Murghi Kalya: Southern Africa Chicken Curry

Even though this blog is about cooking my way through writing my dissertation, the truth is that the dissertation comes first and so I have been absent from the blog world attending to some pressing dissertation matters. In celebration of the good and not so good news that I have been receiving this week alone, I decided to cook a dish that would make me eat to my heart's content.

This Southern African Chicken Curry dish (shown in a soup version above) is truly one of a kind. Imagine making a curry dish without actually using curry, but instead using coconut, ginger, garlic, and even yogurt if you prefer. That's exactly what this Southern Africa recipe entails. It is a blend of Malay and Indian influences and I chose to master the art of making this dish because of my new found love for anything that uses coconut as an ingredient.

What's unique about this region of Africa (and this is an observation from the cookbooks that I am using) is that coconut is infused in different types of food ranging from deserts and cocktails with coconuts to dishes such as coconut shrimp as showcased in the previous blog. It is interesting to note that coconut is not only reserved for Thai food, but also dishes from Southern Africa. My version of Murghi Kalya was adapted from The African News Cookbook and the ingredients I used are:
I packet of purdue chicken breast tenderlions cut into tiny pieces

2 hot chili peppers finely sliced

4 roma tomatoes chopped into tiny pieces

4 Tbs of coconut milk
2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp tumeric
2 tsp garlic, diced into tiny pieces
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp salt

1 small red onion finely sliced
1/4 cup of oil

Wash the chicken and drain in a colander. Combine the 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, cumin. tumeric, ginger, salt and pour mixture over the chicken, turning the pieces until they are well coated. Set aside for 10 minutes. Pour oil in a frying pan, gently add 1/2 of the the onions and 1 tsp of garlic and saute until gloden brown. Add the chicken and stir constantly until it's well cooked. Remove them from the pan and set aside. Using the same pan, add the remaining onions, as well as garlic, tomatoes, hot chili peppers, and the remaining spices, cayenne pepper, cumin, tumeric, ground ginger, and salt. Stir the mixture ocassionally for about 5 minutes, then set aside. In a large stew pot, add the chicken as well as the sauteed mixture and 4 Tbs of coconut milk. Reduce heat, add about 1/2 cup of water, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve with basmati rice.

Camarao de Coco- With love from Mozambique

Last night, I made one of the most unforgettable meal that makes the heart smile simply because it was delicious and easy to make. I made the Mozambique Camarao de Coco (Coconut shrimp over jasmine rice). The idea of mixing coconut milk with shrimps was something that I thought was reserved only for Thai meals. Hence, I was truly surprised that it's a common recipe among people in Mozambique, a southeastern African country once colonized by the Portuguese. The recipe was adapted from The African Cookbook and I used the following ingredients:

2-3 lbs shrimp
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves cut into tiny pieces
1 chili pepper cut into tiny pieces
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin
1 large tomato chopped
1 cup coconut milk

2-3 sprigs of parsley
1 bunch of green onion (optional).

I cleaned and removed the shells from the shrimp. I added some garlic, salt, cumin, and pepper to the shrimp and let it stand for about 10 minutes. In a large skillet, I added a little bit of oil and onion so as to cook the shrimp. Once the shrimp had a rich golden pink color, I removed them from the pan. In the same pan, I sauteed the remaining garlic, as well as onions, parsley, tomatoes, green onions, salt, cayenne pepper, stirring constantly to avoid burning. I reduced the heat to low and then added the shrimp to the pan as well as the coconut milk. I let the meal simmer for about 5 minutes. My version of Camarao de Coco was served over jasmine rice.

South Africa's Samoosas

I tried to make the recipe for samoosas the other day and I failed miserably. That was truly a tough day as I had received some sad news with my research work and so my mind wasn't even on anything. I also thought that if I tried to cook, I would feel better, but instead, my attempt at making samoosa's was a failure.

Anyways, today I have redeemed myself by making this recipe once again. The original recipe for the South African samoosas was adapted from the cookbook entitled The African News Cookbook: African cooking for Western Kitchen. The ingredients I used are:

For the meat filling:

2tsp ginger

2 small garlic cloves

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion thinly sliced

1 tsp coriander, curry powder, and cumin

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a skillet and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently until ground beef is well browned. Set aside and begin the vegetable fillings. The ingredients I used are:

1 russet potato

1/2 of baby carrots

1/2 green pea

small onion thinly sliced

1tsp ginger, coriander, garlic

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Peel potatoes and boil with carrots until both are soft but firm. Cut into small cubes. In a separate pot, cook the green peas until tender. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet, add onions, ginger, garlic, coriander and pepper. Saute for 2-3 minutes and them add the cooked vegetables, gently adding the peas last. Saute thoroughly and then set aside.

