Okra & Cocoa

Tropical Juice Fest

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000

In most parts of Africa, we are so blessed with fruits and vegetables that juicing seems to be the most natural thing for us to do. Natural fruit juices are good healthwise because of the high concentration of nutrients, vitamins and enzymes you receive. Making my own juice allows me to avoid the colorants, added sugar, preservatives that seem to populate the supermarket shelves.

This entry will be less of a recipe and more of a general guideline. The reason is that fresh fruits are natural products with taste and sugar levels that vary depending on the time of year or even where they are cultivated. Therefore you have to follow your own taste buds in order to make your own mixtures. I often start my day with a carrot-orange cocktail with a dash of ginger. I also often make a natural hibiscus flower drink called bissap or zobo. I wrote about it a while back.

Note: I used both a juicer and a blender.

Clockwise, the juices above are:

Pineapple Juice
Color: Creamy yellow
Ingredient: Large pineapple about 1.85 kg
Water added: none
Method: Peel, cut into medium size pieces and feed to juicer
Yield: 800 ml

Papaya Juice
Color: Deep Orange
Ingredient: A medium papaya about 1.1 kg
Water added: 300 ml
Method: Peel, remove seeds in the middle, cut into medium size pieces and put in blender until smooth
Yield: 1.25 l

Orange juice
Color: Frothy yellow
Ingredient: 10 small oranges
Water added: none
Method: Peel, cut into medium size pieces and feed to juicer
Yield: 550 ml

Carrot Juice
Color: Light orange
Ingredient: 12 medium carrots, about 1 kg.
Water added: none
Method: Peel, cut into medium size pieces and feed to juicer
Yield: 400 ml

Ginger Juice (not pictured)
Color: Light yellow
Ingredient: 100 g fresh ginger roots
Water added: 1.5 l
Method: Peel, cut into medium size pieces and blend.
Pour in a bowl and let it sit for 30 mns then sieve carefully with a muslin cloth (best) or regular sieve.
Yield: 1.5 l
Note: Peeling ginger is tedious but be patient and peel it cleanly. Otherwise the skin will make your juice bitter.

Mixing fruit cocktails
After all that hard work peeling, cutting, juicing, blending, now comes the fun part where I encourage you to come up with your own concoctions.
I recommend using 2 parts of the sweeter juice to 1 part of the less sweet one. I found that the following mixtures tasted good from the juices I made today:

Ginger Pineapple
Carrot Pineapple
Carrot Orange Ginger
Pineapple Orange Papaya

The iterations are many so juice away and do share any good mixtures you happen upon in your explorations. I can't wait for mango season!

Banga Soup (Palm Kernel Soup)

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:45:00 +0000

Warning to the brave: Banga Soup is labor intensive. It takes time as well.
But as Nigella says: "So much is written about the need to reduce the time we must spend cooking, it's as if the kitchen were a hateful place, almost an unsafe place, and that it must be only reasonable for us to avoid it. I love food, I adore being in the kitchen and I am happy to cook"

There is no avoiding the kitchen if you wish to make banga soup from scratch. The many steps required to wash, boil and pound the palm kernels are just the beginning. One must then separate the flesh of the kernel from the oil, make stock before arriving at the final destination: the amalgamation into a delicious soup.

Palm Kernels

Banga Soup
For 4 to 6 people
Ingredients

400 g fresh palm kernels
300 g beef cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1 large piece of dry fish
2 peppers, chopped finely
Salt to taste

Preparation

Stock

Bring 1 l of water to boil
Add meat, dry fish, pepper and salt
Lower the fire and simmer for about 30 mns (more if the meat you are using is tough)

Banga

Bring 1.5 l of water to boil
Add the palm kernels and boil until soft. This will take 1 hr or more.
Sieve the kernels, throw the water away
Put kernels in a mortar and mash with a pestle in a circular motion to remove skin and flesh from the kernels. A large black seed will emerge as the flesh and fibers give way. This can be a bit of a workout.
Remove the kernel mush from the mortar and add boiling water ( about 1 l). Use a wooden spoon to stir vigorously to make sure all flesh and oil have mixed with the water. Once it cools down a bit, you can use your hand. It is more effective.
Sieve the mixture into a pot and put the liquid back on the stove. Bring to boil, lower heat to simmer for 20 mns.
At this point, you can take this sauce and pour directly into the pot holding the stock. Simmer for 10 mns until the soup thickens a bit OR
Alternate ending: You can reduce the fat content by removing the oil that has gathered atop your sauce. You have just made some palm oil, by the way. The remaining sauce can now be poured into the stock pot. Simmer for 10 mns until the soup thickens a bit.
Ready to serve with the swallow of your choice.

Note: Palm Kernel photo from istockphoto.

