How to Make Pancakes

This is a simple recipe for the thin, delicious Nigerian-style pancakes. It is made with those ingredients that we always have in our kitchen. So you do not have any excuse for not making this recipe right away or latest this weekend.

Nigerian Pancake Recipe [Video]

Most Nigerians think of pancake as just a snack. Yes, pancakes go well with a chilled drink. But have you ever thought of another way to enjoy pancake? Now listen to this! Pancake is the most balanced meal you can have at breakfast as it is a blend of protein (from the eggs), carbohydrates (from the flour) and fats and oil (from the butter and vegetable oil). And we are not even talking about the micro nutrients. Maybe that's why the pancake is commonly referred to as Diet in Nigeria.

You can eat pancakes with Custard, Akamu (Ogi) or Oat Meal.

So put more effort into your weekend breakfast by preparing this recipe for you and your family. Yes, mostly during weekends, so you can relax and enjoy the pancake because you are in no hurry to leave the house.

Learn how to make the Nigerian pancake and re-live your teenage years when you used to buy Diet during recess or after school. Ring a bell?

Ingredients

• 1 cup | 150g of plain flour
• 2 medium eggs
• ½ cup | 125 mls of evaporated milk (Peak or Carnation are common in Nigeria)
• 2 tablespoons of margarine
• 1 cup | 250 mls of water
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 6 teaspoons of sugar (or to taste)
• Ground Chilli Pepper (to taste)
• Vegetable oil

Tools I used

• Cooker
• Blender
• Microwave Oven for melting the margarine
• Kitchen scale
• Frying pan
• Bowl

Before you fry the pancake

1. Put the margarine is a small bowl and melt in the microwave. You can also place the bowl in a bigger bowl of hot water to melt the margarine.
2. Break the two eggs into the melted margarine and beat till smooth. Then add ½ cup of water.
3. Add the flour and mix well till there are minimal lumps.
4. Add the milk, salt, sugar, ground pepper and the remaining ½ cup of water, stir well.
   
5. Blend the mix using a liquid blender. This will give the pancake batter the smoothest consistency. If you don't want to blend it, no problem, just mix the ingredients very well so that the lumps are minimal.

   Note: You can also add onions to the pancake but make sure that your blender can liquefy the onions. If not, the pieces of onions will not let you achieve very thin pancakes.

Directions

1. Set a frying pan over medium heat. Add a few drops of vegetable oil. Just enough to lubricate the frying pan.
2. When hot, pour some pancake batter into the frying pan. Tilt the pan so that the batter coats the surface of the pan evenly. This should be a very thin coat.
3. Fry the underside of the pancake for approximately 1 minute, shaking the pan from time to time till the pancake comes loose. You can also loosen it with the spatula. Check the underside to be sure it has browned to your liking, preferably light brown.
4. Flip the pancake so you can fry the top side as well.
5. The pancake is done when both sides are light brown.

For breakfast, serve with Custard, Akamu (Ogi) or Oat Meal. If you just want to snack on the pancake, make sure you have a drink chilling in the freezer before you even start mixing the batter.

Enjoy!

Ogbono Soup (Draw Soup)

Ogbono Soup also known as Draw Soup makes eating Fufu Recipes so easy because of its slimy nature which helps the lumps of fufu slide down. If your kids do not like Okra Soup because of the chunks of Okra, then try Ogbono Soup, they will surely love it.

How to Cook Ogbono Soup [Video]

Some people like their Ogbono soup plain, with no added vegetables, others would not touch it unless there is some kind of vegetable in it. A third group love their Ogbono Soup with Okra. Some people even go fancy and add Egusi to it.

Ingredients for Ogbono Soup

• Assorted Meat and Fish: Beef, Shaki, DryFish, Stock Fish
• Ogbono Seeds: 2 handfuls
• Palm Oil: 3 Cooking spoons
• Vegetable: Frozen Spinach (you can also use Pumpkin leaves or even Bitterleaf)
• Crayfish: 1 handful
• Pepper and Salt - To taste
• 1 medium size Onion
• 2 Stock cubes (Maggi/Knorr)

Tools I used

• Cooker: 
• Pot: 
• Spice grinder for grinding ogbono seeds:
• Spatula: 
• Chopping board: 
• Knives: 

Before you cook Ogbono Soup

1. Grind the Ogbono with a dry mill.
2. Cut the frozen spinach when it is not completely defrosted. It is easier that way. Then when completely defrosted, squeeze out the excess water.
3. Cook the assorted meat with the stock cubes and onion. If you will use Shaki, remember to start cooking that first, then add beef when almost done.
4. Grind crayfish and pepper.
5. Boil some water and set aside.

Cooking Directions for Ogbono Soup

1. Pour the palm oil into a clean dry stainless steel or aluminium pot. Set on the stove and melt the oil at low heat. Remember, only melt the oil, do not allow it to heat up.
2. Once melted, turn off the heat and add the ground Ogbono.
3. Use your cooking spoon to dissolve the Ogbono in the oil.
4. When all the Ogbono powder has completely mixed with the oil, add the meat/fish stock (water from cooking the assorted meat and fish). Set the heat of your cooker to low and start stirring. You will notice the Ogbono start to thicken and draw.
5. Keep stirring till the Ogbono has completely absorbed the meat stock.
6. Add a small quantity of the hot water and stir till the Ogbono has absorbed all the water. Repeat this process till you get a consistency that is shown in the video below.
7. Making sure that your heat is set to low, cover the pot and start cooking. Once it starts to simmer, stir every 2-3 minutes for 20 minutes.
   So what you'll do is: every 3 minutes or so, open the pot, stir every well, scraping the Ogbono that sticks to the base of the pot, cover the pot and cook for another 3 minutes.
8. After 20 minutes, the Ogbono should be well cooked and you will begin to perceive its nice flavour and aroma.
9. Add the assorted meat and fish, ground crayfish, salt and pepper to taste. The Ogbono may have become thicker from the cooking. If so, add a little bit more water and stir very well. Cover and cook till the contents of the pot is well heated up.
10. If you prefer your Ogbono Soup without vegetables, turn off the heat and serve but if you like to add a vegetable then keep reading :)
11. When the contents of the pot have heated up, add the vegetable (frozen Spinach used in the video). Stir very well, cover the pot and turn off the heat. Leave to stand for about 5 minutes and serve with any Fufu recipe.