For the pastry, I used puff pastry instead of making my own and your can buy them from your local grocery store in the frozen food section.

Making the samoosas (I still need to practice folding some more so as to get the perfect triangle, but in the meantime here are the instructions). Cut a sheet of the pastry piece into four long strips. At the top of the lower corner, put a spoonful of filing. Fold top half down over the filling diagonally, so that the top of the strip is now a triangle. Then fold the triangle over the next section of the strip so that you have a square. Finally fold once again along the diagonal so that you end with a multi-layered triangle. Seal the edges and bake the samoosas for about 20 minutes.

Southern Africa and the deciding never to give up despite failure

"If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself up and try again", Aaliyah's words truly resonate well with me today....I know this blog is about mastering the art of African Cuisine, but writing a dissertation is no easy feat, and I am not sure if publishing while writing might be a great decision as rejection letters can cause one to falter. But in the words of Aaliyah, I have made up my mind never to quit, and instead, "dust myself up and try again." With that said, I am off to Southern Africa. From Angola to Zimbabwe, samosas to red bush tea, I will be exploring all that I can in the next three weeks. Even though this journey seems daunting as the end is almost in the horizon, I have decided never give up, even on days like today where I failed miserably with making vegetable samosas from South Africa. I am not sure if it was my flour mixture or whether I simply failed to follow directions, all I know is that I almost burnt my apt and so I stopped. It could be that I was a bit distracted with the sad news I received earlier, nonetheless, i will try again tomorrow to see if I can master the art of making samosas while revising my rejected paper.....

Main course from North African Feast Day

I have simply become fascinated with food and it's truly amazing how making up my mind to cook has introduced me to cuisines I never would I have even considered to make. Yes I am probably one of the few people in the world loving this journey of writing my dissertation and honestly it's all thanks to researching (something i learnt from grad school) and recipe testing to create zesty, electrifying, and delicious cuisines that make people come back for seconds all because they love what you have made. My guests were truly amazing and I am glad that my labor of love put smiles on people's faces this past weekend. This journey (here is a picture is of my work station on the feast day) has become a fulfilling experience and I look forward to more feast days...

So I served four dishes as the main course meals and they include: Djedj b'l-qasbour (Algerian coriander chicken), Moroccan Fish Tagine, Moroccan Vermicelli with chicken and green beans and Moroccan Prawns. Both Moroccan Fish Tagine and the Moroccan Prawns have been featured in older blog posts. But here are the recipes for the Algerian coriander chicken and the Moroccan Vermicelli with chicken and green beans.

Djedj b'l-qasbour-Algerian Coriander Chicken. This recipe was adapted from The African News Cookbook which was published and edited in 1985 by Tami Hutman. The recipes in this book are truly for people who have a wider appreciation of African culinary masterpieces. For the Algerian Coriander Chicken, here are the ingredients I used:
One packet of chicken drumsticks (there were 14 pieces in the packet i bought)
4 tbs of ground coriander
4 large garlic cloves chopped fine

2 tbs of turmeric
1 tbs of cumin (optional)
2 tbs of olive oil
1 tbs of cayenne pepper(optional)
1 tbs of salt
sprig of fresh coriander
Wash the chicken as you would normally do and then place them in a large pot. Add the ground coriander, garlic, turmeric, cumin, olive oil, cayenne, pepper, salt and fresh coriander. Although the original Cook for about 20 minutes with a 1/2 of water. Once it is cooked, place in a large foil and bake in the over for 30 minutes. Serve over rice or couscous.

Moroccan Vermicelli with chicken and green beans: So beyond rice and my love for salad, there is a desire to eat pasta, but not with the bland pasta sauce that most people are used too in America, but with different ingredients like chicken breast or even green beans. This dish that I made for the North African Feast Day was by far everyone's favorite. I asked around to see what people liked best and everyone, from the little children that attended to even my friends from out of town and their ethnicity really didn't matter, instead everyone categorically loved this dish. Clifford Wright penned the recipe for this dish in his book entitled "Some like is Hot, " and it includes the following ingredients:
1 1/4 cups of extra olive oil
1 packet of boneless chicken breast
1 bunch green onions chopped (optional-in the recipe he used regular small onions, but I prefer the green onions)
fresh green beans (although in the recipe he used chickpeas, I love green beans and I think it helped to enhance the overall flavor of this recipe, you can use chickpeas if you want).
2 tablespoon tomato paste (optional-I didn't use this in my recipe as I wanted to try something different)
2 large finely chopped garlic cloves
2 tbs of cumin
2 tbs of coriander
2 tbs butter
2 tbs cayenne pepper
3 pieces of sweet red or yello pepers