The Joy of Cooking

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:50:00 +0000

My husband gave me an article to read recently. It came from Fast Company and was about finding one’s passion. The author actually coined her own word “thrillprint” to describe the activity that completely engages and thrills you. The one that grabs you, takes you in, immerses you in a flow and makes time seize to exist.

For me, I immediately thought “reading and writing”. Reading has always been my favorite activity from the time I can remember anything. Writing became a life saver in my early twenties when expressing myself on paper seemed the only way to make sense of the chaos in my mind. So I was not surprised by those two whispered choices.

But then The Voice added “cooking”. I did not grow up cooking. Which is very surprising given that my mother is very old school and insisted that my two older sisters be fully trained in the domestic arts. But when I came along, she just let me be and being for me was being ensconced somewhere in the house with my nose in a book. But maybe as a young widow with 5 children to raise, she just did not have the energy to make and enforce the rules and blueprints of her early forays into parenthood.

I only started cooking in earnest when I left my home in Dakar at age 15 to study in the United States. Besides fried eggs, I had 2 recipes in my repertoire: chicken yassa with onions, lemon and olives and lamb curry. These 2 dishes I learned probably by osmosis from the few times I may have made my way into the chicken while class was in session. However, mastery only came through years of trial and error. Throughout college, I stuck to my 2 go-to dishes, continuously experimenting on my willing friends. When I landed in New York as an investment banking analyst, I worked such long hours that oatmeal was all I “cooked” and even then, the microwave did all the heavy lifting.

It was not until I moved to Washington D.C to a more “normal” job and a larger apartment that I started experimenting with food again. With time, I started to realize that I really could not feel time pass when I was absorbed in creating or following a recipe. The joy of cooking was finally revealing itself to me. My love for the kitchen grew with year after year of botched recipes and small culinary triumphs.

Today I like to think of myself as an enthusiastic home cook with a long list of dishes, tricks and techniques to learn on the road to mastery. What I have learned along the way is that passion need not be loud, either in its revelation or in its expression. I find that over the years mine just slowly lay one on top of the other, like sediments gradually building a mountain. So if your passion does not reveal itself with thunderous confidence, keep tinkering, keep trying new things and keep listening for the whisper.

A field of greens from Nigeria

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:12:00 +0000

When I moved to Nigeria, I discovered a wealth of greens used in everyday foods. Suddenly it became much easier to increase one's intake of green leafy vegetables. In addition to being good for you, they often were the critical element in bringing together many recipes that would otherwise simply be a mixture of boiled meat with a splash of palm oil.
I describe below three of my favorites (until I discover more):

Ugu Leaf grows on the vine of a gourd plant cultivated in Eastern Nigeria. It is mild in flavor which is why it features in many recipes such as Egusi soup or Vegetable Soup. Apparently, goats and sheep love it, so it must be good!

Water Leaf is more temperamental. It quickly becomes slimy when overcooked, makes itself scarce in the cooking process as it releases water. However, it is an essential part of a good Vegetable soup. It brings a tangy flavor and lots of personality to the soup. Water leaf is originally from South America. It is high in vitamin C, E and Beta carotene.

Affan Leaf mixed with water leaf makes a mean Affan soup. It is nutty in flavor but remains subtle. It's incorporated in its dry form.

I am still discovering the many uses of these greens so I am eager to receive from you any additional information. I will be posting recipes using the greens soon. For some of you, I am certain that these greens grow in your neck of the woods as well. Do leave me comments with their local name and how you use them.

Note: Some information sourced from Practically Edible.

Enchanted wedding in South Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:20:00 +0000

Our wedding was small (150 guests) and absolutely beautiful, everything I had hoped for. We got married outside Johannesburg, South Africa at Toadbury Hall, a lovely country hotel with an expansive lake and welcoming greens. We had family and friends from Nigeria, Senegal, France, USA. They all descended on Johannesburg to wrap their arms around us as we said I do.

We got engaged in January 2007 and quickly decided on a May date to avoid 9 to 12 months of endless planning. I always thought I would work with a wedding planner but when the time came, I felt inspired to tackle it all on my own. So inspired in fact that I designed and made our wedding invitations, even worked with a seamstress to come up with the simple silk dress I wore. I felt very sure about my creative choices and made them rather quickly.

The dinner reception menu was traditional European fare (choice between lamb and salmon) beautifully executed by the chef at Toadbury. The highlight of the meal though, was the three-tiered chocolate and truffle cake designed by Vicky Crease.

