Curious Findings

Yoruba Cooking & Food Preparation Words

June 19, 2020

Last week, an innocent gesture to explore bread ended up with a search to understand Yoruba cooking words. That then ignited a further curiosity that was my focus of this week. I was trained in traditional French cooking techniques and as such some things are just expected at all times. I assume that most kitchens […]

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No fail cake recipe* – It’s a pound cake or not

May 29, 2020

Cake is something that is hard to hate. I think that is because it can be modified to fit almost any taste. It can be dense or spongy, soft or hard, moist or dry, and the list goes on. None of these forms of cake are better than the other. It all comes down to […]

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Techniques

Perfect Akara (Bean Fritter)

March 14, 2016

Akara is one of those foods that I never really liked as a child. Now thinking back on it, I think that is because I never had it fresh straight out of the fryer. Now that I have been paying more attention to food, I thought I would try my hand at making akara again after […]

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Techniques

Moin Moin – Wrapping and Steaming Technique

March 10, 2016

Moin moin is a savory steamed pudding made from black eyed peas. It is typically eaten with a starch like rice or gaari (fermented and dried cassava). It can also be eaten by itself as a stand alone meal. Typically the batter is steamed in a leaf and is unwrapped before serving. Apart from the […]

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Making Egusi from scratch

March 23, 2015

In this post I will detail the steps I took to make Egusi from scratch for 3 types of melons: Bàrà, Ìtoo and Tagíri. For people who are familiar with Egusi, the main type used is the Bàrà variety of melon. In Yoruba (south west Nigeria) cuisine the peeled melon seed is coarsely ground and put […]

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How to take apart an Agbalumo method 2: Peel

March 1, 2015

This method includes peeling the skin of the fruit and removing the flesh. This method however works best if your agbalumo is properly ripe. I have found that the under ripe fruits do not peel well as the skin adheres too strongly to the fruit flesh. The advantage of this method is the flesh and […]

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How to take apart an Agbalumo method 1: Slice and Scoop

March 1, 2015

This method includes cutting the fruit and scooping the flesh out. This method is useful if you have a large amount of Agbalumo to separate as it works for all levels of ripeness. The only drawback is that the flesh does not come out of the fruit intact. Here are the steps with pictures. Wash […]

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