I packet of verimicelli broken into tiny pieces
Salt to taste
Boil water in a pot mixed with 1 tbs of cumin, coriander, butter, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add a 1tsp of garlic and the vermicelli and bring to a boil. Drain the vermicelli. Cut up the chicken breasts into tiny pieces and add the remainder of the spices. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes. In a very large frying pan, heat a cup of the olive oil. Add the green onions and the sweet peppers. Add the chicken and then stir fry until the chicken is cooked. Once the chicken is cooked, add the vermicelli and the remainder of the oil, stirring gently so as fully mix up the chicken with the pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley leaves and serve.

Mastering North African Cuisine

My first North African Feast Day was excellent and I thank all the wonderful people that came to taste some of the cuisine I made (special thanks to my wonderful assistants who helped me prep). The menu was simply divine. For starters I served Chladal Felfel which is an Algerian Tomato and green pepper salad. Kebab Koutbane a Moroccan recipe that I made earlier was also on the menu. The main course include recipes such as Djedj b'l-qasbour which is a coriander chicken recipe from Algeria, Moroccan fish tagine, Moroccan vermicelli with chicken and green peas and of course my favorite recipe Moroccan prawns. For dessert I served Mescouta which is a Moroccan date cake and Marrakesh serpent cake which is made with almonds and oranges. Of course there was plenty to drink and judging from the smiles on the faces of my guests and their wonderful compliments, I can now unequivocally state that I have mastered some North African Cuisine. Now we are off to South Africa, but before we head there, here are the instructions for some of the recipes.

Starter: Chladal Felfel-Algerian Tomato and Green Pepper Salad
2 large green peppers
2 large ripe tomatoes cut into tiny cubes
4 tbs of olive oil
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic crushed
1tsp salt and pepper.
handful of black and green olives (optional)
Pile the green peppers and tomatoes into a salad bowl. Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix together well and the refrigerate until time to serve. The salad can also be used as a garnish with pita chips or baguettes.


(please note that since i am not a fan of long posts, the recipes for the other menus at the feast will be included in a new post).

My first North African Feast......details coming soon

I have been so busy with school work as I went out of town to Denver, Colorado for two conferences. I returned to town early this morning and I am so excited because tomorrow is my first North African Feast day. But what is North Africa Feast Day, well it is the day to come and learn and of course eat all the cuisines I have mastered. I will also showcase other recipes that I didn't have the time to master in the allotted three weeks designated for each region of the continent. Since I didn't have the time to make all the lovely dishes (and they are so many) from other North African countries like Algeria, Tunisia, well I will be doing that tomorrow in addition to showcasing other recipes from Morocco. The menu is truly exquisite, the preparation is intense, but mastering the art of North African cuisine is priceless. Boy do I love food and preparing for this feast is truly an experience filled with joy.... Here is a picture of all the ingredients I plan to use and it includes; yellow squash, eggplants, zucchini, green onions, green, red and yellow peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupes, oranges, bananas, apples, dates, raisins, walnuts, almonds, chicken, tiger prawns, couscous, vermicelli and many more. The details about the feast to come tomorrow....

Moroccan Baked Fish Tagine

I love seafood and nothing pleases my soul more than fish, any type of fish, so long as it's fish, I will always be happy with a big smile on my face. Today's recipe infuses the classic tagine recipe with a dash of mint seasoning to create a boldly flavored fish meal. The word "tagine" refers both to a cooking pot typically used in morocco and a type of stew with vegetables such as carrots, peppers, and tomatoes. My recipe is adapted from Aglaia Kremezi book entitled Mediterranean Hot and Spicy." I combined her chicken tagnie recepie with her grilled whole fish recipe to create my own unique version of a Moroccan Baked Fish Tagine.

I used the following ingredients;

I whole bluefish (you can use any type of fish so long as it is whole and suitable for broiling).

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

1tbs paprika, cumin, ginger, cayenne pepper, salt

1/2 bunch of fresh coriander

1/2 tsp dried mint (optional)

1/2 bunch of fresh mint leaves (optional)

3 tbs olive oil

1tbs lemon

1 potato sliced thin

handful of thin stick carrots

1 tomato

1/2 green bell pepper sliced thin

In a large bowl, mix the garlic, paprika, cumin, ginger, cayenne pepper, salt, dried mint, coriander, fresh mint, olive oil and lemon. This combination is a version of the typical Moroccan chermoula sauce that is commonly used for grilling meat, fish or chicken. (The optional mint spices adds a zesty fragrance and it makes this meal simply delicious). Once the sauce is ready, marinate the whole fish with the sauce and let it stand for at least 30 minutes.

