Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend for about 30 to 45 seconds. Place in a bowl and serve with fish or other seafood dishes.

AFRICA
Nigeria – Okra Soup
ASIA
India – Samba
AUSTRALIA
Curried Bhindi (Indian Influence)
CARIBBEAN
Callaloo
NORTH AMERICA
Southern U.S.A – Gumbo
SOUTH AMERICA
Brazil – Frango com quiabo

2 pounds Pork babyback ribs
4 Tbsp.Berber Spice
3 Tsp. Coarse Salt
2 cups Afrofood Barbecue Sauce

Place Cleaned and Paper towel dried ribs on baking sheet. Sprinkle salt and berber spice on all sides of ribs, forming a coating on the ribs. Set aside.Turn on grill and allow to heat up (About 15 minutes).Place ribs, meaty side down on cooler zone of grill and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes per side. Be sure to check periodically to make sure meat does not burn.Using a grill brush slather on barbecue sauce over grilled ribs and grill for additional 5 minutes.Remove ribs from the grill, place on baking sheet.Preheat oven to 350 and wrap ribs in foil paper.Place ribs in oven and cook for additional 20 minutes.Remove from oven. Take care to remove Ribs from foil. Serve hot with other delicious sides.Enjoy!!!

West African Pepper soup
Vegetable Salad
Grilled Chicken Suya with Vegetable Couscous
Mango Fool

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredient List

2 Cups Ground Egusi (or ground pumpkin seeds)
4 Roma Tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion
1 Habanero Pepper
3/4 cup Canola oil (or palm oil if preferred)
1 cup dried chopped Crayfish
2 Medium Cuts of dried fish
1 pound of cooked red meat (goat or beef is fine)
1 box of frozen chopped spinach Boullion flavoring

Blend using a blender tomatoes, onions and peppers well. Place dutch oven over medium to high heat and heat up oil. Once heated, add tomato mixture and boullion flavoring and reduce heat to medium, cook for 15 minutes. Add washed dried fish, crayfish and meat and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup of water to ground egusi to form a paste and add to pot in handfuls. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Add thawed spinach to mixture and cook for additional 5 minutes. Serve hot with fufu or any other african staple.

African food preparation is not complete without the use of locally available seasonings. Just as salt is important in meal preparation, the addition or omission of some locally made seasoning can make or break a dish. The various seasonings are gotten from plant sources….it could be in form of seeds, roots, bark or flowers. These items follow various preparation procedures from drying and grinding to soaking and leaving whole. In this series, we will explore once a week, a seasoning from the beginning to end.

Ogiri
A seasoning native to Nigeria, West Africa, Ogiri is a paste of fermented oil seeds. There are many types of ogiri but the most common varieties are Ijebu, Igbo and Nwan. The names are derived from the region of origin.
Ogiri Ijebu is fermented Egusi seeds and is of Ijebu Yoruba origin – a south western Nigerian tribe. Popular all over West Africa, Egusi has many names from Agushi, Egushi to Egusi. Its seeds are from West African melons, whose fruit is bitter and inedible. The seeds are covered with a light brown shell which is removed prior to cooking. When de-shelled, the seeds have a creamy white appearance and it is ground into a powder that has a consistency of bread crumbs. They are then used to cook very savory stews and served with the staple fufu.
Ogiri Igbo is fermented castor oil seeds and is Igbo origin – a south easthern Nigerian tribe. Castor oil seeds are available in all parts of Africa. In old times, castor oil was valued for its laxative properties and it is used by many new parents in caring for their newborn children. Its seeds are grown fresh every year. The seeds are relatively large, black and glossy. These seeds are poisonous if ingested raw. The fermentation process eliminates the toxic quality of these seeds.
Ogiri Nwan is fermented fluted pumpkin seeds

Methodology
The Egusi seeds are boiled until very soft. They are then wrapped tightly in banana leaves and left to ferment in large clay pots for five days. After fermentation is complete, it is smoked for 2 hours and mashed into an oily paste which is ogiri.
Ogiri igbo follow the same process but fermentation process can take three to five days. The longer the fermentation process, the stronger the flavor and value .

Ogiri has an oily gray pasty consistency and a very strong pungent smell. The smell is greatly reduced when frozen. Ogiri is best used in the preparation of Egusi soups….it lends a deeper richer flavor to the dish.

Salad Dressing
¼ cup vinegar (balsamic preferred)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
¾ cup olive oil (or peanut oil)

How To
Cut the salmon into five ounce pieces, rinse and pat dry with paper towel. Cut slits (about four slits) into the flesh of the fish creating small pockets. In a small bowl, combine the chopped onions and tarragon. Place onion-tarragon mix into the slits making sure to fill the slits completely.

Coat each piece of salmon completely with the Suya seasoning forming a thick coating around the fish. Place fish on baking rack on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to rest for about five minutes.
In a bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, salt and garlic until salt and sugar dissolve. Add the oil one teaspoon at a time until the oil and vinegar are homogenously mixed. Set aside.

In a large bowl, arrange remaining salad ingredients and add three teaspoons of salad dressing. Toss until all the spinach leaves are lightly covered with dressing. Plate salad and top with Salmon Suya.