I discovered Vicky's work in 2004 while strolling through the annual home decor and food show called Rooms on View. I called on her to do a birthday cake for my husband the following year and it was memorable. For the wedding, I did not consider anyone else so she created the dreamy chocolate creation above in our wedding colors, tamarind and orange.
If you are getting married in South Africa, I would recommend the following service providers as they were outstanding for me:

Recommended Service Providers:

Vicky Crease Catering: + 2711 880 5776 www.vickycrease.co.za
Munton Photography and Video: a uniquely creative husband and wife team who did an amazing job for us. +2711 315 0189 www.chrismunton.co.za
Atomic Orchid: a wonderful mother and son team who went beyond the call of duty to provide us with outstanding service. They did flowers, table settings and decorations. Call Colin at +2782 843 9057.

Photos courtesy of C. Munton Photography

Welcome back ...to me

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:51:00 +0000

Photo courtesy of Chris Munton Photography.

I haven't posted in so long that I don't even know where to start. I won't bore you with excuses about how busy life has been but I will share the wonderful events that have graced my life in the past 18 months.

Since I last wrote, I have gotten married, moved 3 times (from South Africa to Nigeria, from Lagos to Abuja and within Abuja). I also had a baby, the happiest little girl on the planet, who has brought unfathomable joy to my hubby and me.

Motherhood threw me for a loop at first. I could not seem to figure out how to get all the things that needed to get done in a day done. I struggled to find a rhythm. From afar, I probably looked like the person on the dance floor who seems to be dancing to the lyrics, not the beat. Fortunately, now that my sweetheart is almost 5 months old, I think I am getting the hang of it and figuring out this newly and forever reconfigured life.

Fish and Shrimp Bobotie

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 19:20:00 +0000

As I mentioned in the last post, the Cellars Hohenort has 2 restaurants, The Greenhouse and The Cape Malay Restaurant. We did not get to try The Cape Malay Restaurant but I did purchase the hotel's very own cookbook simply called The Collection Cookbook.

It turns out that the Cellars Hohenort is a member of a family of lovely boutique hotels all nestled in different parts of the South African Cape. The family calls itself The Collection by Liz McGrath, hotelier extraordinaire. Ms McGrath runs 5 restaurants inside the Collection and decided to compile some of their recipes into The Collection Cookbook.

The fish bobotie was the first recipe I tried. Bobotie is a cornerstone of Cape Malay cuisine and is usually made with minced (ground) meat but the chef decided to try it with fish. In some ways, I simplified it, leaving out the garam masala and mint. In others, not. I added shrimp, replaced the recommended margarine by real butter and soaked the bread in milk instead of water and added a bit of heat with some red pepper.
It turned out beautifully: the fish and shrimp took in all the flavors, the bread got crunchy in some spots and remained soft in others. I think I may have added one more recipe to the quick meal, mix-all-and-pop-in-oven-so-you-can-go-do-something-else category.

The book is divided in 5 sections, one for each restaurant and includes beautiful photos and pared down text. It is a mixture of (mostly) European and South African cuisine. The back includes a "Basics"section explaining how to make pestos, vinaigrettes etc... Given how well the bobotie turned, I feel encouraged to try some of the other recipes.

Fish and Shrimp Bobotie

4 slices of bread
1/2 cup (125 ml) of milk
300 g hake steaks
200 g shrimp
A bunch of parsley
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
30 g of softened butter
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of pepper (cayenne or something hotter)
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 pinch of turmeric
1 small tomato, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 180º C (350º F).
Soak bread in milk for 5 to 10 mns
Steam the hake. This took about 3 mns in the microwave.
In 1 ovenproof dish, tear the bread into pieces, flake the fish and add all the remaining ingredients except the eggs
Bake until golden brown for about 30 mns
Remove and pour the eggs over the mixture and bake another 15 mns.
Ready

Cape Town Restaurant Tour Part III: In the Greenhouse

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:18:00 +0000

On Sunday, we drove 30 mns out of the city to the "country"to sample rural life in Constantia and spent one night at the Cellars Hohenort, a lovely hotel set in the middle of the winelands. It's small, beautiful, tranquil, perfect for a romantic weekend. The hotel was nicely restored and boasts many modern amenities but as usual, Sim and I focused on the restaurants and took walks in the magnificent gardens to help with digestion. We found the hotel through a web search and I have to admit, I was intrigued by why they would choose to highlight German Satellite Television as one of their services. I personally would have insisted on the French gardens but you may chalk that up to my bias in favor of our former masters. Hey, the French did bring some pretty great bread and cake to Senegal! And they let us eat it.

The Cellars Hohenort has 2 restaurants but we only got to sample the Greenhouse for dinner and we did share a truly memorable meal. It all started with great bread and butter (again, great restaurants tend to do humble items really well) and launched into the creamiest mushroom soup (without cream) for me and pan-fried foie gras with berry jam for Monsieur. I have to confess that I do not like foie gras. I am not sure why, it's not because I am pro-geese or anti-French, the concoction just doesn't speak to me.