Use the remaining sauce to marinate the carrots, green peppers and tomatoes and then place them into a baking dish. Lightly oil the dish before placing the vegetables. Place the fish on top of the vegetables and then put the dish into the oven for 25 minutes at 425 degrees. Once the dish is ready, garnish with fresh parsley.....

Moroccan Prawns with Avocado and Melon Salsa

Yesterday for lunch, i think I made the most delicious meal that I have ever made in my life to the point were i had a food orgasm which i think refers to a reaction that makes you tilt you head backwards, while closing your eyes and moaning deeply all because the food in your mouth tastes so delicious. Yes, my Moroccan Prawns and Avocado and Melon Salsa gave me that feeling yesterday. The recipe was slightly adapted from a book entitled well The Book of North African Cooking by Leslie Mackley (1998) and the ingredients i used for my version of menu include the following:

For the Prawns

40 pieces of large raw peeled prawns
2 garlic cloves finely cut into tiny pieces
I tsp of paprika and ground cuminn

1/2tsp of ground coriander, cayenne pepper and salt

1/2 bunch of green onions (scallions) finely cut into tiny pieces
4 tbs of olive oil

1 cup of rice(optional)

For the Avocado and Melon Salsa, I used;

1 avocado

1 tbs lemon juice (substituted for lime juice)

1/4 cantaloupe

1/2 bunch of green onions (scallions)

1 fresh sweet red pepper.

I began by removing the stone from the avocado and then I peeled off the skin. I cut the flesh into tiny cubes and placed them in a bowl. I mixed the avocado with the lemon juice. Although the recipe suggested that we use lime juice, I forgot to purchase it at the store which is why I used lemon juice instead. I cut the cantaloupe, green onions and sweet red pepper and placed them into the same bowl with the avocado and lemon juice. I mixed thoroughly and then placed the salsa in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

For the Moroccan Prawns, I mixed the spices together and then I added the prawns. I mixed them well and then let it stand for about 10 minutes. In a large frying pan, the olive oil was heated before placing the prawns and the green onions. I stir fried the prawns for about 8 minutes so as to make sure that they were thoroughly cooked.

I served this delicious menu with rice and yes it was simply divine to the point giving my first food orgasm from a meal I cooked.

(Out of town for the weekend, writing my dissertation while away and yes I will resume posting next week)

Menu from Morocco: Kebab Koutbane

So my first menu is from Morocco and last night I made Kebab Koutbane, a typical Moroccan dish that is also an excellent hors d'oeuvre to serve at any time (Sandler, 1970).

The ingredients I used were:
1lb of beef steak

1/2lb of beef suet

1/4 of finely chopped onions

2 Tbs of parsley

1/2 of olive oil

1tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper

1/4tsp of garlic powder

1tsp of ground coriander

1/2tsp of ground cumin

I yellow pepper(optional)

I green pepper (optional)

I red pepper (optional)

I packet of bamboo skewers

I went to the local grocery store in state college to buy the ingredients and everything seemed simple and easy to find and purchase except for the beef suet. Fortunately for me, there was a butcher at this grocery store and he directed me to the section were the beef suet were kept.

Kebab Koutbane is simple and easy to make. I began by cutting the beef and the beef suet into small cubes. Then in a large bowl, I mixed the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, ground coriander, and ground cumin together. This blend of spices and oil is referred to as the Moorish Marinade. I then blended the beef and suet cubes with the marinade and I allowed the mixture to marinate for about 4 hours. This gave me enough time to go to the office as I had a meetings with my research advisor and another research assistant on our project.

After my day at the office, the beef and the suet had marinated well but prior to threading them on the skewers, I cut the remainder of my onions as well as the yellow, green, and red pepper i purchased into small cubes. Now, the traditional Kebab Koutbane recipe does not require the use of yellow, green or red pepper, but since i love pepper, I included them in my recipe.

I threaded the pieces of beef in my own unique style of threading. Sometimes I alternated the beef with the peppers, sometimes the beef suet with the peppers. I think the beauty of this recipe is to do what makes you happy. If you are a meat lover, thread plenty of beef before the peppers. If you love peppers, do the same. Now this is also the unique part of this recipe, you are suppose to grill or broil using a hot fire grill. Well since i didn't have a grill, I used my oven and an aluminum pan. I turned the oven to 450 degrees and I broiled the Kebab for about one hour.

