Cooking Recipes Articel

Staple foods in the Nigerian diet include: peanuts or ground-nuts
yams
cassava
fish
rice
okra
bananas
guinea corn and millet
and palm nuts.

They are usually starchy and Nigerians love to cook with a lot of pepper and spices especially those from the southwest and southeast. This recipe uses all local ingredients to create a tasty and nourishing meal.

These recipes celebrate the traditional food of Nigeria:-

Egusi Soup

Ground Egusi seeds give this soup a unique color and flavour. If you can't find Egusi seeds in your store
you can substitute pumpkin seeds or Pepitas which you can find in Latin American grocery stores. This soup is thickened with flour ground from seeds of gourds
melons
pumpkins
and squashes
many of which are native to Africa.


200 g Water Leaves
50 g Egusi seeds
1 teaspoon Dry Ground Red Pepper
1 medium Onion
100ml Palm Oil
10g Dry Ground Crayfish
120g Fresh Tomatoes
100ml Water
Salt & Pepper to taste

Wash the water leaves well in clean
fresh water.
Liquidise or pulverise the onions
tomatoes and egusi seeds until smooth.
Add the dry ground pepper and fry in palm oil for five minutes.
Add the water
put the lid on and cook for five minutes.
Now add the water leaves
replace lid and cook for a further five minutes.
Finally
add the crayfish and seasoning
warming through well.

Serve with pounded yam or cooked rice and a meat stew
to provide protein.
Alternatively
serve with eba
fufu or any suitable carbohydrate.

Curried Okra

This traditional recipe for Okra (or Okro
as it is called in some part of Nigeria) is one that can be created anywhere in the world
as it uses ingredients that can be found in any local store.

The word “okra” comes from Africa and means "lady's fingers" in Igbo
one of the languages spoken in Nigeria. Although Okra originated from Africa
it is now available around the world. Some people consider Okra alone is too gooey
but this tasty recipe makes good use of it's properties.

When buying fresh okra
look for young pods free of bruises
tender but not soft
and no more than 4 inches long.


500g Okra
2 Onions
180g Oil
3 cloves garlic
2 Tomatoes
2 teaspoons of curry powder
ฝ teaspoon of turmeric
Pinch of black pepper
ฝ teaspoon of salt

Slice one of the onions finely and fry gently in oil.
Liquidise the remaining onion
tomatoes and garlic.
Add this puree to the frying onions.
Add the spices.
Fry gently for five minutes.
Top and tail the okra and cut into pieces about 1cm thick.
Add to the spices and cook gently for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with cooked rice and a meat stew
for protein.

With thanks to the Nigerian people who made us so welcome in their homes
gave us a love of traditional Nigerian food and who helped us overcome our fear of eating with our fingers!

For further tips and ideas for cooking great and traditional food from around the world
visit Nigerian Recipes & Food

This article was submitted by Jen Carter
owner of the World Food & Recipes website.