Delicacy In African Dishes

Sometimes, it is amazing how I can be extremely upset or even angry depending what the case maybe, but the moment I set my eye on food, everything changes. For me, it has been proven that when you are going through a lot in life, you could definitely get out of it or distract yourself with the presence and consumption of a delicious meal. Yes, I admit it, I’m a foodie with a big F but not any kind of foodie, I’m a foodie with a strong craving for African dishes, most especially Nigerian dishes. Since, I have decided to write about everything I can lay my hands on in order to give my readers and followers varieties, I decided to talk the DELICACY IN AFRICAN DISHES. While writing, I found Hive account@mistural has blogged about some special African dishes so, i will reference and recommend some of her posts.

_{Hive account@peaq's restaurant}

_{From @mistural's kitchen}

I remember when I went to visit a friend of mine whom I met through Hive, Hive account@peaq. She treated me to a nice meal that I can’t seem to get out of head. I was offered the notorious jollof rice which up to date is still a National Conflict between Nigeria and Ghana. You can even imagine, when my country played the World Cup Qualifier Match against Ghana, although we lost the match due to an Away Goal rule, there was still a strong beef fight between Nigerians and Ghanaians on the popular bird app, Twitter. We Nigerians are of the opinion that our Jollof rice is way better than the jollof rice of the Ghanaians and bet me, being a Nigerian I must say there is truth in this statement. Have you tasted a jollof rice made by an elderly woman with firewood, a big pot and very long spoon.

Damn!!!! I must say it is SUPERB! It feels like there is extra taste that comes with the food because it was made with firewood or even the long spoon, that I can’t fathom yet. But believe me when I say the food is tasty, oh yeah it’s really tasty, especially when it has been well garnished with the presence of small chopped meats, canned corn, a little bit of green peas and then served with a well barbecued chicken and creamed salad. I must say the aroma is pleasant to the nose, the appearance is lovely to see and the taste is just so romantic for tongue.

Oh yeah! This is what my friend Hive account@peaq served me at her restaurant but her food was quite different cause the taste I got from the chicken was exactly new to the taste buds on my tongue. It was like something new that I haven’t tried out before, I can tell you it was like my tongue was meeting the love of his life for the first time.

_{Delicious innocent looking Chicken}

There was this gush of hunger that instantly came after eating the chicken, it was like “I want more more more by all means!!!!!!!”, so I asked my dear friend Mama Q for her secret ingredient for preparing the chicken with the hopes that I could make mine at home as well. One would think that for her being my friend, she will definitely share the secret ingredient with me, but it is sad that I have to put out to you, it was at this moment that I knew there are boundaries in friendship. So you see she didn’t, then I had to take the next logical move, go back another day and order again.

_{Image from Unsplash}

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Next stop: Amala and Ewedu

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This is another meal that helps in preserving and showcasing the Yoruba people’s culture in the best way possible. I know by now you all might have grabbed the drift that I’m in deed a Yoruba Man to the core, which justifies my love for Yoruba Dishes. Amala which is also known by its English name Yam flour and Ewedu still known as ewedu cause I’m still not aware of any English name for the soup but only a botanical name for the leaf used in preparing the soup.

_{Image source}

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Efo Riro & Pounded Yam

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The next Nigerian dish I have to talk about is the Pounded Yam and Vegetable Soup or we Yorubas like to call “Efo Riro”. I can remember the first day I tried this meal out. At first, I was a bit skeptical because I felt it would not be that amazing compared to the rice, chicken and salad I got used to. I must tell you it was pretty good and that day I was glad I tried it for the first time. The yam was well boiled to a point that it was very soft, then pounded to a pulp. And please don’t get me started with the vegetable soup, well garnished or what I like to refer to as filled with traffic. In other words, there was a mixture of well seasoned meat, stockfish, sliced cow skin or what we call kpomo, leaves and other seasoning. Wow!! it was a meal I can’t forget, with the way it filled my belly, I can tell you I was extremely happy and responded to every conversation I got involved into with delight all over my face.

Efo Riro Soup - The Preparation Process And The Health Benefits by @Mistural

_{From @mistural's kitchen}

In Mistural's blog, she explained some benefits of eating this vegetable. Some of them i didn't even know of.

Efo Riro has a very low calorie and fat content. The leaves are high in soluble dietary fibre. This is why dietitians frequently recommend it in cholesterol-lowering and weight-loss treatments.
They are high in fiber and contain a lot of water. It helps with digestion and keeps you from getting constipated.

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Tuwon Shinkafa

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Unfortunately, I couldn't get an image of it. But trust me! It is delicious.

This is a meal well known to the Northern people of Nigeria, made up of rice and can be eaten with all kinds of soups, be it vegetable, Egusi or Okra. The beauty of this meal is in the taste and the unique way the rice is boiled to the point it gets soft and yummy.

I could go on and on about every Nigerian dish I have eaten but these are my favourite and probably later on I could talk about other dishes.

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_{Images from Unsplash,Hive account@mistural's blog & Hive account@peaq. Gif via Tenor}