How to cook Coconut Rice

This Nigerian food is called the Jollof Rice with a twist! It feels good to see the looks on your guests' or friends' faces when they think you are serving them the good old Jollof Rice but bam, the moment the first spoon enters the mouth, you are sure to get the looks of pleasure! It makes you feel good, doesn't it?

How to Cook Coconut Rice [Video]

Yes, it looks the same as the Jollof Rice you know but the aroma and taste is different. Why don't you surprise your guests tonight by preparing this easy dinner recipe?

Ingredients

• 3 cigar cups | 750g long grain parboiled rice
• 500mls Tomato Stew
• 600 mls Coconut Milk
• Chicken (whole chicken or drumsticks)
• Chilli pepper (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• 1 medium onions
• 3 stock cubes
• 1 tablespoon thyme

Before you cook Coconut Rice

1. Prepare the tomato stew if you don't have some in the freezer. Visit the Tomato Stew page for details on how to do that. It is advisable to prepare tomato stew before hand and keep in the freezer. This is so that whenever you want to cook any jollof rice related dish, it is just a matter of adding it to your cooking.
2. If you will use whole chicken, wash and cut the whole chicken into pieces. Place the pieces in a pot; add water till it just covers the pieces of chicken, add the chopped onions, stock cubes and thyme and start cooking. The cooking time depends on the type of chicken. The rooster or cockerel cooks much faster than the hen but the hen is tastier.
   
   Cooking till done and add salt to taste. Put the pieces of chicken in a sieve to drain, then fry with vegetable oil. You can also grill it in an oven. This is to give it a golden look which is more presentable especially if you have guests for dinner. Read how to season and grill chicken for more one this.
3. Now is the time to extract the coconut milk. This is quite an easy task if you follow the procedure detailed in How to Extract Coconut Milk. Set the coconut milk aside.
4. Parboil the rice using the method detailed in parboiling rice for cooking coconut rice. Wash the parboiled rice and put in a sieve to drain.

Cooking Directions

1. Now we need a pot big enough to accommodate the rice till it is done. Bear in mind that the rice will normally rise by at least one quarter of its quantity from the parboiled state to the done state.
2. Pour the chicken stock, coconut milk and the tomato stew into the selected pot. Set on the stove to boil. Add the drained parboiled rice, salt and pepper to taste. If necessary, top up with water to bring the water level to the same level as the rice. This is to ensure that all the water dries up by the time the rice is cooked.
3. Cover the pot and leave to cook on medium heat. This way the rice does not burn before the water dries up.

If you parboiled the rice as described at parboiling rice for cooking coconut rice, the rice should be done by the time the water is dry. Confirm that the rice is done by tasting it. That's the way coconut rice is cooked.

Serve with Fried Plantain, Nigerian Moi Moi, Nigerian Salad or Coleslaw.

- sources:all Nigeria recipe 

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How to cook Nigerian Boiled White Rice and Stew Recipe

The Nigerian White Rice and Stew is a popular Nigerian rice recipe because it lets you eat rice with any stew or sauce of your choice. This rice recipe is usually eaten with Beef and/or Chicken Stew which we almost always have in the freezer so it is just a matter of boiling white rice. So if you already have Beef/Chicken Stew in your freezer, the Boiled White Rice and Stew will be one easy dinner recipe to make if you are tired after a long busy day.

Cooking white rice is as easy as boiling eggs for breakfast. It is usually cooked plain with no added ingredients. Some people add salt but this is optional.

This procedure applies to the long grain white rice.

Ingredients

• Long grain parboiled white rice
• Salt (Optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Parboil the rice using the method detailed in How to Parboil Rice for Cooking White Rice. You may want to parboil it for much longer depending on personal preference.
2. Pour the rice in a sieve to drain out the hot water.
3. Dip in cold water, then wash and drain.
4. Meanwhile set some water to boil in a pot big enough to accommodate the rice bearing in mind that the rice will rise some more. The extent of rising depends on the type of rice and for how long it was parboiled.
5. Add the parboiled rice and salt (optional). Check to see that the water level is just about the same as the rice.
6. Cook till the water is just about drying up. Check that the rice is done. If not, add more water and keep cooking.
7. Keep checking till the rice is done. Leave to dry completely. This is usually confirmed by a ticking sound coming from the pot.

Eat with Meatball Stew, Beef and Chicken Stew, Banga Stew (Ofe Akwu), Vegetable Sauce, Pepper Soup, Mixed Vegetables Curry Sauce or even Egusi Soup.

Boiled White Rice and Stew accessories include: Fried Plantain, Nigerian Moi Moi and other Nigerian Rice Accessories.