We later had duck in ginger and honey and Oxtail roulade with what I call "magic" potatoes. Both the duck and the oxtail were incredibly tender and flavorful but I was most intrigued by the potatoes. The inside tasted like really smooth and buttery mashed potatoes but the outside was crispy as if fried. If you know how to make them like that, let me know.

As you would expect by now, we did order dessert: bay leaf-infused creme brulee with a pistachio wafer and some traditional malva pudding with white chocolate ice cream. As soon as I got home, I tried to replicate the malva and will tell you about that in the next post.

Overall, we had a great time at the Cellars Hohenort and can not wait to visit again and try the Cape Malay Restaurant.

Cape Town Restaurant Tour Part Deux: Dejeuner Au Jardin

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:41:00 +0000

La suite from previous post

Saturday was a most glorious day and after a quick breakfast, we headed out to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, situated on 528 hectares of land (the cultivated garden is only 36 hectares) and dedicated to growing indigenous South African plants.

We walked though the centennial camphor trees planted by the previous owner of the property the gardens sit on, Cecil Rhodes, that most voracious of real estate "investors". We eventually made our way to the top of the garden to admire the view and were greeted by some guinea fowl. That's not what we had for lunch though.

After our stroll through the gardens, we decided to drive to the Vineyard hotel, 5 mns away, to have lunch at one of their restaurants called Au Jardin, of course overlooking their magnificent garden.
Au Jardin
+2721 657 4500
http://www.vineyard.co.za/

We decided to order some classics to start. S and I believe that to do familiar dishes well is a sign of a good restaurant. When our Caesar salad with poached egg and anchovies served with cheese croutons arrived along with the avocado and shrimp cocktail, we knew we were in for a real treat.

I normally hate shrimp cocktail. The larva-sized shrimp smothered in mayonnaise with the sweetness provided by ketchup is usually hard to swallow. So I had to be assured that this would be special, the shrimp would be detectable. And special it was! There was just a thin veneer of mayo on the shrimp and you could really taste how fresh it was. It's avocado season here so that was a wonderful addition, not to mention the blini it came with. The salad also showed signs of restraint as it was not drenched in Caesar dressing. It was full of flavour, fresh, all around yummy.For main course, we had the absolute best Mozambican prawn in a curry and calamari with tomatoes, black olives and capers on focaccia. The curry was incredibly delicious without being heavy and overwhelming. S said the calamari tasted as if the chef invented tomato sauce. I knew what he meant as soon as I took a bite and felt the tanginess hit the back of my jaw.

For dessert, I ordered an orange souffle but ended up sharing Sim's pineapple and ginger pudding which was absolutely divine. It was gooey but every so often you'd bite into a tiny bit of fresh pineapple.We absolutely loved Au Jardin and can not wait to go back as soon as we get a chance.

Cape Town Restaurant Tour Part 1: Manolo

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:28:00 +0000

Eating our way through a long weekend in the Cape

Cape Town is often described as one of the most beautiful places on our continent, perhaps in the world. It also has a high concentration of great restaurants. My husband and I recently spent a long weekend there eating our way through a number of places. Some, we had heard and read about. Others, we happened upon.

We started our "tour"with dinner on Friday night at:

Manolo

30 Kloof Street

+2721 422-4747

http://www.manolo.co.za/

We had heard and read about a lot about Manolo as one of the hipper, cooler, etc...places. The restaurant is set in a beautifully restored house, age: 180 years; and boasts a renowned chef and nice staff members. We generally do enjoy the ambiance brought about by a beautiful decor and discrete music but ultimately, the proof is always in the pudding.

Because I ordered the ZAR200 (~US$27) 5 course meal, we ended up with 4 starters, some of which were quasi-repeats:

corn soup with prawn ice cream
line fish tempura with shiitake mushrooms with ginger and almond froth
glazed scallops with kingklip tempura with turnip puree and grapefruit froth
shiitake mushroom terrine with pea mousse and you guessed it! ginger froth

Do you detect a tiny bit of irritation in my tone? You are quite perceptive since this is what I would deem abuse of a technique en vogue (copycat or hommage to a great chef?). The corn soup was light and smooth, the mushroom terrine very flavorful, the scallop docile but the omnipresence of froth was sincerely annoying. In case, you believe that I am overreacting, let me jump to dessert where we had a pear mousse, light as a summer breeze, but accompanied by more froth. Surely, less would have been more. To re-balance the mood though, I do have to swear allegiance to my husband's dessert: the chocolate trio of chocolate fondant, chocolate ice cream and truffle. In that case, less would not have been more.

Before dessert was served, we did eat our main courses which were preceded by a guava gazpacho to clear our palate (of what exactly? Please send me the answer if you do know). This was some form of smoothie made with delicious, refreshing guava but I guess calling it smoothie would have taken away some of the panache so delicious gazpacho it is.

