We survived the storm

Here's what happened- Underground Market- the day before was crazy- the Gods worked against us. The ginger beer exploded in the fridge.. flood of ginger beer caused a power cut...& we had to rebottle the periperi sauce- we worked until the early hours.. (a special thank you to Kinito who was there for it all..) 

                         foto's: Jeroen Niezen
Most importantly we were there to spread the message. And we were well recieved- African Food made it, it was loved by those who tasted it, and we left with empty food crates and lots of new followers. And we made the morning news...

Faithful followers & lovers of African food

Remember the 4th edition Underground Farmers Market this Sunday-19th June from 12-16.30 somewhere in Amsterdam. see www.talkinfood.nl for the definate line up of micro-producers, of course fab Afrosnacks and REAL gingerbeer. ..see recipe below-
 there's margarita icecreams, ambrosia truffels,peace hummous, home grown sambal, DIY instant jelly beans..? enough to stop by for. Check this site about 1 hour before opening time for exact location..

                                                     Gingembre- real African gingerbeer

• Gingembre
  (home made ginger beer-not for the fainthearted)
  
  
  250 g fresh ginger, sliced and bruised
  2 lemons
  1 stick of cinnamon
  1 teaspoon cloves
  500 g sugar
  1 teaspoon baking powder
  1 teaspoon dried instant yeast
  
  
  Method:  Scrub the ginger and lemon. Grate the ginger on a course grater and peel the lemon. Place the grated ginger, lemon peel, cinnamon, cloves, sugar and the baking powder in a large clean container, which can hold 3 liters. Bring 3 liters of water to the boil and pour over the ginger and spices. Squeeze the juice from the lemons and add to the mixture.  Stir to dissolve the sugar, cover with a clean tea towel and allow mixture to cool to room temperature. Sprinkle over the yeast, stir and cover with cling film. Leave to ferment for 24 hours in a warm draught-free spot. Sprain through a very fine sieve and pour into suitable bottles. Refrigerate and serve icy-cold with a slice of lemon. Open bottles carefully as slight fermentation will continue in the bottles. Makes 3 liters 

We’re going underground….

We’re going underground….

Ok, the Underground Farmers Market Amsterdam edition 4 has a date- Sunday 19 th June, from 12-4.30 pm,. And we will be there!

This fabulous initiative by foodtrend watcher Marjan Ippel, (www.talkinfood.nl) gives those producing fine foods on a small scale, a chance to offer their wares.

What will we be doing there?  Introducing you to some of gastronomic delights that Africa has to offer, using recipes that will be included in our book-to-be and from this blog.

 As we write.. the gingembre is brewing, bilotong is drying, berberi paste is being bottled.

This is a guerilla affair- the location remains a strict secret until minutes before opening- get the latest info by following us on Twitter.com/newafricancook.

Make a note of 19th, keep an eye on this blog, twitter or facebook for updates and come and enjoy the delights of fine African food.  

Roast maize and milk fresh from the cow brings tears to her eyes.

My dear friend, Xaverine, originally from Rwanda told me all about Rwandan food and eating habits. She's camera shy so sadly I can't share her beautiful smile with you. but she did let me photograph in her environment.

 A pretty still life- the girls on the tea mugs are 

                                             daughters, bowl of pebbles, sorghum twigs

                                          Rwandan for "welcome, feel at home".


Here's a short interview:
Characterize Rwandan taste?

Pure and simple, not too hot. But with alot of flair and flavour. Spring onions, and red onion, some chilli pepper and peanuts give Rwandan food it’s special flavour.

What are typical Rwandan ingredients and foods?

It’s regional, in the north people eat alot of maize, peas and potatoes, in the east bananas, beans and peanuts, in the central region cassava, bananas sweet potato and beans, and in the west they have a bit of everything. Sorghum is eaten but in small select areas of the country. 

Ubugari is a stiff maize porrige, eaten alot . Chapatis are also eaten but mostly on special ccassions. Roast sweet potatoes are a favourite.  

