“Awojoh” Feasting

Spread of delicious West African party food

Hello Readers, it’s been awhile since my last post and I feel like I have neglected you guys. My apologies. I am sure you are all doing fantastic. So I did my first catering gig this weekend and it was a very good experience and I am happy I took up the challenge as it was an impromptu request and I was a bit hesitant to accept it.

I had a week to sort out shopping and prep for 4 main dishes and 3 accompaniments for about 100 guests. With the help of my amazing family and friends I pulled it off.

“Awojoh” - loosely translated, community feast to celebrate the life of the deceased.

In Sierra Leone, as a tradition, an Awojoh takes place after the 40^th day or the one year anniversary of a deceased person. The common dishes for this sort of occasion are “aborbor” (Black eyed beans stew) with fried plantain, sweet potato fried in palm oil, beans akara, olehleh, foofoo with a vareity of soups and palm oil fry stew. Some of the recipes of the above could be found by clicking here. 

Nina's Cookery Corner 

On this occasion however, most of the traditional dishes were not prepared as the client opted for the more common party dishes.
The menu was;

Jollof Rice

Fry Stew

Fried Rice

Rice Sticks (Vermicelli)

Pepper Chicken

Fried Plantain and

Akara

All the recipes for the above dishes can be found on my blog by following the link below. http://ninascookerycorner.blogspot.co.uk/

Feast your eyes on the dishes and hope you get to replicate them.

If you’re planning an event, dinner party and want the burden of cooking off your hands, why not let me be your super hero and cater to your needs. Enjoy reading try out the dishes and send me your feedback. Aprons on!

Spread of delicious West African party food

Akara Waffles (Valentine Treat)

Scrumptious Akara Waffle 

Happy Valentine’s day! So this week I decided to experiment on West Africa’s favourite dumpling “Akara” I tweaked the recipe by adding fresh milk and vanilla extract to make it into a dessert option. Topped with juicy strawberries and blueberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the result was heavenly. Who would have thought aye?

Hope you get to try this recipe as it’s well scrumptious and yummy.

Aprons on!

Ingredients 

Makes 10-12 waffles

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of rice flour
2. 6  of extra ripe bananas
3. ½ cup whole or semi skimmed milk
4. 1Nutmeg
5. 1 extracted vanilla pod
6. ½ cup Sugar
7. 1 teaspoon baking powder
8. 30ml olive oil

Dry ingredients in mixing bowl

Cooking Instructions

1.      Peel bananas and blend until smooth and runny

2.      Add dry ingredients into mixing bowl and mix together.

3.      Then add wet ingredients into the same bowl and whisk vigorously together until smooth.

mixture in waffle maker

4.      Switch your waffle maker on and follow its instructions on how to use. Once it is hot pour the mixture into each section and let it cook until it ready (approximately 2 minutes for each batch)  

Yummy dessert

“Granat Soup” (Peanut Butter Soup)

“Granat Soup” with steamed Rice (Peanut Butter Soup)

Hello NCC readers! Peanut Butter Soup, I like to call this my lazy dish. It is my quick easy guilty pleasure dish. It can be prepared as a sauce/stew or a soup. In today’s post I prepared it as a soup which goes well with steamed rice. The difference is with the stew/sauce the ingredients have to be slightly fried whilst with the soup the cooking method is mainly boiling from start to finish. I used smoked broiler chicken, turkey neck, oxtail and snapper fish to compliment the sweet flavour of the peanut butter however; any meat or fish of your liking can be used. 

As with most of my dishes, this dish is perfect as main course for lunch or dinner. I hope you enjoy reading and hopefully try out the recipe. Aprons on!!!

Ingredients

Ingredients 

1. Jar of smooth Peanut butter (4 table spoon scoops)
2. Half smoked broiler chicken
3. ½ kg turkey neck
4. ½ kg oxtail
5. Two fresh snapper
6. 3 medium size onions
7. 2 Red bell peppers
8. 2 scotch peppers
9. Spring onions
10. Fresh thyme
11. Seasoning (black pepper, all purpose, garlic powder, mixed dry herbs and maggie cube)
12. 1 tinned chopped tomato
13. Tomato puree 

Serving for 4

 

Cooking Instructions

Granat Soup (Peanut Butter Soup)

 

1.      Cut all your meats into sizeable pieces of your choice then, wash thoroughly.

2.      Do the same with the snapper and season with fish seasoning.

3.      Bring the meats to boil with 1 liter water for 20 minutes.

4.      Chop onions, bell peppers and spring onions. Add to the pot of boiling meats 

Vegetables boiling away

5.      Blend one onion with 2 scotch peppers. Also add this to the pot with the chopped tomato.

6.      Scoop 4 table spoonful of peanut butter into 200ml water. Mixed this to loosen the paste to make into a liquid like consistency then add this to the boiling pot of vegetables.

Peanut butter paste mixture

7.      Add seasoning, maggie cube, a pinch of salt for flavour, about 4 stems of fresh thyme and tea spoon full of tomato puree to give the soup colour. Mix the pot and taste to the soup. Add more seasoning if you need to.

8.      Leave soup to boil for a further 20 minutes.

9.      Finally, turn the heat low then add the fish and let the soup cook for a further 10 minutes in slow cooking.

A taste of West Africa

Voila! Dish is done!  

Delicious Dish

Pumpkin Stew #divinetreat

Pumpkin Stew

Hello Readers! In the spirit of Halloween, I decided to make pumpkin stew. Now Pumpkin is not something I get excited about however, after preparing this dish my whole stance has changed. I experienced one of those “don’t knock it until you try it moments”. As with all my dishes, this is dish is simple to prepare and perfect as a main course for lunch or dinner.

I used pork to compliment the sweet flavour of the pumpkin however; any meat of your liking can be used as a substitute. The vibrant colours of this dish not only makes it pretty but its tastes exceptionally divine as well. I hope you enjoy reading and hopefully try out the recipe. 

Aprons on!!!

Ingredients

Ingredients 

1. Pumpkin ( quarter kg)
2. 4 strips of pork belly
3. 3 medium sized onions
4. 2 Red bell peppers
5. 2 scotch peppers
6. Spring onions
7. 2 large carrots
8. Seasoning
9. 350ml olive oil
10. Tomato purée

Serving for four

Cooking Instructions

1.      Wash, dice and season pork.

2.      Peel and chop pumpkin and carrots into chunky cubes. Bring to boil for 5 minutes and let it cool in cold water to let the cooking stop.

3.      Chop onions, bell peppers and spring onions.

4.      Blend one onion with 2 scotch peppers

5.      Pour oil into hot sauce pan and heat to cooking temperature.

Chopped Chunky Carrots and Pumpkin

1.      Once oil is heated, add in pork chopped onions, peppers, spring onions and let it fry for 5 minutes.

2.      Add bits of blended pepper and onions into the stew whilst the above is cooking.

3.      Add seasoning and salt for flavour and tea spoon full of tomato purée to give the stew colour.

4.      Add boiled pumpkin and carrots to the pot with fried stew. Mix the pot and turn the heat low.

5.      Leave stew to cook for a further 5 minutes or until all the water from the stew has evaporated.

Voilà! Dish is done! 

Pumpkin Stew