For main course, we had a most down-to-earth chicken with mashed potatoes and duck with risotto. Both were quite good but the chicken covered with cracked peppers beat the duck. The mashed potatoes had the richness of true comfort food and a great prelude to further comfort provided by the chocolate trio.

Overall, Manolo was a good start to our Cape Eating weekend but there was definitely more to come!

Fonde (Millet Porridge with Dried Fruit)

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:23:00 +0000

Fonde is one of my favorite porridges. I have had it for breakfast, as a snack or even for dinner sometimes when I am too tired to cook or had such a major lunch that dinner becomes an afterthought. It has a certain comfort food quality to it. Maybe soft and warm foods take us back to childhood. In my case, I think the texture mirrors that of one of my favorite foods as a baby: Cerelac, the original one, not all the ones with fancy flavors. I have to confess that I continued to eat Cerelac well into a certain age range that shall remain undisclosed.

Fonde is made from millet flour mixed with a bit of water and rolled into tiny granules by hand. God Bless our mothers who sat under mango trees rolling fonde or picking burnt grains from rice or doing one of the myriad processes in the African kitchen that take a lifetime. Nowadays, we thank those who saw and seized the opportunity to dry and package fonde granules. The dried granules keep very well, especially if you pop them in the freezer. I usually buy a bunch of bags when I travel to Dakar.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of fonde granules
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 liters of water
A handful of dried raisins and apricots or any other dried fruit available

Preparation

Bring water to a boil. Note: Bringing the water to a boil first is important here since the granules will dissolve into mush if the water is not at the right temperature.
Slowly add the granules while stirring. They will tend to stick to each other a little so keep stirring and separating.
Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 30 mns but do check in every few minutes as fonde requires a bit of supervision in order not to stick and/or dry out. Even though I have a certain amount of water in the recipe, please feel free to add a bit of water if it gets too thick while cooking.
It is cooked when the granules puff up (a bit like couscous does) and you obtain the porridge consistency you would seek in oatmeal.
Sprinkle the dried fruit on the hot porridge. The heat will soften them.
Serve warm.

Oxtail Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:23:00 +0000

Soup is a staple of cold evening menus but it is also a big part of life in hot climates. Hot and very spicy soup actually helps lower our body temperature by forcing the eater to sweat profusely. This may explain many Africans' love of spicy stews. This oxtail soup is quite simple (no hard-to find-ingredients) can be as spicy as you want it to be. This version is, I believe, moderately so. Enjoy!

Oxtail Soup

Ingredients

500 g of oxtail (or stewing beef)
1.5 liters (6 cups) of water
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 to 3 chilies
1 teaspoon of ground pepper
2 to 3 bay leaves
2 large carrots, peeled and cut in large chunks
2 medium potatoes, cut into quarters
Salt
1/2 cup of vermicelli or capellini broken into tiny pieces
2 to 3 coriander leaves for garnish

Preparation

Place oxtail and water into a large pan and bring to a boil
Mix onion, garlic, chilies and ground pepper into a paste
Add to boiling soup and salt to taste
Add bay leaves and reduce temperature to simmer, covered for 1 1/2 hours
Add carrots and potatoes and cook for 30 mns
Add vermicelli and cook for 10 mns
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Yassa (Chicken with Lemon and Onions)

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 14:39:00 +0000

Yassa is one of the more popular dishes out of Senegal. Probably because the ingredients are readily available in most places (no smelly-but-oh-so-yummy, difficult-to-get-by-customs ingredients!) and it can be assembled relatively quickly once you get the pieces in place (marinating the chicken beforehand).

One of its drawbacks, however, is the peeling and slicing of what will seem like a lifetime supply of onions. So I was very pleased to find a solution on page 16 of the newest addition to my cookbook collection: Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater. Clever, that British chap! See below.

Yassa
Serves 4

Ingredients

8 pieces of chicken (e.g. 4 thighs and 4 legs)
165 ml (2/3 cup) lemon juice ~2 to 3 lemons
85 ml (1/3 cup) lime juice ~2 to 3 limes
4 to 5 big onions
50 g of butter (~3 tablespoons)
1 liter (4 cups) of water
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced in thin rounds
1 small tomato, cut in 4
For seasoning: 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 2 to 3 chilies, salt and pepper
8 to 10 olives
Steamed white rice
Garnish: 1 lemon and/or 1 lime, sliced thinly

Preparation

Advance prep required: Add lemon and lime juice, a pinch of salt and pepper to the chicken. Cover and refrigerate. Marinating the chicken for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight, is critical. I have tried to cut corners and the result does show, especially on non-free range poultry.