Who would have known that West Africa alone has intercontinental influences from France, Europe and the Middle East. In other parts of Africa, every culture from Mediterranean to Italian is represented in the cuisine, leading to the conclusion that African food is what I describe as world food with African flavor!
Now to the original question: what makes a meal decidedly African? I believe that a meal must pass three criteria:

• It must be natural and sustainable with little to no processing. African cuisine is notorious for using fresh and natural ingredients straight from the farm. This makes the resulting food more nutritious and delicious.

• It takes time to prepare. In today’s microwave culture of food preparation where everything is expected to be completed at the speed of light, African cuisine is a sane reprieve. African cooking is about love and soul. I believe the term “soul food” in African-American cooking came from the African slaves who cooked in the way their forebears cooked — slow and full of love.

• It is flavored with an assortment of African spices and contains at least one ingredient that is sourced from Africa. I have found that what differentiates foods across different regions of the continent are the spice mixes that create the flavor profiles that define each region’s food.

The importance of eating fresh food in season cannot be over stated. I remember growing up in Nigeria and my mother cooking food in season. Every evening, we had to go to our backyard to cut whatever leaves we had available to make soup. Eating this way has now become a trend internationally, and it goes under the moniker “clean eating.” People are finally starting to clue in to what we have known for years — eating natural and fresh food is the way to go. Eating clean has been proven to maintain a healthy weight, improve health indicators like blood pressure and blood sugar and promote life longevity.

In my profession as a pharmacist, I have seen the effects of poor eating and lack of physical exercise on lifestyles as people age. I have seen individuals as young as 25 dying of heart attacks and cancers that a few years ago were only seen in people much older. Studies have shown that a lot of this is a result of people increasingly relying on processed food and being more sedentary. Most integrative medical doctors will attest to the power of diet to health.

It is a matter of fact that most medications that cure and alleviate disease had their starts from organic sources like the very food we have growing in our backyards. The old ways of curing disease that our parents and grandparents employed are actually very effective and healthy for us. Does anyone remember giving Agbo for fever or serving fish pepper soup with yam to a new mother to help her breastfeed? Food is medicine, and when sourced and prepared well, it can lead to a long and healthy life.

It is now spring where I live, and it is marked by warming temperatures and lots of fresh-water fish and leafy greens. It also is the start of the swimsuit season as people will now start taking to the beaches and pools, so it is time to start getting ready to tone up and trim down a bit. I have developed a delicious Salmon Suya that pairs perfectly with a fresh garden salad. It will not only satisfy but also will help you fit beautifully into your bathing suit or favorite pair of jeans.

Enjoy!

Salmon Suya Salad

What You Need
1 pound salmon fillet (or any available firm fleshed fish with bones removed)
5 tablespoons Suya spice mix
3 tablespoons finely chopped tarragon (or efirin)
½ cup finely chopped red onion
1 pound fresh spinach leaves
½ cup chopped tomatoes
¼ cup sliced onions
½ cup peeled orange slices (with membranes removed)
¼ cup chopped cucumbers
¼ cup thinly sliced carrots
¼ cup goat cheese (optional)

Salad Dressing
¼ cup vinegar (balsamic preferred)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
¾ cup olive oil (or peanut oil)

How To
Cut the salmon into five ounce pieces, rinse and pat dry with paper towel. Cut slits (about four slits) into the flesh of the fish creating small pockets. In a small bowl, combine the chopped onions and tarragon. Place onion-tarragon mix into the slits making sure to fill the slits completely.

Coat each piece of salmon completely with the Suya seasoning forming a thick coating around the fish. Place fish on baking rack on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to rest for about five minutes.
In a bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, salt and garlic until salt and sugar dissolve. Add the oil one teaspoon at a time until the oil and vinegar are homogenously mixed. Set aside.

In a large bowl, arrange remaining salad ingredients and add three teaspoons of salad dressing. Toss until all the spinach leaves are lightly covered with dressing. Plate salad and top with Salmon Suya.

Yeti and Julius discuss the state of African cuisine and restaurants in Diaspora.

http://afrofoodtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03

2 Semi Ripe Plantains
Oil for frying
salt to taste
Water for rinsing

Cut off ends of plantains. Using a mandolin, shave off thin slices of plantains (with the skin intact) . Place plantain slices in water and rinse of excess starch. Place rinsed plantain slices on a paper towel and dry thoroughly.Lightly salt. Bring oil to 385 degrees. Deep fry plantain until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Cool and serve as a snack or side.

Couscousiere is a double boiler pot with the top part (which has little holes in its bottom) used to cook the couscous and the bottom pot use to cook the stew to serve with the couscous. The steam from the stew infuses the couscous on the top pot with flavors. Using this pot to make couscous can be somewhat labor intensive for a beginner. It is also somewhat expensive and bulky but it is very impressive to look at and it produces the fluffiest Couscous.

1 tsp. chicken bouillon powder
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup olive oil
2 tbsp. butter

In a pan, heat olive oil and melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and bell peppers and sauté for about three minutes. Add corn, tomatoes, green beans and seasoning and stir. Sauté for an additional five minutes and add zucchini, yellow squash and chicken stock. Cook uncovered for about five minutes until the zucchini becomes tender. Add lima beans and taste for seasoning. Adjust accordingly. Stir and cook for an additional two minutes. Serve hot.