FURA (THE ALKALINE AFRICAN SMOOTHIE)

' Fura tor , va afiee' (I'm sure the Ewe purist will frown upon my spellings,(meaning Fura seller , come over).  'Ewe' pronounced 'Erh-were', is the the name of my tribe and language. I'll make time to learn how to write in Ewe (personal challenge). 

My mum was kind enough to send some millet my way, hence the idea to make Fura and Hausa Koko, became a necessity. I'll update my blog with the Hausa Koko recipe. Recipes like these are not readily available in Ghana, as they're sold already cooked. I have recreated this recipe by memory of my taste buds, (when I last had Fura, over 15 yrs ago). 

You should see my excitement when I got the flavours right. I noticed as I omitted the Soya beans (best to avoid Soya beans altogether) the  Fura had a dark grey and brownish colour, however the flavours are 'on point.' My hairdresser, Hajia Fulera  (who is from the Northern part of Ghana gave me the thumbs of approval for the recipe, after she tasted it. Whoop whoop!

Most snack hawkers in Ghana,  roam for miles to sell their wares, hence wanting Fura, boiled nuts, bofrot (doughnuts), etc could take longer than you anticipate. One could potentially wait for hours and days for their favourite snack , hence when you see one, you scream to get their attention. 

Fura

'Fura' (a traditional dish from the Northern part of Ghana) is made out of milled millet and spices.

Millet is alkaline which means it's easy to digest.  It hydrates your colon, it's gluten free, helps lower and  maintain a good cholesterol level (Vitamin B3) , a good source of protein to mention but a few. 

 

Guinea Peppers

Millets prebiotic properties, helps with my sensitive stomach as it's easily digestible. I'll call this recipe the 'Alkaline African Smoothie'.

This is my favourite recipe, as all the ingredients help promote a good digestive system. 

Millet

Ingredients;

250g of milled Millet

(If you don't have milled millet, soak your millet overnight or for a quicker version in lukewarm water for an hour.)

10g of Guinea peppers

Half a teaspoon of chilli powder 

1 tablespoon of Ginger powder

5 cloves

3g of black peppercorns. 

60ml of cold water

Salt to taste

To serve

800ml of live Yoghurt (readily available in most grocers or supermarkets)

12g of Sugar

200ml of semi skimmed milk

Method: 

Toast the Guinea peppers, cloves and black peppercorns in a saucepan for about 2 minutes or (until you can smell the peppers). 

Tip;

Toasting spices generally helps release their oils and flavours. 

Blend the peppers and cloves  to a powder form. 

Un-milled Millet

If you're using un-milled 

millet, blend the spices with the millet to a smooth paste. Transfer the paste  to a bowl and mix with 50ml of water. Proceed to cook the paste, with your preferred option. 

Milled Millet

Add the milled Millet, Ginger powder, Salt, Chilli powder and mix everything together. 

Now add the water and mold into a smooth ball. Cover the dough with a cling film and leave in a warm place to ferment overnight. 

There are 2 ways of making 'Fura'

Option 1 (traditional method)

Place a saucepan with 800ml of water on a medium heat. 

Roll the dough into 6 equal balls and add them to the water. Boil for 20 minutes and take the dumplings out of the boiling water. 

Using a pestle and mortar, grind each ball till you have a smooth paste and roll it  into a ball again. Repeat this process for the rest of the dumplings. Dust the dumplings with corn or millet flour and refrigerate. It keeps well for 5 days. 

Option 2 (Quick & Efficient)

Once the dough has fermented overnight, mix it with 150ml of water to a smooth consistency.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and place  on a medium heat. 

Keep stirring  (to avoid any lumps) into a thick paste. It will turn into a thick paste, within 3 minutes of stirring. Decrease the heat to the lowest setting and steam the dough for about 7-10 minutes.  Transfer the dough to a bowl and leave to cool down.  Once the temperature has cooled down (easy to touch) roll into 6 individual balls. 

Dust with some millet or corn flour and refrigerate. Best eaten within 5 days of preparation. 

Watch how to make this below on my YouTube channel, 'Ndudu by Fafa'. 

To serve;

Add a ball of Fura, 200ml of Yoghurt with 50ml of semi skimmed milk to a blender. 

Add 1 tablespoon of Sugar or sweetener 

Blend to a silky textured smoothie. 

Best served chilled. 

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. Try the recipe, leave a comment, share with your friends and don't forget to subscribe. 

PAN FRIED OKRA & SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

Breakfast or brunch should always be rewarding, especially on Sundays; before the start of a hectic week. 

It's a norm in my household to either bake , create a recipe or treat ourselves to a decadent meal. 

This is an African & Asian inspired brunch that mixes Okra and Shitake mushrooms together. 

When I posted the picture of this brunch on my Instagram page, the reaction was of intrigue and curiosity. 

Comments from my Instagram page;

'Please look at this combo', 'Interesting', 'I never thought Okra, could be eaten this way, SMH, interesting'. 