Preheat oven to 200°C
Remove chicken from the fridge and let it return to room temperature (~30 mns)
Peel the onions and cut in half
Place onions in a baking/roasting dish and break pieces of butter on them
Add a pinch of salt and pepper
Roast until tender and soft (~30 mns). Turn halfway through roasting time when one side is brown. Note: Baking the onions is one way to avoid the river of tears that come from having to slice so many onions. The idea comes one of my cookbooks (Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater). He came up with this idea while trying to solve the tears problem inherent in making french onion soup.
When onions are ready, slice with fork and knife into small strips
Simultaneously (or before or after the onions roasting), remove chicken from marinade (save marinade) and grill the chicken. The goal here is to get nice browning. The chicken will be cooked again so no need for full cooking right now.
Warm up a large pot and add onions with remaining butter from roasting pan for 3 mns of additional caramelising
Add 1 liter of water to (dirty!) roasting pan, release whatever stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon and pour in the onion pot
Add the marinade you set aside earlier, the grilled chicken, the carrots and tomato
In mixer, combine elements for seasoning (see ingredients list) to make a paste and add to stew pot
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let it simmer for 30 to 45 mns (depending on toughness of chicken)
Add olives and season to taste: a bit of salt, a touch of lemon juice, etc...
Simmer for another 10 mns and serve with steamed white rice, with slices of lemon and/or lime for garnish

Tiebou Yap (Rice with lamb)

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:11:00 +0000

Tiebou Yap is very simply named for the 2 main ingredients: Tieb (rice in wolof) and Yap (Meat). It is a dish as fit for everyday dining as it is for special occasions. Many of my childhood food memories include this dish but one of the best incarnations I ever tasted was in boarding school. Shocking, I know! Boarding schools are not known for being centers of culinary excellence and mine wasn't 99% of the time. But once a year, we had a major pre-holiday celebration in early December that almost made up for the remaining days of below average fare. The school was and still is on the island of Goree (a UN World Heritage Site worth visiting) and on this occasion, the principal would bring in women from the island to cook this rice dish, the traditional way. They would set up huge iron pots outside the main kitchen and cook the rice for hours on a good old fire. The aroma would tease us for hours. The result always made us forget that the rest of the year, we lived on watery sauces and prison rice. It also convinced our parents that we were simply spoiled brats who complained about the everyday food for no reason!

Tiebou Yap
Serves 6

Ingredients- Rice Dish

1 kg of lamb (you can use beef as well), cut into large chunks, preferably with bone
1 to 2 pieces of yeet. Note: Yeet is the meat of a mollusk, fished, fermented and dried on the beaches all along the coast of Senegal. It is quite tough and requires a long cooking time which is why it is used in long simmering stews such as this one. It also has a strong and distinct smell and taste, which I adore but can be more of an acquired taste for some. It is not critical to this dish and therefore is optional.
250 ml (1 cup) of olive oil
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of ground chili
1 tablespoon of ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of salt
1 kg of long grain rice (I use jasmine rice)
1 can (~400g undrained) of mixed vegetables (you can use fresh vegetables and combine 200 g of finely diced carrots, corn and green beans)

Ingredients- Mustard Sauce

1 large onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, diced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
250 ml (1 cup) of water
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of salt, pepper and chili each
1 teaspoon of vinegar

Preparation- Rice Dish

Heat oil in a large pot. Make sure it is large enough to accommodate all the ingredients since this is a one-pot dish.
Add lamb and yeet and cook while stirring frequently until brown (~15mns).
In mixer, reduce onion, garlic, salt, chili and black pepper to a fine mixture.
Add to the pot and cook for about 10 mns.
Add 2 liters of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 1 1/2 hours. This cooking time can be reduced if you use chicken or more tender meat and no yeet. Adjust accordingly. Note: Given the amount of time this dish takes, you can do all the steps up to now the day before and cool and refrigerate or freeze the stew to be completed the following day or later.
Rinse the rice TWICE to remove some of the starch.
Cover and steam in microwave for 4 mns on high power.
Add steamed rice and vegetables to the pot. Reduce heat and cook covered for 20 mns. Note: Before adding the rice, please taste the stew and adjust spices as desired (a bit of salt, a bit of pepper). Also very importantly, make sure there is not too much water for the amount of rice. This can be judged visually with experience but to be safe, I always remove and set aside about 2 cups of liquid (500 ml). After adding the rice and cooking for 5 mns, you can decide to add the liquid back little by little as needed. The goal is cooked rice, not porridge. If you have liquid left aside, you can reduce it by bringing it to a boil in a small pan and serving it as a side gravy with the rice.

Preparation- Mustard Sauce

Heat oil in a small pan
Add onions and garlic and cook until soft and brown
Mix water and mustard and add to the pan
Bring to a boil and cook covered for 5 mns
Remove cover and cook for 10 mns until liquid is reduced to a gravy-like texture
Add salt, pepper, chili and vinegar and mix
Cook for 2 mns and remove from heat

Harira (Moroccan Lamb Soup)

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:01:00 +0000

When it is cold, as it is in Johannesburg right now (2°C with exceptional snow on the ground this morning!), I find it difficult to eat cold salads and vegetables. In order to make sure I do get my veggies in, I turn to soups. Today, I flipped through my Essential Soup Cookbook and picked Harira.