Your favorite food?

The grilled maize- it is a food for sharing. I have this crazy memory of my brother sitting at the table with a glass of milk fresh from the cow in one hand and a piece of roasted corn in the other. A I enter the room he simply says “bon apetit” it brings warmth to my heart and tears to my eyes when I think back on that moment…
What do Rwandans drink and what do they snack on?

We love our  tea the English way with milk, and we hardly drink coffee. 

Ikigage is a traditional sorghum beer, a really symbolic drink- served at weddings and other occassions where guests are received. 

It is also drunk without alcohol, so before it starts fermenting then it is called- umusuru- this is a really nutritious drink also served to nursing mothers to encourage breast- feeding. Sweet treats- pieces of sugar cane to for chewing on and of course roast sweetcorn.

Are there different food for different meals of the day?

On the countrysde rural Rwanda, diets are fairly monotone- many people eat for breakfast what was eaten the night before. In fact people often cook more so breakfast is catered for.

In a more western influenced Rwanda a special breakfast dish is eaten. A sorghum porridge eaten sweetend with honey. We have lovely honey, by the way.
Is eating out part of Rwandan culture?

It is an imported phenomenon, something that started to happen during colonial times. In modern Kigali it is now quite common to eat out. Traditionally people eat and cook togethere in the home, even guests participate in the cookin process.

From the time that people started working "office hours" 7-5, a special shorter lunch break of only ½ hour was introduced, it is called "gongenique".  The break was too short for workers to return home for lunch so they started dining at restaurants and cafeterias which serve a quick lunch.

Where and how is shopping done in Rwanda?

Both in the city and rural areas the marketplace is most important. Fod and other commodidties are bought, sold, traded and bartered there. The marketplace has a huge social function. It is a time and place where people can get get together, exchange stories, news and gossip and joke along side the daily shopping.

 

   

Yam, njam, nyami, djambi

Last week, a very African tuber- a yam, landed in my veggie basket. I had ordered sweet potato and got the yam instead from the veggie man. Just the egging on I needed to get experimenting.

The yam is the tuber of a tropical vine (Dioscorea batatas) and is not even distantly related to the sweet potato.

The word yam comes from African words njam, nyami, or djambi, meaning "to eat".

A yam has a brown or black skin, which resembles the bark of a tree, off-white, purple or red flesh, depending on the variety and is HUGE compared to a potato or sweet potato; the one used here was about 40 cm long and 15 cm in diameter..

8 good (African) things with yams-

*boiled yam- peeled and cut into large pieces, the yam is boiled in salted water until tender- about 30 minutes. Good served with lots of butter, ground pepper, salt and a sprinkling of nutmeg.

* fufu-yam and pieces of peeled ripe plantain are boiled together and mashed with cooking water, butter and lots of seasoning. I know Africans like their fufu really smooth but I mashed mine quite coarsely, and really liked it.

* dundun onyeri slices (a street food snack in Nigeria)- lightly boiled thin slices of yam are battered in egg and flour and fried to a golden brown. I served them with a simple dip of spring onion, oil, lemon juice and seasoning

* yam pancakes with cinnamon and sugar- pureed yam in a buttermilk pancake batter. Small pancakes are served with a sprinkling of cinnamon and brown sugar

* smoked yam and peanut soup- raw pieces of peeled yam, lightly smoked are cooked with onion, tomato, ground raw peanuts and vegetable stock to a thick rich soup. Delicious served with extra sliced chilli and a dollop of thick yoghurt or soured milk. (very African)

*baked yams- large pieces of yam wrapped in tin foil and baked in hot coals. Serve with lots of butter and salt

* ojojo- spicy Nigerian yam fritters, with pieces of shrimp and chopped coriander.

* yam oto- is a very symbolic Ghanaian food, served to brides before marrying, offered to twins to seal their special bond, at birthdays, to people escaping accidents or recovering from an illness.

