Be honest: what kind of Nigerian cook are you? The kind who can cook jollof rice without measuring anything? The kind who calls Mama immediately when the soup isn't looking right? Or the kind who opens the pot every five minutes because "let me just check something"? Nigerian kitchens have personalities. Some cooks are precise. Some are adventurous. Some trust their instincts completely. And some will add "just one more seasoning" until the pot becomes a family secret. So, let's find out what kind of cook you really are. Answer these seven questions honestly. No cheating. Your pot knows the truth. 1. You are cooking jollof rice and it tastes… okay. What do you do? A. Leave it alone. It will...
Let's settle something important. Your favorite African soup is not just a meal. It says something about you. Maybe you're the person who believes every problem can be solved with a good bowl of soup and something to swallow it with. Maybe you like your food rich, hearty and generously loaded or perhaps you want your soup spicy enough to make you pause between bites and reconsider your life choices. Whatever your preference, African soups have a way of revealing personality. So grab your spoon—or just keep reading—and let's find out what your favorite soup says about you. If Your Favorite Is Egusi Soup… You're probably the “I know what I like” person. You don't need a complicated menu. You...
Have you ever spent hours cooking a meal only to hear the dreaded words: "It's nice." Not "Wow!" Not "Can I have seconds?" Not "Who made this?" Just... "It's nice." Ouch. The truth is, most kitchen disasters aren't caused by burnt food, missing ingredients, or complicated recipes. The real villain lurking in many kitchens is far more subtle. It's lack of seasoning. And it has been getting away with culinary crimes for far too long. The Day My Jollof Rice Humiliated Me A few years ago, I decided I was going to make the best jollof rice of my life. I bought fresh tomatoes. I blended peppers. I measured rice carefully. I even stirred the pot like a professional chef....
How my grandmother’s cupboard taught me to cook smarter, not harder — and how you can too. There are two kinds of kitchens: the experimental, recipe-card kind, where everything looks neat and measured, and the lived-in, memory-laced kitchens where hacks and instincts run the show. I grew up in the second kind. My grandmother didn’t measure so much as “feel,” and when things went sideways, she had a dozen ways to rescue a dish. Over the years, I've collated a long list of those little shortcuts: 37 practical kitchen tips that have saved dinners, preserved staples, and kept families fed. I’ve grouped them here the way my grandmother used to: preservation, prep, rescue, frying & oil, beans & grains, and...
There I was, proudly stirring my pot of ogbono soup, humming along to Asa’s “Bibanke,” when I decided to taste my masterpiece. And then bam! Salt. Too. Much. Salt. My heart sank. I had been looking forward to that soup all day. But instead of panicking, I remembered something my mum used to say: “A good cook isn’t one who never makes mistakes, but one who knows how to fix them.” So, apron still on and hope still alive, I got to work. If you’ve ever over-salted your pot of stew, egusi, ogbono, or even jollof, you’re not alone. Here are a few tried-and-true ways to rescue your favorite African and Nigerian dishes when the salt is threatening to take...