When they were ready, I arranged them on a serving dish and I garnished with fresh parsley sprigs....

(Recipe from Bea Sandler's The African Cookbook, 1970)

Welcome to North Africa

I plan to travel to North Africa one day, but in the meantime, I will begin by mastering their cuisine. This region of Africa lies alongside the Mediterreanean Sea and the Altantic Ocean and it is the site of one of the world's first great civilzation; Egypt. It is made up of seven countries: Algeria, Egpyt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia and Western Saharan and it is home to about 85 million people. Arabic is one of the official languages spoken throught North Africa and the most popular ethnic groups are the Arabs and the Berbers. North African cuisine is as diverse as it's people and it is often made with fresh simple ingredients infused with an assortment of spices that ultimately create delectable dishes. In the following weeks, I will introduce cuisine from North African countries such as Morocco (my favorite), Algeria, and Egypt. These countries where chosen because the books that I borrowed seem to showcase menus and recipies from these countries unlike the other countries.

Keeping Things Simple: Menus from different regions of Africa

To keep the art of mastering African Cuisine simple, the menu would be derivied regionally, in other words, I will begin by showcasing menus from all over North Africa. We would spend about two-three weeks in North Africa and then proceed to South Africa for the same duration of time, and then Central Africa, East Africa and finally West Africa.

I will try my best to demostrate things that I learn about the different countries in the region showcased, particularly highlighting what's unique about the culture as related to their menus and recipies.

The Journey

So I went to the library last weekend to borrow books on African cuisine and the selection was varied, but the one that caught my eye was The African Cookbook by Bea Sandler. It was originally published in 1970 and it was complied for people who love to learn about African cuisine from 11 african countries: Ethiopia, Sudan, Morocco, Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zanzibar, South Africa, Liberia and Ghana. While this book is definetly one of my inspirations, I also borrowed books that highlighted menus from other african countries such as of course Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Mali, Senegal etc. In all I borrowed 15 books and these books will serve as my inspiration and do not that I welcome any suggestions that you guys might have to offer.

Cooking is in my blood. If you know my mother, you would know that we were born to cook as she was a home economics teacher in Nigeria for over 35 years. She inspired many children in Lagos, Nigeria to learn to love the art of cooking, and so it's quite a shock that i never cared for cooking until now. Sometimes I wonder if being one of four girls (especially being the last girl) contributed to my inital lack of interest towards cooking because everyone in my family except me of course, cooked. All i did was wash dishes (and I am the best dishwash person ever).

I remember shortly before my papa passed away, telling him and my mother that it was a shame that I didn't know how to cook. She screamed at me and called me lazy because everyone in my family cooked. I was told to never go around saying that I couldn't cook because it would tarnish her image. My papa on the other hand, promised to teach me how to cook and he insisted that his style of cooking was the best. I never got to learn how to cook from my father as he died two weeks after this conversation. But I owe this journey to his memory, for I would not be where I am if not for him.

Cooking my way through dissertation writing by: Mastering the Art of African Cuisine

Yes, I was inspired by Julie and Julia and no, I will not be cooking any of Julia Child's delicious dishes, instead I will master the art of African Cuisine. For those of you who know me, I guess you would know that I have always said that cooking wasn't my thing or you may know how i love to order food from my favorite chinese or thai restaurant. And so you may ask, why then do you want to cook. Two simple reasons;

First, I have conquered by fear of cooking. How did I do it? Well, the last guy I dated loved to eat and so I thought cooking will keep him around. Well that didn't work, but he made me become passionate about cooking and I loved the way he would tell me that my food was simply divine. Cooking defintely put a smile on my face.

Second, I am currently working on a dissertation, and yes there are days upon days where i can't seem to write anything. I stare at my work all day long and accomplish nothing. Understanding that the joy of the lord is my strenght, I decided to cook for myself and it made my non-writing days, well simply divine as I was able to discover and learn about food from different african cultures.

Cooking has become my escape from the world of academia as it has allowed me to venture into places that I never dreamed of venturing into. I have become soaked in cultures, yearning for the day I will get the opportunity to live like Anthony Bourdain, travelling from one country to another all in the name of eating different kinds of food.

This blog is therefore my way of mastering the art of a type of cuisine that I have grown to love over my 20 something years of exisitence. I love food, all kinds of food, but most especially African foods as I am a woman with green white green (Nigerian) blood running through my veins. Now, I don't intend to showcase how only Nigerians, eat, but instead, I want to learn and demostrate how Africans eat so that I can better understand the culture. I will be done with my dissertation next year, but in the meantime, come with me as I cook my my through dissertation writing by mastering the art of African Cuisine.