It is a yam puree, flavoured with chopped onion and tomato fried in palm oil and hard-boiled egg yolks. This gives the puree a bright orange colour. Oto is garnished with pieces of hard-boiled egg

                                          smoked yam and peanut soup

                                           boiled yam

                                          yam pancakes with cinamon

                                          oto

                                  baked yam

Here’s one of the recipes, the rest will have to wait for the book-

Ojojo –Nigerian Yam & shrimp fritters

300 g yam, peeled and finely grated

1 small onion grated

1 teaspoon chilli paste

1 handful fresh coriander, chopped

100 g raw prawns, peeled and chopped

60 ml sunflower oil

Knead all the ingredients together with clean hands, until well mixed and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large shallow frying pan and drop tablespoons full of the mixture into the hot oil. Fry to a golden brown on both sides over medium heat. Remove from the pan, drain on paper towel, sprinkle with salt and serve with extra chili sauce.  

                                          ojojo and dundun onyeri

Afro-Pantry

Filling the pantry with African preserves for our Afro Kitchen food stall- pickles, spice rubs, jams, ginger beer, for up and coming Underground Farmers market in Amsterdam sometime in May (the exact date and location always remains under wraps, until just before the happening.) Any micro-producer can partake (see details on www.talkinfood.nl).

This micro-producer is still looking for unusual and tasty recipes for African jams and chutneys…anybody?

 Meanwhile our recipe for this gorgeous pickle

 

Pumpkin atjar

This fairly mild pickle is good with just about everything, grilled meat, cheese or simple with bread and butter.

8 jars of 250 ml

4 kg of pumpkin, peeled pith removed and diced

4 T of each, cumin seeds, crushed

600 ml sunflower oil

2 heaped tablespoons salt

6 heaped tablespoons finely ground coriander

6 tablespoons fennel seeds

4 tablespoons ground cumin

4 tablespoons curry powder

1 litre white vinegar

200 g light brown sugar

4 T yellow mustard seeds

16 small dried chillies

16 garlic cloves, peeled

20 curry leaves

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the pumpkin pieces on a roasting tray, sprinkle with the crushed cumin and drizzle with 6 tablespoons oil. Mix to coat evenly. Roast for about 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is cooked but hold its shape.  Combine the salt, ground coriander, fennel, ground cumin and curry. Sprinkle over the cooked pumpkin, mixing carefully to coat the cubes. Leave to marinade overnight. Place the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan and boil until sugar dissolves.  Pour the pickling sauce over the pumpkin. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan and add the garlic cloves mustard until the seeds start to pop. Remove from heat and add the chillies and curry leaves. Pour over the pumpkin and allow mixture to cook completely. Bottle in sterilized jars and top with oil to cover.    

Burundi comfort food

Talking to a Burundian hotelier and cook, about typical Burundian cuisine, he made an interesting point- that Burundians eat alot of vegetables, more than most Africans. Beans seem to be a great favourite, especially kidney beans, they eat them daily…

Here’s  a recipe for Ibiharage- cooked beans with plantain. This spicy version  includes a spoon of berberi peper paste. Go easy on the palm oil, it’s an acquired taste! 

 Ibiharage with fried plantain

Preparation time: about 30 minutes

4 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed
450 g cooked kidney beans

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chilli/ berberi paste

2 ripe plantains, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons palm oil

Heat half the sunflower oil. Gently soften the onions and garlic. Add the beans and season with salt and the chilli or berberi paste. Add 500 ml water and cook for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile heat the rest of the sunflower and palm oil and cooking oil in a large pan and fry the plantain pieces until they are golden brown. Remove from the pan, sprinkle with salt and set aside.

Serves 3-4

Note: to cook dried kidney beans, soak overnight in cold water. Drain and cover with clean water in a pot. Add 2 bay leaves, enough water to cover and bring to the boil. The beans will be tender in 20-25 minutes.