- See more at: http://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/rice/white-rice.html#sthash.NF7S2IEe.dpuf
Source :all Nigeria recipe 

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How to cook Nigerian Pepper Soup

The Nigerian Pepper soup is a popular Nigerian soup recipe. It is such a versatile recipe as it can be prepared with different types of meat and fish. Thus there is the Chicken Pepper Soup, the Catfish Pepper Soup (popularly known as Point & Kill), the Goat Meat Pepper Soup, the Cow Foot Pepper Soup and the Assorted Beef Pepper Soup.

Nigerian Pepper Soup [Video]

People usually go to exclusive bars or restaurants to eat the Pepper Soup. This is because this Nigerian soup recipe is believed to be prepared with 'secret' ingredients that only the restaurant Madams know about. Yes, the Pepper Soup ingredient which gives this recipe its unique aroma and taste, is truly the best kept secret. But our job here at All Nigerian Food Recipes is to expose all Nigerian food recipes and cooking secrets so that you can prepare them right inside your own kitchen whenever you want to.

Ingredients for Pepper Soup

• 1kg Chicken or Cow Foot or Assorted Beef
• 4 seeds Ehu or Ariwo or Calabash Nutmeg
• Chilli Pepper (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons crushed Dry Uziza (optional)
• 2 medium onions
• Salt (to taste)
• 3 stock cubes
• 1 teaspoon of Thyme (for chicken pepper soup)

For grinding the ehu seeds, you will need:

• A spice/coffer grinder: Buy it in USA | in UK

Before you cook the Nigerian Pepper Soup

1. If preparing Chicken pepper Soup, it is preferable to use whole chicken instead of drumsticks. The different parts of the chicken will bring variety to the pepper soup. So wash and cut up the whole chicken and set aside.
2. If you want to prepare Assorted Beef Pepper Soup then you should buy different parts of beef - best cut, offal (shaki, round-about, liver and kidney). Wash the offal thoroughly especially the round-about which should be turned inside out during the washing. Cut these into medium pieces, just big enough to be chewed in one go.
3. For Cow Foot Pepper Soup, just wash and cut the cow foot into medium pieces. In this case also, make the pieces just big enough that it can be chewed in one go.image: http://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/images/roast-ehu.jpg
   
4. Now it is time to prepare the 'secret' ingredient. Using an old frying pan, roast the Ehu seeds (stirring constantly) till you can smell it. Don't worry you will know when it is OK to take it off because it has a distinctive aroma. Another way to know that it is OK is to take one of the seeds and try to remove the outer membrane. If the membrane comes off easily, then the Ehu is done.image: http://www.allnigerianrecipes.com/images/grind-ehu.jpg
   
5. Peel off the membrane from all the Ehu seeds and grind with a dry mill.
6. Cut the onions into tiny pieces.
7. Rub the dry uziza with your fingers to break them into tiny pieces.

Cooking Directions

1. This cooking direction describes Chicken Pepper Soup. To prepare Goat Meat Pepper Soup, Cow Foot Pepper Soup or Assorted Beef Pepper Soup just substitute chicken with cow foot or beef and offal respectively.
2. Place the pieces of chicken in a pot and pour enough water to cover the contents of the pot. Add the stock cubes, thyme and onions and cook till done.

   Note: When cooking Assorted Beef Pepper Soup, you should cook the shaki for sometime before adding the other beef parts. Shaki is tough and will take longer to cook than the other beef parts.
   Cow foot is a tough part of meat so when cooking Cow Foot Pepper Soup, you should use a pressure cooker if you have one. This will save you some gas or electricity.

3. By now, you will notice that some of the water has dried. Add more water to bring it to the level of the contents of the pot.
4. Add the ground Ehu, dry uziza, chilli pepper and salt to taste. Ehu has some spicy taste so you should add chilli pepper with care. Even though it is called pepper soup, you still want to be able to taste and enjoy the recipe itself. Too much chilli pepper will ruin it for you.
5. Cover the pot and leave to boil for 5 minutes and the pepper soup is ready.

Pepper Soup should always be served hot. It can be eaten alone with a chilled drink by the side. You can also eat it with Agidi, White Riceor Boiled Yam.

Source :all Nigerian recipe 

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How to cook Nigerian Egusi Soup (Fried Method)

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The Egusi Soup recipe described on this page is the Fried Method of preparing Nigerian Egusi Soup (Ofe Egusi / Efo Elegusi / Miyan Gushi). This is the oil before egusi method.

Fried Egusi Soup [Video]

Nigerian Egusi Soup (Caking Method) [Video]

Ofe Achara with Akpuruakpu Egusi [Video]

Other ways of cooking Egusi Soup:

• Egusi Soup (Caking Method): I also call this one the Egusi Before Oil method. No frying is involved, making is a healthier way to prepare Egusi Soup.
• Akpuruakpu Egusi: where the ground egusi is molded into balls and cooked in the soup such that you will be eating the egusi balls like meat while enjoying the meal. The surrounding egusi in the soup is prepared using the caking method. Go check it out.

