As eid is fast approaching, Newsclick Nigeria brings you some eid inspired meals for you and your family to try out.
Pepper Soup
Many times, people enjoy pepper soup for its sweetness and its zesty outburst of flavors, without having half the knowledge about its numerous medicinal benefits derived from the spices, but with the full knowledge of the magical curativeness immersed in every simmer of the pepper soup, it could make for one of the best African dishes ever and possibly the most sought after.
- 2 pounds chicken / catfish / cow leg / offal
- 4 seeds Calabash nutmeg (Ehiri/Ehuru) (ground)
- 3 cubes Maggi seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 medium onions
- 2 tablespoons Scent leaves (dry uziza leaves)
- Red chili pepper / habanero pepper (to taste)
- Salt (to taste)
- 1/2 gallon water (approximately)
- Wash and prepare chicken, goat meat, offal or cow leg.
- On medium-high heat, place meat into the pot and add water to reach the level of the contents of the pot.
- Add Maggi cubes, garlic, onions, and ground spices.
- Add chili or habanero peppers and salt to taste.
- Cook on medium-high heat till meat is tender and cooked through.
- Add scent leaves for a sweet aroma and flavouring. Cook for two minutes, and the peppersoup is ready.
Peppered Ponmo
Peppered Ponmo is a Nigerian delicacy prepared by frying onions and pepper together with cooked, often rolled Cow skin.
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
- Cow skin (200g)
- 3 Large Onions
- 5 balls of pepper
- Vegetable oil
- Seasoning cubes
- Salt
DIRECTIONS FOR HOW TO MAKE NIGERIAN PEPPERED KPOMO (PONMO)
Funny enough, this is one of the simplest recipes you will find here. It’s one of those “4 ingredient recipes” you can knock off easily anytime, and all it takes is 5 steps:
Step 1: Scrape the dirt off the back of the Ponmo, wash it and chop it into smaller pieces.
Step 2: Pour water into a pot (just about 50cl) and add salt, seasoning cubes, chopped pepper and sliced Onions. Boil till Ponmo is tender to your liking.
Step 3: Sieve the water away and keep the Kpomo aside.
Step 4: Take a frying pan and pour some Vegetable oil inside. Once hot, pour sliced Onions and chopped pepper and stir.
Step 5: Add the Ponmo and stir all together for just 2 minutes. You can sprinkle some salt or Seasoning powder in the frying mixture for extra taste.
Jollof Rice Cooked with Coconut Milk
Ingredients
| long grained rice (basmati / jasmine) | 4 cups | |
| (400 ml) can coconut milk | 1 | |
| chicken bouillon cubes | 2 | |
| red bell peppers (de-seeded and sliced) | 3 | |
| Roma tomatoes (roughly chopped) | 4 | |
| small red onion (peeled and roughly chopped) | 1 | |
| coconut oil / red palm oil | ½ cup | |
| butter | 1 tbsp. | |
| tomato paste | 2 tbsp. | |
| clove garlic (finely chopped) | 1 | |
| curry powder | 2 tsp. | |
| dried thyme | 1 tsp. | |
| bay leaf | 1 | |
| red pepper flakes | 1 tsp. | |
| Scotch Bonnet peppers (de-seeded and sliced) | 1-2 | |
| Freshly chopped cilantro leaves (garnish) | ||
| Salt | ||
| Black pepper | ||
| Water |
Jollof Rice Coconut Milk is a one-pot rice dish. It is popular in many West African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, and Senegal. This dish originated during the Jollof Empire and this is where it gets its name. There are many variations of this dish, depending on the region and availability of ingredients. Jollof Rice can be made with meat such as chicken or beef, but can also be prepared with seasonal vegetables. Some variations of Jollof Rice contain seafood such as crayfish and prawns.
One unique version of Jollof Rice is prepared using coconut milk. This adds a certain sweetness to the dish and enhances the flavors of the other vegetables and spices. Traditionally, fresh coconut milk was extracted from the flesh of dried coconuts, but canned coconut milk is now a worthy substitute in modern Jollof Rice recipes. Coconut Jollof Rice is typically prepared for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, and Christmas feasts. It is usually paired with fried plantains and other meat or seafood dishes.
Directions for Preparing Jollof Rice Coconut Milk
- Soak the rice in cold water for ten (0:10) minutes, then drain.
- Rinse the rice in clean water, drain, and then set aside.
- Blend the tomatoes, onion, and red bell pepper slices with 3/4 cup of water, then set aside.
- Heat the coconut or red palm oil in a large saucepan.
- Add the garlic to the pan, together with the pureed tomato and onion mixture.
- Sauté this together for about five (0:05) minutes.
- Crumble the bouillon cubes and stir this into the pan.
- Add the bay leaf, pepper flakes, Scotch Bonnet peppers, tomato paste, dried thyme, and curry powder.
- Season with salt and black pepper.
- Stir and cook for five (0:05) minutes, allowing the flavors to marry.
- Pour in the coconut milk, stir well and allow to cook for an additional five (0:05) minutes.
- Add the rinsed rice to the pan.
- Mix well, then cover the pan and reduce the heat.
- Cook for twenty (0:20) minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary.
- When the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, turn off the heat.
- Stir in the butter and allow the rice to remain for ten (0:10) minutes in the covered pan.
- Remove the lid and garnish the rice with chopped cilantro leaves.
- Serve the Jollof Rice with a meat dish and fried plantains.