West Africa's loudest cuisine, palm-oil-rich and chilli-heavy. Jollof rice (proudly contested with Ghana), egusi soup (melon-seed thickened, with greens and meat), suya (peanut-rubbed beef skewers), pounded yam with efo riro stew and the universal sweet snacks puff puff and chin chin. Stockfish, scotch bonnets, ginger, curry powder, locust beans and palm oil drive the seasoning; meals are layered, generous, party-shaped.
Very ripe plantains (mostly black-skinned) slice on the diagonal at 1 ½ cm thick. Vegetable oil heats hot in a wide pan; the slices fry in a single layer until each side is deep golden with caramelised, almost-burnt edges. Drained briefly, salted lightly, eaten right away.
Beef (or goat, or prawns) parboils briefly. Smoked fish soaks. A pepper paste of red bell pepper, Scotch bonnet, onion and tomato blitzes in the blender. Palm oil heats; the pepper paste fries for 10 minutes until reduced and the oil rises. Stock, meat, smoked fish, ground crayfish and iru go in; simmers for 15 minutes. Spinach goes in last, wilts in 5 minutes. Served with rice, eba, fufu or pounded yam.
Beef or goat is parboiled with onion, stock cube and salt to make a base stock. Smoked fish hydrates in hot water and is picked clean. Egusi seeds are ground (or already-ground egusi powder is used) into a thick paste with a little water. Onion, garlic, ginger and Scotch bonnet blitz into a hot pepper paste. Palm oil heats until just smoking; the pepper paste fries in it 5 minutes. Egusi paste goes in and "fries" 10 minutes until it forms small clumps. Stock and meat join; everything simmers for 20 minutes. Smoked fish, ground crayfish and locust beans add depth. Chopped spinach (or bitter leaf) goes in for the last 5 minutes. Salt to season.
Chicken pieces simmer with onion, thyme, curry powder, salt and bay until tender; the cooking stock becomes the rice's liquid. A blender purées tomatoes, red peppers, scotch bonnets, onion, and ginger to a smooth red sauce. Vegetable oil cooks tomato paste until it darkens; the blended sauce reduces in for 15-20 minutes; bay leaves and curry powder bloom; the rice goes in with chicken stock, simmers covered until tender. The chicken roasts crispy under a hot grill, then perches on top.*
Dried black-eyed beans soak briefly to loosen the skins. The skins rub off; the beans soak more to soften. They blend smooth with red pepper, onion, Scotch bonnet and a little water into a thick batter. Palm oil whisks in. Ground crayfish, a stock cube, salt and ground egusi (or breadcrumbs) bind. The batter portions into oiled ramekins (or banana leaf parcels). A hard-boiled egg half, a piece of smoked fish or a spoon of cooked beef goes into each. They steam in a wide pot 50-60 minutes until firm and set.
Bone-in goat (or chicken or catfish, fish takes much less time) simmers in lightly salted water with onion, garlic, ginger, scotch bonnet and the pepper-soup spice mix for 75 minutes until tender. Crayfish (ground dried shrimp) and stock cube go in for depth. Scent leaf (Nigerian basil) or basil leaves and chopped onion finish at the table.
Beef sirloin or rump is sliced very thin across the grain. A suya spice (yaji) is made by grinding dry-roasted unsalted peanuts with ground ginger, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cloves and salt, the peanut acts as the carrier and gives suya its unique nutty edge. Half the spice rubs into the beef; the strips marinate for 1 hour. They're threaded onto pre-soaked bamboo skewers in an accordion fold, brushed with oil, and grilled over high heat 4-5 minutes per side until charred at the edges. Fresh out of the fire, the skewers are dipped/rolled in the reserved dry spice, served with sliced raw red onion, tomato and shredded cabbage. Maggi and a wedge of lime alongside.
