Notes about Recipes in this book

• Bell pepper soup (Obe ata) [Yoruba]

  • joneshayley on July 21, 2019

    This has split the family- half of us loved it, the other found it bitter and grainy. I personally didn’t like it. I liked the basic blitzed veg though, and chose to use the optional carob, which is what I think ruined it- adding a bitter quality and turning the soup far more brown than the ruby red the author promised. I don’t think it’ll be made again

• Egusi soup (Obe egusi) [Yoruba]

  • Ro_ on October 25, 2024

    While making this, I realised that there's hardly any liquid (150ml per person) which for a soup seemed like very meagre portions. I ended up added a lot more liquid and spices than stated. This was my first time eating egusi soup, and the flavour was very interesting and savoury, but I'm not sure I loved it enough to make again. I'd be interested to try an authentic version cooked by someone who knows what they're doing to compare.

• Sweet potato medley with a tarragon dressing

  • Hansyhobs on January 17, 2023

    Made this with white, purple and orange sweet potatoes. Found the clove a bit heavy so would dial that down next time.

  • Ro_ on April 24, 2025

    I thought the stated quantity of ground cloves seemed extraordinary, so I added just a quarter of it and it was plenty. Unfortunately I couldn't get white sweet potatoes so just used regular orange ones. Overall this dish was nice but not amazing, I was a bit disappointed that the dressing didn't pack more of a punch.

• Steamed jollof rice

  • Ro_ on January 25, 2024

    This is the second recipe I've tried for jollof rice, and I did prefer it - the steaming method gave very nicely textured rice. I would just add a good whack more salt than suggested, and maybe a little bit of chicken stock powder too for savouriness.

• Jollof cauliflower 'rice'

  • Ro_ on March 06, 2024

    I tried this recipe as something for "fast days" (on the 5:2 diet). Ultimately I just wasn't that convinced, this was the kind of thing that just left me wanting the real rice rather than a cauliflower version.

• Fried coconut rice

  • Ro_ on March 06, 2024

    I cooked this to go with the hibiscus chicken recipe from the same book, and it was a great match. I only wavered from the recipe in that I didn't have a carrot to include, but everything else was good. I really liked the flavours of this rice, very savoury, though I wouldn't necessarily have identified it as African/Nigerian.

• Abeokuta bowl

  • Ro_ on July 07, 2024

    I switched out the plantain for sweet potato, since I'm not a plantain fan, but otherwise followed the recipe. This is the kind of dish I'm glad to have made and tried, but it wasn't delicious enough for me to make again. I feel that it would have been nicer with some kind of sauce.

• Onion millet with roasted garri tomatoes

  • Ro_ on March 06, 2024

    I'm not totally sure I bought the right type of millet, mine was in quite distinct little balls rather than finely ground like couscous. Anyway, I think this recipe had things I liked about it, but ultimately I think I just don't like the taste of millet very much - it's quite strangely pungent.

• Seared scallops in grapefruit sauce

  • lkgrover on February 10, 2025

    Delicious scallops. I appreciate how Nigerian food uses grapefruit in savory recipes. I substituted honey for coconut nectar syrup, as suggested.

• Baked kuli kuli cod with cayenne yam chips

  • Frenchfoodie on March 06, 2021

    Tasty cod coating but fish needs rinsing after the dry brine as it is far too salty if you don’t.

• Sticky pineapple cod

  • NikkiPixie on January 05, 2018

    The sauce is truly delicious, but completely overwhelmed the delicate flavour of the cod. Certainly will make the sauce again, but next time with a nice pork chop!

• Mum's grilled chicken drumsticks (Agie lya Lopé) [Yoruba]

  • Ro_ on April 24, 2025

    These were definitely in the category of "very nice but maybe not special enough to repeat". I think I just love drumsticks cooked in the air fryer now. The seasoning was good but not incredibly special.

• Hibiscus chicken

  • Ro_ on March 06, 2024

    Unusual and very tasty. The chicken stayed really moist, probably thanks to the marinade and also the hibiscus sauce glaze. The sweet glaze was really nice, and that with the marinade gave a great balance of sweet/salty/spicy. My only criticisms are a) coconut oil isn't great for a marinade because it hardens up (though as long as it sticks to the chicken it's quite practical for grilling) and b) the white pepper was a smidge overwhelming, but I am very sensitive to that spice so maybe it's just me.