Harira is a chickpea and lamb soup from Morocco usually served in the evening when it's time for the Muslims to break the daily fast during Ramadan. In Senegal, where the vast majority of the population is also Muslim, there are many culinary influences that have come from the Middle East and North Africa, following trade routes across the Sahara desert, riding on the back of various conquests and migrations. So for my version of harira, I combined a traditional Moroccan recipe with my friend Djenaba's to create a Senegalo-Moroccan blend.

The recipe calls for many ingredients and a lot of chopping so it is wise to make a batch and freeze some for later. I actually think it tastes better the day after or reheated after a few days in the freezer. There are few things sweeter than getting home late, thinking you have nothing to eat and not feeling like cooking, only to find some neatly frozen soup in the freezer. I equate the feeling to finding a long lost and definitely forgotten $20 bill in a coat pocket.

Harira
Serves 6

Ingredients

500 g of lamb (you can use beef as well), cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
6 saffron threads (optional)
3 trimmed celery sticks (~220 g), chopped coarsely
1 can of chickpeas (425 g)
7 medium tomatoes (~1.2 kg), seeded and chopped coarsely or use 2 400g-cans of tomatoes
2 1/2 liters (10 cups) of water
1 tablespoon of salt
100 g (1/2 cup) lentils
1/4 of fresh coriander leaves, chopped or whole

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Make sure it is large enough to accommodate all the ingredients since this is a one-pot dish.
Cook onions until soft.
Add spices and stir for ~2 mns until fragrant. Note: I found myself frantically adding spices fast enough and trying to stir to avoid them burning so I would recommend mixing all the spices beforehand in a bowl and pouring them all in at the same time.
Add lamb and celery and cook for 2 mns until lamb is all coated with the spices.
Add tomato and cook for 10 mns until tomato softens.
Add water, chickpeas and salt and bring to a boil. At this stage, Djenaba suggests adding 1 carrot and 1 turnip (both chopped into tiny cubes) if you wish to include even more vegetables.
Simmer covered for about 1 1/2 hours.
Add lentils and cook covered for another 30 mns.
Add coriander just before serving.

Confi Kani (Hot Pepper Puree)

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 11:18:00 +0000

This pepper mixture gets its name from the shortened version of the french word for jam "confiture"and the wolof word for red pepper "kani". Pepper is a critical ingredient in most, if not all West African dishes. We luuuv hot food. I have learned, however, over the years that my friends from East and Southern Africa do not always share that passion for spicy dishes. This pepper jam is a great way to accomodate all my guests, by putting a tiny bit in the main meal and a lot on the side.

Confi Kani
Makes ~ 300g

Ingredients

300g of peppers (choose peppers based on how much heat you want in the final product)
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of vinegar

Preparation

Rinse the peppers and remove the little tails
In the mixer, mix pepper, onion and garlic
Add salt and pepper
Heat oil in a saute pan
Add the mixture and cook for 10 mns while stirring
Add vinegar and take off the heat
Cool for 15 mns and serve. The rest can be refrigerated in a glass container.

Red Bissap Juice (Zobo)

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:38:00 +0000

This drink can claim various origins. From Egypt (karkadeh) to Senegal (bissap) to Nigeria (zobo), it is prepared and enjoyed more or less the same way. A minor difference is that Egyptians do drink it warm or cold. It is served daily in Senegal but also for special occasions. The main ingredient is the flower and leaf of the hibiscus sabdariffa or roselle pods. Because of the tartness of the beverage, it takes quite a bit of sugar to make it sweet. It is said to be high antioxidants such as vitamin C and polyphenols.

Jus de Bissap Rouge

Makes 1 liter

Ingredients

200g of dried bissap (dried hibiscus flowers)
150 g sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (NOT vanilla essence)
1 teaspoon of orange flower water (eau de fleur d'oranger) (optional)
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
5 t0 10 fresh mint leaves
1.2 l water (to allow for some loss to evaporation)

Preparation

Rinse the bissap leaves and bring to a boil. Turn off and let the mixture sit for 1 hour. Strain using a sieve or muslin.
Add all the remaining ingredients, finishing with the mint leaves.
Refrigerate before serving.

Moroccan Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:50:00 +0000

For people who love fruits and nuts, Morocco is a wonderful place. Many fruits and nuts such as almonds are native to the country and Morocco is Africa’s #1 producer of almonds. They also feature prominently in Moroccan cuisine.