Okra, when used in African dishes, are cooked to increase it's mucilagenous (goo texture) by adding water, stock, edible potash, bicarbonate of soda etc; whereby in most Asian dishes, they're fried to prevent activating its mucilage texture . 

Okra are also known as bhindi, ladies fingers, Fetri, Okro or Gumbo. Okra is rich in potassium, calcium, folate, Vitamin C and a great antioxidant. 

Try this easy to follow recipe,  leave a comment, share and subscribe to my blog and YouTube page 'Ndudu by Fafa'.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

24 sliced individual Okra

2 finely diced Banana shallots

2 sliced Jalapeño peppers 

2 cloves of peeled and sliced Garlic

2 tablespoonfuls of extra virgin Olive oil

400g of fresh Shitake mushrooms 

8 refrigerated eggs

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

Bresaola(An Italian air dried salted beef, thats aged for 3 months)

You can replace the Bresaola with smoky bacon).

150ml of light olive oil (for frying)

Freshly milled Guinea Pepper / Black peppercorns

Salt to taste

Guinea Pepper or Grains of Paradise

Method:

Place a frying pan on a medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of Olive oil 

Add half the finely diced shallot and fry for a minute. 

Shitake Mushrooms

Add the garlic, stir and add the mushrooms. 

Stir fry the mushrooms for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh thyme , a pinch of the milled Guinea pepper and salt. Stir fry for 45 seconds and take off the heat. 

Transfer the contents to a plate and return the frying pan to the fire. 

Still on a medium heat, add the remaining finely diced shallot and stir. 

Just when it starts to brown, add the sliced Okra, Jalapeño peppers, Cumin seeds and stir fry for about 3-4 minutes. 

Add salt to taste , sprinkle with freshly milled Guinea Pepper and set aside. 

Fried Eggs

Preheat the grill to 180*c 

Place the Bresaola on a baking tray and transfer to the preheated grill. 

Grill for 2-3 minutes or until crispy. 

Wipe the frying Pan and place it back on the fire at a very low setting. 

Take your eggs out of the fridge and crack each egg into the frying pan. 

Fry gently (on the lowest setting) for 4 minutes for a perfect runny yolk or (longer if you prefer a hardened yolk). However, this recipe requires the yolk to be runny, as it'll act as sauce to the dish.  

Tip

Applies to fried eggs only

Placing the egg in the fridge, allows the egg white to wrap around the yolk, when frying (as shown above).

To serve;

Scoop some of the Mushroom mix into a bowl and spread to the sides of the bowl. 

Then scoop some of the Okra mix and spread evenly.

Lay a crispy Bresaola on top of the vegetable mix. 

Carefully place a fried egg on top of the Bresaola.

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. 

Tip;

Try buying Olive oil made from 'Arbequina' Olives. It gives the Olive oil an aromatic taste and it's delicious. I tasted this olive oil for the first time at, 'Restaurante Elkano' , Getaria, in Spain. 

I found a 500ml bottle at Waitrose for £16.00. (Safe to say , I use it sparingly). 

Sprinkle a pinch of freshly milled Guinea pepper(careful not to add to much, as it's rather spicy).

Alternatively , sprinkle with freshly milled black peppercorns.

Serve with freshly baked Baguette, Sour dough bread or Ciabatta. 

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. 

KAFFIR LIME & CHICKEN BROTH

Inspired by the classic Nigerian Pepper soup, is this recipe made with Kaffir Lime and Chicken.

This recipe has a perfect sweet, sour and spicy broth with the Ndudu twist.

Don't hesitate to leave comments and  feedback about your experience.

Ingredients

3 finely chopped Kaffir Lime leaves

Diced Yam cubes

2 Chicken breast and Legs

1 large diced Onion

2 Green diced , Chillies

20g of blended Ginger

Salt and Pepper to taste

Zest and juice of 1 Lemon

10g sliced Ginger

1 litre of Ginger beer

Method

In a bowl add the Chicken, Ginger, Kaffir Lime, chopped Chillies, diced Onions and zest of the Lemon. 

Mix everything together and marinade the Chicken for at least an hour in the fridge

Pre-heat the oven to 180*c

Transfer the Chicken and marinade to a casserole pot , slow cooker or Clay pot. 

Add the ginger beer and place it in the oven and cook for about 30-40 minutes. 

Place the Yam cubes in a saucepan with enough water that covers the Yam (about 2 cm above the Yam). 

Place the Yam on a medium heat and cook for about 5-7 minutes. The Yam is cooked when it has a translucent  look and there isn't any resistance when you insert it with a fork. 

Remove the Chicken from the oven, add the Lemon juice, stir and leave to rest for about 5 minutes. 

To serve

Strain the broth , using a fine strainer, shred the moist chicken and add to the broth. Sprinkle with Greek basil , Coriander or Kaffir Lime.

