaked)
500g / lib smoked dry fish
250g / 8oz oxtail
250g / 8oz cleaned tripe
2pt stock or water
300g /100z ground egusi
500g lib fresh tomatoes
250g / 8oz fresh peppers
2 large onion
teaspoons iru
4 tablespoon ground crayfish
500g.llb fresh bitter leaf (washed to remove excessive bitterness)
salt to taste
 

How to prepare  

Wash thoroughly the beef oxtail bushmeat, cow beef, or chicken and tripe. Place a large pot with sliced onions season with salt add a drop of water or stock and cook for 30 minutes or until tender.


Add the washed dry fish and stockfish and cook for another 10 minutes. When cooked mm into a large clean bowl. Wipe out the pot and place back on heat. Pour the oil into the pot when hot add the ground tomatoes onions and peppers and fry for 10 minutes. Add the ground egusi and iru stirring thoroughly and cook for 5 minutes. 


Finally add cooked meats washed bitter leaf Crayfish and the stock. Allow to boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Serve hot with any of the stiff puddings.


VARIATIONS
Others green leaf vegetables such as fresh waterleaf Soko Tete. Igbo, ugu and Uzaza leaves can also be used on their own or as a combination m the above recipe using the same methods.
 

AFANG SOUP

INGREDIENTS
- Afang leaves (Sliced and pounded/ground)
- Waterleaf
- Snail
- Beef
- Cow leg
- Dry fish (medium)
- Ground crayfish (a generous amount)
- Periwinkle (shelled)
- 8 fresh yellow peppers
- Palm oil
- Medium Stockfish (cut into size)
- Stockfish head
- 4 Cubed seasoning
- Onions
- salt to taste

What you do
Chicken or fresh fish cannot used because of their strong flavour which might interfere with that of the Afang leaves which is the main ingredient of this soup. If you must use chicken or fresh fish then serve it separately.

Wash the meat, put in a pot and add 2 yellow peppers, onions, salt and 2 cubed seasonings and then cook until tender. Wash the stockfish, cook until tender. Wash snail with lime or alum.

Wash the meat, put in a pot and add 2 yellow peppers, onions, salt and 2 cubed seasonings and then cook until tender. Wash the stockfish, cook until tender. Wash snail with lime or alum.

Wash the dry fish with salt and leave to soak in hot water for 5-8 minutes to remove the sand. Wash the water leaf, slice and then wash again to remove the slime.

In a bigger pot add the cooked meat, stockfish, snail, periwinkle, washed dry fish, ground crayfish, ground yellow pepper, salt and cubed seasoning. Add very little water if necessary. Cook for about 10minutes. Add the washed waterleaf and cook for 5minutes, add palm oil and boil for 2minutes.

Finally add the pounded or ground afang leaves, cook for 2minutes, give it a good stir and allow to simmer. Remove from heat (do not overcook the afang). Serve with pounded yam, fufu or eba.

Isi-Ewu (spiced goat head)

Cooked and served in a thick spicy sauce, this is an authentic Eastern Nigeria dish (igbo). A real favorite amongst Nigerians and certainty not for tfie faint-hearted as the heat from the large amount of chillies used is enough to take your palate off. I have reduced the amount of chilli used in this recipe, but it can be increased to suit one's taste. A superb dish to be enjoyed on its own.

INGREDIENT :
1goat (head and legs only)
3 fresh chilli pepper
8 fresh tomatoes
2 onions
1 clove garlic
I teaspoon pepper soup seasoning
3tbs. lemon juice
4tbs. tomato puree
200ml/7floz palm-oil
1lt/2pints stock or water
I onion (sliced)
chopped wild mini
salt to taste

Singe the hairs off the head  of goat, scrape and singe alternatively until all the hairs are off. Burn the hoofs and horns, peel them off with the point of a heavy knife. Wash the head thoroughly with soap and a rough sponge or brush. Chop into small pieces with a sharp cleaver and rinse thoroughly, discarding the brains. Pour over the lemon juice and mix in. Leave to rest for 15 minutes. Grind together the onions, garlic, chillies and tomatoes. Place meat in a large pot, add the sliced onions, chillies, stock and seasonings. Cover and cook for 45 minutes. Check and stir frequently. Finally add the grind chillies, tomatoes, onions, palm-oil and wild mint. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes until meat is tender. Adjust seasoning and serve in traditional earthenware dishes garnish with chopped mint.

Fresh Fish PepperSoup

Ingredients

Fresh Fish ( cat fish)

Lime/ lemon juice
4 habanero or depending how spicy you like it
one medium size onion chopped
water/ stock
salt
Pepper soup spices already ground
one knorr cube


Preparation

clean your fish with the lemon/ lime juice to remove any slime, make sure it is cut into nice pieces. Salt the fish and lay it to the side

Blend your habanero peppers

Turn on the cooker

Add a little groundnut oil to your stock pot 

Add your water based on the quantity of fish

Add your chopped onions 

Add your habanero and pepper soup mix.
Boil for like 15mins

Add spices then boil a little

Add your seasoned fish cover and let simmer for 5 mins

Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly

Bring the put down if the taste is OK and you are done

chicken sharwama special

Chicken:

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 16 (3-inch) strips Sauce:

1/2 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt (such as Fage)

2 tablespoons tahini

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 garlic clove, mincedRemaining ingredients:

Cooking spray

4 (6-inch) pitas

1 cup chopped romaine lettuce

8 (1/4-inch-thick) tomato slices

 

HOW TO PREPARE

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. To prepare chicken, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.

3. To prepare sauce, combine yogurt and next 4 ingredients (through 1 garlic clove), stirring with a whisk.

4. Thread 2 chicken strips onto each of 8 (12-inch) skewers. Place kebabs on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done.

5. Place pitas on grill rack; grill 1 minute on each side or until lightly toasted. Place 1 pita on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1/4 cup lettuce and 2 tomato slices. Top each serving with 4 chicken pieces; drizzle each serving with 2 tablespoons sauce.

MAKE SURE YOU TRY IT!!! ALWAYS GIVE YOURSELF, FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES A TREAT.......

Palatable Fried Rice

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)

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

Cook the cow liver till done and cut into tiny pieces.
Cut the whole chicken into pieces and cook with 1 teaspoon of thyme and 2 bulbs of chopped onions. When the chicken is almost done, add 3 cubes of Maggi / Knorr seasoning and a small amount of salt. Remember to add water sparingly. Cook till tender. Put the pieces of chicken in a sieve to drain, then fry with vegetable oil. It can also be grilled in an oven till it is golden. This gives it a glowing look which is more presentable especially when you are entertaining guests.

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.

REFERENCE:

All Nigerian Food Recipes