If you have been with All Nigerian Recipes for some time, you will know that the fried egusi method is not my favourite way to prepare Egusi Soup. It is not my favourite because it involves frying the ground egusi (melon) seeds. This gives me heart burn. The soup also needs more palm oil than the caking method.

But since I have been receiving requests for how to prepare it, here we go!

Ingredients

• 500g Egusi (Melon) seeds
• 3 cooking spoons red palm oil
• Beef: best cut and Shaki (cow tripe)
• Fish: dry fish and stockfish
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
• Pepper and Salt (to taste)
• Vegetable: Nigerian pumpkin leaves, spinach or bitter leaf
• 3 small stock cubes
• 1 small ogiri okpei (optional)

Important tool

• Spice grinder for grinding egusi (melon) seeds:
  Buy it in USA | in UK (Krups Twin Blade Grinder)

Notes about the ingredients

1. To be honest, I may have put 3 cooking spoons of palm oil up there but you will need more. You want the quantity of palm oil that will turn every grain of the ground egusi yellow. See video below. If the ground egusi is not well coated, it will burn during frying and the resulting Egusi Soup will be dry and have a burnt taste. If you are concerned about the quantity of palm oil you will used for this soup, it is best to prepare your egusi soups using the Caking Method.
2. The best meat for Nigerian soups for swallows is red meat with beef being the most common. You can also use goat meat. I have seen some people cook Egusi Soup with chicken, that's fine but the elders will not like it. :D
3. If you use chicken, please do not use dry fish and stockfish because those two cannot co-exist with chicken in the same Nigerian pot. ;)
4. If using bitter leaves, add it a bit earlier because it is a tough vegetable (see the cooking directions below). Remember that they need to be washed to remove all the bitterness unless your family prefers it with the bitter taste.
5. Ogiri okpei is made with locust beans. It is known as iru in Yoruba. It adds a traditional taste to Egusi Soup.

Before you cook Egusi Soup

1. Before preparing the soup, soak the dry fish and stock fish till soft. If you are using the very tough stockfish, boil it for 20 minutes and leave in the pot with the hot water to soak for about an hour. If using the softer stockfish, you can just soak them in cool water till you can break them apart with your hands.
2. When the fish and stockfish are soft, de-bone and break them into sizeable chunks.
3. Much closer to your cooking time, grind the egusi with a dry mill. Grind the crayfish and the dry pepper separately and set aside.
4. Rinse the vegetables to be used and cut into tiny pieces.
5. Cook the beef and fish with the stock cubes till they are well done. You should start cooking the toughest meat and fish first and add the others as they get done. If using a normal pot, I will start with stockfish and shaki, add beef after about 1 hour and cook till done. I can add the dry fish when all the other meat and fish are cooked because it is already cooked, you just need to cook it long enough till it is soft and integrated with the rest of the ingredients. With a pressure pot, I do it differently but that is a process for another post.
6. Set all these aside.

Cooking Directions

1. Pour the red palm oil into a dry pot and set on the stove to heat. As soon as the oil melts, add the ground egusi and start frying. If the oil is not congealed, add the egusi as soon as the oil is translucent. Mix the ground egusi with oil till every grain of egusi turns yellow.
2. Start stirring the egusi on low to medium heat. Keep stir-frying for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the meat/fish stock (water from cooking the fish and meat) little by little while still stirring the egusi. So you add a bit of the stock, stir-fry for some time, add another, stir-fry and so on. When the stock is exhausted and you feel that the soup is still too thick, you can start adding hot water in the same way till you get the consistency you want. If your choice of vegetable is bitter leaf, add it at this time.
4. Cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes, stirring at intervals. Also, top up the water when necessary. If you don't stir it, it will burn. It takes 30 minutes to cook egusi properly else the soup will not taste nice to someone with authentic Nigerian taste buds. Also, egusi that is not cooked long enough may cause upset stomach. The egusi is done when you notice that the oil has separated from the mix.
5. Once you are happy that it is done, add the ground crayfish and pepper. Stir and add the Nigerian pumpkin leaves or spinach (alternative).
6. Stir very well and add the cooked stockfish, shaki and meat.
7. Add salt if necessary. If it is too thick, add some water to bring it to a consistency you like.
8. Cover and leave to simmer and it is done!

The perfect swallow for Egusi Soup is Pounded Yam. You can also serve it with Eba (Garri), Agidi, Amala, Semolina Fufu, Tuwo Shinkafa orCassava Fufu.

Source : all Nigerian recipe

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