Adventures from Calabar 2 - Boiled Plantain and Smoked fish with Vegetable Sauce. And an Amstel Malta Milkshake

 

I had another opportunity to cook on air and be a guest on The Spot on EbonyLifeTv (Channel 165 on DSTV) and as usual it was a fabulous experience. 

 

 

If you have never caught The Spot, I urge you to. Its a largely unscripted show hosted by Lamide Akintobi, Zainab Balogun and Ebuka Uchendu and while it is different from the regular tv fare, its pretty smart and addictive. 

 

 

 

This time, my brief from the producer was a healthy, nutritious, filling meal that was pocket friendly but yummy as well.



 

 

(Just before we started shooting)

 

I decided to prepare boiled ripe plantain with a smoked fish and vegetable sauce.

 

To feed 4 people, you will need:

• 4 ripe plantains - assuming one per person
• 1 cooking spoon of flavourless oil - I prefer canola oil
• 1 large red onion - finely chopped
• 4 large tomatoes - finely chopped
• 1 yellow scotch bonnet pepper
• 1 stock cube
• 3 large smoked fish (I used mackerel) - skinned, deboned and flaked
• 2 cups red whole crayfish - heads and tails removed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground crayfish
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 bunches of ugwu (pumpkin leaves) - washed and rough chopped
• Salt to taste

 

 

Directions:

• Cut each plantain into 3 pieces and place in a pot with salted water
• Boil until cooked through
• Heat oil in a large saucepan
• Add onions, tomatoes and scotch bonnet pepper
• Saute until translucent
• Add stock cube, ground crayfish and cayenne pepper and cook for another 5 minutes stirring constantly
• Add the smoked fish and red crayfish with a cooking spoon of water
• Add salt to taste
• Once the sauce is quite dry, add the ugwu, stir very well to incorporate all ingredients and turn the heat off
• The steam will cook the vegetables just enough to be cooked through but still have crunch

This sauce can be served with potatoes, yam and rice. Or even eaten on its own since its so filling.

I also made an Amstel Malta milkshake which is so easy to make and so delicious as well.

To fill 4 glasses, you will need:

• 3 cans of chilled Amstel Malta
• 1/2 cup of dried skimmed milk
• 12 strawberries

Directions:

• Add all the ingredients into a blender. Blitz till smooth. Pour into glasses and serve immediately

 

 

Enjoy!!!!!

Spicy Mimosa

 

The World Cup fever has overtaken us all on this end. As a result of the time difference between Nigeria and Brazil, we are watching the matches into the early hours of the morning. This means little sleep, grogginess and messed up schedules. Who needs sleep anyway? Its manic I tell you.

 

Sexy drinks are perfect to mix for match watching and seeing as Brazil is all about sun and fun and evokes feelings of forbidden pleasures, this spicy mimosa is perfect for this season and its unexpected too.

 

To mix up a good pitcher full which will fill at least 4 tall glasses, you will need:

• 1 bottle of good quality champagne. Rose works even better
• 2 cups of orange juice. Not freshly squeezed. Good quality juice from a pack/bottle will work just fine
• Chilli/hot sauce - to taste

 

 

 

 

Directions:

• Empty the bottle of chilled champagne into a jug/pitcher
• Add the chilled cups of orange juice and stir
• Place in the fridge until ready to serve



 

 

• Once ready to serve, add a few drops of the chilli/hot sauce into a glass and fill with the mimosa



 

 

 

So simple and different but gets the taste buds popping.

 

Enjoy!!!!!

Braised Chicken 'Suya"

 



 

 

When I was invited to Calabar to shoot episodes of the themed Friday Cookout shows on The Spot (on EbonyLifeTv Channel 165 on DSTV) last month, the producer asked me to come ready to cook on air and make tasty Nigerian dishes that could be ready within the 1 hour shooting time, be healthy and still pack a taste punch.

 

 

The first meal I chose to prepare is one that is a staple in my home because its really versatile, is ready in no time and is so yummy. Its my braised chicken suya dish that I make as a sauce sometimes to go with sides of rice or plantain or yam or I make dry to be eaten on its own like traditional suya.

 

 

I don't know many people that don't like suya in one variant of the other. These spicy, aromatic skewers of protein street food (anything from beef to chicken to offals) cooked over open coals with a wire grill placed over the coals is such a part of Nigerian culture, I really think it should be named THE Nigerian national dish. It is enjoyed by everyone regardless of tribe or religion. I honestly don't know anything that unifying except for The Super Eagles.(National soccer team)

 

I came up with this dish one evening. I really planned to make chicken suya the traditional way as one of the sides to entertain friends that were supposed to come over. I had doused the chicken with suya spices that I got from my favorite suya spot and kept the chicken in the fridge with the intention of grilling once people started arriving. The it rained. Tropical storm. People started calling to cancel. I had to figure out what to do with all this marinated chicken since grilling outdoors was also a no go. There was the additional problem of excruciating hunger for hubby and i since we planned to eat with the guests. Grilling in the oven would take too long. I decided to put the chicken pieces in a pot with a little bit of water and voila....This staple was born.

 

The beauty of this dish is that you can do everything to taste since people like their suya served in different ways and in different quantities.

 

To make my version that feeds 4, you will need the following ingredients:

• 8 chicken pieces - Cut into sizes you prefer. This assumes 2 pieces per person. I recommend making more than you need
• Suya spices (yaaji) - from your favorite suya spot. I don't recommend using the bottled stuff that's now available at grocery stores
• 1 chicken stock cube
• Salt to taste
• One red onion - sliced
• 3 large tomatoes - diced
• 4-6 efinrin/scent leaves

Directions:

 

Wash the chicken pieces and place in a pot with a little bit of water. You can add water as you go along but the key to this dish is to have a very thick sauce at the end of the cooking process or to have it completely dry.

 

Add the stock cube, suya spices to taste and some salt



 

 

 

 

 

Cook chicken until it is cooked through and liquid left in pot is enough for sauce. If cooking chicken to eat dry, cook until all the liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly. The chicken will begin to brown and stick to the bottom of the pot, so stirring constantly is imperative.

 

Slice the onions, dice the tomatoes and chop up the efinrin/scent leaf and add to the chicken.

 

You want the vegetables to still be "alive" - to still have crunch to them so its important to add at the end of the cooking process

 

Stir through and turn the heat of. The steam left from the cooking process will cook the vegetables just enough to still have the freshness factor.

 

Serve and enjoy! This version is served with white rice and diced fried plantain.

Adventures from Calabar Loading.......

One of my side gigs is host of Friday Food on The Spot on EbonyLifeTV (Channel 165 on DSTV). I have been fortunate to do this for the past 2 seasons and have had about 16 inserts so far. I was so excited to be invited to Calabar - where the show shoots to be a guest on the show for the full hour while cooking on air as well. It was hectic but so worth it.

My first full hour on the show airs on May 23rd at 7.30pm. Tune in.

Enjoy!!!!