• Roast grapefruit and turmeric chicken

  • joneshayley on July 21, 2019

    Sweet and tangy, umami rich and satisfying. I LOVE this recipe , though for a 1.65kg chicken I only used half the rub

  • lkgrover on February 01, 2024

    Excellent roast chicken with grapefruit. The meat was very moist, although the skin blackened (probably due to the brown sugar). My roasted grapefruit slices were a bit sour (as this fruit often is), maybe needs more honey. I used honey instead of coconut nectar syrup, and white wine vinegar instead of palm vinegar. Did not have carob powder.

• Grilled Nigerian basil turkey (Efirin tòlótòló) [Yoruba]

  • Ro_ on January 25, 2024

    This was a nice way to cook turkey breasts, they stayed moist. I would have liked a little more of the marinade flavour right the way through the meat, especially as cooking on the griddle meant a lot of the marinade itself didn't stick to the turkey or get reabsorbed. I liked the hint of peanut butter.

• Nigerian-style meatballs

  • Ro_ on March 06, 2024

    Definitely my favourite recipe from this book so far. These meatballs were very tasty indeed, unusual and delicious. The only thing I'd say is that they're very very rich (what with the fatty pork, the egg yolks, the oil, the coconut cream) so it's tricky to think of a side that is both light but also goes with the sauce - maybe cauliflower rice, broccoli or green beans? I served with the onion millet recipe from the same book, and it was all too heavy.

• Sticky tamarind pork ribs

  • Frenchfoodie on April 24, 2021

    Used this recipe for pork belly slices, cooked at 160c for 1 hour then finished in BBQ. They were so good with a sweet, tangy, nutty taste - plus a little caramelisation from the BBQ.

  • Ro_ on July 01, 2024

    This is the first time I've ever cooked ribs via the slow cooking method, and they turned out great! I put them in the slow cooker for about 5 hours, and then grilled with the drizzle as instructed. We both loved these, the sweet tamarind flavour was delicious and the texture was melt in your mouth tender. Just be wary of the fat and make sure to cut it off.

• Suya lamb curry

  • Ro_ on October 20, 2024

    Really delicious curry, I would make this again. I think it needs a bit more liquid than stated, but other than that, I wouldn't change anything.

• Suya beef burgers

  • Ro_ on March 10, 2024

    Really nice flavours and great texture to the burger. I made the special bun to go with it, and it was nice too. My only criticism is that I didn't really like the cayenne pepper - it added heat but maybe too much, and there didn't seem any point in it (and I say that as someone who likes spicy). I would make again, but omitting the cayenne and I wouldn't hesitate to use a pre-bought bun if I was pressed for time.

• Moringa and beef stew with bean dumplings (Miyan zogale da danwake) [Hausa]

  • Ro_ on October 05, 2024

    This was delicious, so hearty and so much depth of flavour for a relatively short cooking time. I would potentially add more stock/water because I would have liked a little more sauce at the end. The peanut butter in it was great, subtle but delicious. I didn't have bean flour so I used half chickpea flour and half coconut flour: the dumplings were really nice, but again I would have liked more sauce to douse them in. But overall, I will make this again, a great beef stew.

• Stacked Shango beef steaks

  • Ro_ on March 06, 2024

    The problem with this recipe was that there was way too much of the "butter" and it all ended up very greasy. The spices were nice, but I really don't think the "butter" needs so much coconut oil, it ended up being quite unpleasant and I didn't even use all of the quantity I made.

• Braided agege bread

  • joneshayley on July 21, 2019

    Sweet pillowy and faintly exotic. This is a lovely bread, the nutmeg and coconut enriched dough is soft and fragrant. The whole family loved this

  • Ro_ on March 10, 2024

    I made this in bun form to go with the Suya Burger recipe as suggested. I found that it didn't rise all that much during proving time, but it did come out nicely in the end. I couldn't get pineapple essence so left that out. It was a nice pillowy bread but I didn't find it all that distinctive - maybe because of the lack of pineapple, I'm not sure.

• Lemon chin chin

  • e_hothersall on May 16, 2026

    Recipe includes an egg