I first discovered the country when I was 12 years old and kept very good memories. So for part II of my birthday celebration last year (part I was a wonderful trip to Bamako with my husband Sim. It will be the subject of another blog entry and recipe!), I went back to Morocco with a few girlfriends for 4 days of eating, sightseeing and quite frankly more eating. We were in Marrakech and stayed in a lovely little riad that served delicious home cooking. Every day, we would walk to the Djemaa el Fna , the Square of the Dead. The square is surrounded by souks that sell fabric, babouches, djellabas, teeth… and more importantly every piece of fruit, fresh or dried; every nut, raw or roasted; every spice that one can dream of. Snack time was always a bountiful time (not that we needed to snack, given how much we enjoyed the homemade tagines made by our hostess back at the riad).

So today, when I felt in the mood for a muffin, I thought to combine warm, colorful memories of Morocco like apricots, peaches and almonds with my favorite spice nutmeg. I translated and adapted the following recipe from a great book of recipes called Muffins et Petits Gâteaux by Suzie Smith (pg 25: Muffins aux pêches et aux abricots). I added the full fat milk (this blog may not be for the health-conscious!), the nutmeg (because I use it in most things) and the cinnamon.

Moroccan Muffins
Makes 4 large or 6 regular muffins

Ingredients

1 ½ cups (235g) of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
½ cup (105g) of brown sugar (you can use white)
1 tablespoon of dry yeast
2 eggs
¼ cup (60 ml) of olive oil (you can use vegetable oil)
¼ cup (60ml) milk
½ cup (120 ml) of apricot jam (make sure it is one with real fruit, you will taste the difference. If you don't have jam, you can buy canned apricots and puree them in the mixer or use apple sauce)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (NOT vanilla essence)
1 can (300g) of peaches (or use fresh sliced peaches)
½ cup (60g) sliced/diced/shaved almonds

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 180° C (350° F)
Butter or spray a muffin tin ( either a 4-geant-muffins one or a 6-regular-muffin one)
In bowl #1: sift flour, add cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and yeast
In bowl #2: beat the eggs, add oil, apricot jam and vanilla.
Pour bowl #2 into bowl #1 and mix until the dry mixture is all wet. Do not over-mix, you do want a certain coarseness to the mixture.
Add peaches
Fill the muffin tin and leave room since the muffins will rise.
Sprinkle almonds flakes onto each muffin
Bake for 20 to 25mns. The muffin is cooked when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool down for 1 mn or 2 before serving with tea.

Okra Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Rama) — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:01:00 +0000

Soupou Kanja means "okra stew" in Wolof (spoken in Senegal). There are many variations to this recipe as you travel along the coastal towns of West Africa. I even had a version of it in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil in December 2002. The slaves from West Africa took West African culinary traditions with them on their journey to the New World. It can be made with beef or lamb and/or fish and/or seafood mix; you decide what you like. This recipe is a simpler version with oxtail and shrimp.
Please send me your version in a comment or email me at tiliboskitchen@gmail.com
Serves 6
1 kg of oxtail (if you use stewing beef or lamb, just reduce cooking time by 15mns)
500g okra
300 g of small to medium-size shrimp
375 ml of palm oil (My friend Mariama once made a version of this dish WITHOUT palm oil. It was quite delicious! Try it.)
Salt
Recipe for the Nokos (Wolof word describing a tasty mixture of ingredients):
1 large onion
1 large fresh chili pepper or 1 tablespoon of dried chili (or more if you'd like)
2 maggi cubes or other brand of bouillon cubes
1 tablespoon black pepper
Note: the ingredients below are harder to find if you do not reside in West Africa but there are a few subsitutes or you can skip them for a less layered taste to the dish.
1 piece of gejj or dried fish (you can use spicy dried shrimp from the Chinese store)
1 piece of yeet (flesh from a dried shellfish, found in the coastal waters off Senegal); you can do without this one but to be honest, this mollusk is an acquired taste so you may not miss it.
1 tablespoon of netetou powder (Netetou is the fermented fruit of the Nere tree which grows in many parts of West Africa. I believe it is called soumbala in Mali, Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire, dadawa or iru in Nigeria and Ghana, afiti in Togo and Benin. It is very high in amino acids, iron and vitamin C). Warning: it has a VERY strong smell but adds such incredible flavor to stews.
1 tablespoon of crayfish powder (i discovered this ingredient in Nigeria and decided to add it to the recipe)
Place the meat and yeet + 1 l of water with some salt in a pot and bring to a boil
Put all the Nokos ingredients in a mixer and add mixture to the meat. Use same mixer to chop up the okra and set aside.
After 30 mns, add palm oil, netetou and crayfish powder
After 30 mns, add shrimp
After 15 mns, add okra mixture (do not stir too much, just enough to incorporate okra)
Cook for about 20mns on reduced heat
Serve with steamed white rice