       
     

       

How to cook Bitterleaf Soup (Ofe Onugbu)

itterleaf soup is one of the most traditional soups in Nigeria. It is native to the Igbos of Eastern Nigeria.

How to Cook Bitter Leaf Soup [Video]

The name is quite misleading in that a well prepared Bitterleaf Soup should not have even the faintest bitterness. This is achieved by washing and squeezing the bitter leaves (and changing the water at intervals) till all traces of bitterness has been washed off.

One will be deemed a bad cook if his/her Bitterleaf soup tastes bitter!

Ingredients

• Washed and squeezed bitterleaf - A handful
• Cocoyam – 10 small corms
• Red Palm Oil – 2 cooking spoons (You may need a bit more)
• Assorted Beef – Includes best cut, shaki (cow tripe)
• Assorted Fish – Dry Fish and Stock Fish
• Pepper, Salt and Ground Crayfish (to taste)
• Seasoning – 3 Maggi or Knorr cubes
• Traditional Seasoning: Iru or Ogiri - 1 teaspoon

Before you cook Bitterleaf Soup

1. Make sure that the bitter leaves are well washed, such that there is no trace of bitterness left. If not, wash and squeeze it more. If the bitterness cannot be completely washed off (which is usually the case with most washed bitter leaves sold in the market), boil it for about 15 minutes and wash in cold water.
   
2. Wash and cook the cocoyam till soft. Remove the peels and use a mortar and pestle to pound the corms to a smooth paste (as shown).

Cooking Directions

1. Boil the shaki (cow tripe), stock fish and dry fish in 1 litre of water till they are well done. First sign of a done shaki is that the cuts will start curling on itself.
2. Wash the beef and add to the pot of shaki etc. and continue cooking. When the meat is done, add 3 cubes of Maggi/Knorr and cook for 5 minutes.
   
3. Add pepper, ground crayfish, bitter leaves (if they have not been parboiled) and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the cocoyam paste (in small lumps) and the palm oil then go to step 5.
   
   
   Note: If the bitter leaves were parboiled to remove the bitterness, then for step 3; add pepper, ground crayfish, the cocoyam paste (in small lumps), the bitter leaves and the palm oil. In other words, add all the ingredients at this stage.
4. Cover the pot and leave to cook on high heat till all the cocoyam lumps have dissolved. You can add more water if you feel that the soup is too thick.
5. Add salt to taste and the soup is ready

Serve with Eba, Cassava Fufu, Semolina, Amala or pounded yam

The Vegetable Soup Edikang Ikong

The Nigerian Edikang Ikong soup or simply Vegetable Soup is native to the Efiks, people from Akwa Ibom and Cross River states of Nigeria. It is a general notion that the Edikang Ikong soup is very nutritious and this is very much so. Prepared with a generous quantity of pumpkin leaves and water leaves, this Nigerian soup recipe is nourishing in every sense of the word.

How to Cook Edikang Ikong Soup [Video]

It is common for Nigerians to request this soup recipe after a bout of illness as we trust it to replenish whatever was lost during the sickness. But you don't not need to be in a state of convalescence to enjoy this wholesome Nigerian food recipe.

Ingredients for Edikang Ikong Soup

• 1kg Pumpkin leaves
• 500g Water leaves
• 600g Beef, Kanda, shaki and Dry fish
• Pepper, Salt and ground Crayfish: to taste
• 200ml Palm oil
• Periwinkle - 1 cup
• 2 medium bulbs onions
• 2-3 Stock cubes

Alternative vegetables for those who cannot buy water leaves and pumpkin leaves:

Use the following to replace the classic Nigerian vegetables for this soup:

• 1kg Normal Frozen Spinach
• 200g Ground Frozen Spinach
• 250g Lamb's Lettuce (Canonigos in Spanish)

Defrost the frozen spinach, cut the normal frozen one into tiny pieces and mix with the ground frozen spinach. Wring out the water from these and add them when I add the pumpkin leaves.

Wash pick and cut the Lamb's Lettuce into tiny pieces. Add them when I add the water leaves.

Before you cook the Edikaikong Soup

1. Wash and cut the pumpkin and water leaves into tiny pieces. Put them in separate sieves to drain out all the water as much as possible.
2. Cut the Kanda into small pieces. Cook the beef, kanda and the dry fish with the 2 bulbs of diced onions and the 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes with as little quantity of water as possible.

Cooking Directions

1. When the meat is done, add a generous amount of palm oil, the crayfish and pepper and leave to boil for about 10 minutes. The palm oil serves as water in the Edikaikong soup. You should try as much as possible to make it the only liquid in the soup.
2. Add the periwinkle and water leaves and leave to cook for another 5 minutes. You may have to cook for less time at this stage so that the water leaves are not over-cooked.
3. Now add the pumpkin leaves and salt to taste. Stir the contents of the pot very well and turn off the heat. Cover the pot and leave to stand for about 5 minutes.
4. The Edikang Ikong soup is ready to be served with Garri (Eba), Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.