Enjoy!

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. 

BUKA JOLLOF RICE WITH LAMB KLEFTICO

Enjoying a lovely cup of Robois tea, listening to jazz fm , and thinking of what to make for lunch. The idea of creating a new recipe, by experimenting gets me excited. A quick dash to my fridge and larder helped my decision on making Buka Jollof rice with Lamb Kleftiko.

 Buka is a slow cooking rich tomato, Palm oil and pepper stew, synonymous with Nigerians.

My previous post has the recipe for Buka stew, which is the base for this recipe.

The secret to a perfect Jollof rice is to use less water, cook gently on a low heat and allow the rice to cook in it's own steam, something a clay pot with  it's lid offers. Alternatively you can bake it in a casserole dish or use any sauce pan, kitchen foil and a tight lid to seal the steam.

Kleftiko, (stolen Lamb) is a Greek way of slow cooking lamb in herbs in a sealed earthenware pot. This process allows the lamb to cook in it's own juices with an end result of moist, tender and tasty lamb. A casserole dish with foil and it's lid will also work for the lamb. 

Ingredients 

Serves 6

Jollof rice 

3 ladles of Buka stew

2 cups of long grain rice or basmati rice washed and soaked for 15 minutes. I like to soak my rice as this takes some of the starch away ( a secret process to get fluffy and separated rice) and cuts your cooking time in half.

1 cup of chicken, vegetarian  or beef stock.

Salt to taste

Ingredients

Serves 6

Lamb Kleftiko 

1kg of diced leg of lamb (get your butcher to cut into your preferred cubed size)

20g of ginger

1 teaspoon of oregano and thyme

2 medium sized onions

1 clove of garlic\

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 whole habanero chilli

1 vegetable or Ham stock cube.

Salt and pepper to taste

Method (Jollof rice)

Place a clay pot on a medium heat and add the Buka stew.

Once warmed through add the washed and soaked rice and mix well. 

Cook the rice and sauce for about 10 minutes making sure you stir to avoid any burns. Once the rice is coated in the Buka stew, add your preferred stock. 

Stir and cover with the pot's lid or if using a saucepan cover with the foil and lid. 

Turn the heat down and cook gently for half an hour. 

Remove from the heat and leave the rice to steam in it's own juices for a further 10 minutes.

Your Jollof rice will be fluffy and El dente ( having a slight bite), and ready to serve. 

Method(Lamb Kleftiko)

In a blender add the ginger, garlic, chilli, oregano, thyme and your preferred stock cube. Add a little of water and blend to a thick paste. 

Add the mixture and lemon juice to the lamb and mix well.

Marinade the lamb in the fridge for a minimum of 4hrs or preferably overnight. 

Add a tablespoon of olive oil in your clay pot, place on a high heat and brown your lamb for about 5 minutes, turning frequently

Preheat your oven to 180*c 

Place your clay pot of lamb in the oven and cook for 40 minutes. 

Once cooked remove from the oven and leave it to rest for 5 minutes. 

Separate the lamb from it's juices to a bowl. Add the lamb juices to the Jollof rice and mix well. 

Then add the lamb pieces and mix well. Pour the rice in a serving bowl with your preferred salad. 

Watch with amusement as everyone will be rushing to get their fair portion of meat and  rice. Enjoy!

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. 

TANGY DOMEDO

'Domedo' (Spicy Pork) as called in Ghana, has fast become a popular choice amongst the established

street food options. This recipe includes the 'Ndudu twist', where the marinade is inspired by Thailand. This weeks episode of 'Ndudu by Fafa', included this recipe. I'll love to hear your views about the show. Kindly leave comments on how the recipe worked out for you. Be inspired. 

Ingredients:

Serves 6

Pork Belly

2 kg of Pork belly (Ask your butcher to score the skin)

150ml of Ginger wine or beer

Zest of 1 lemon

Tangy Thai Paste

Juice of 1 lemon

100g of soaked Kashmiri chillies

2 Fresh Kaffir lime (available in Sainsbury’s).

Kaffir Lime leaves

Half a teaspoon of shrimp paste or crayfish powder

30g of chopped Ginger

3 Green chillies

1 chopped lemongrass (Optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Sweet Potato Wedges

4 large white sweet Potatoes (Peeled, washed and cut into chunks)

Salt

450ml of Sunflower or Groundnut oil

Green Salsa

5 diced green chillies

1 teaspoon of blended Ginger

1 finely diced Banana shallots

20g of chopped mint

20g of chopped Coriander

50ml of olive oil

1 teaspoon of Ginger wine

1 teaspoon of Lemon juice.

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180*c

Place the pork in a bowl, skin side down.

Blend all the ingredients under the ‘Tangy Thai Paste’ to a smooth paste.

Add the paste and Lemon zest to the Pork and rub it till it’s completely covered the pork.

(For best results, marinade the Pork overnight in the fridge).

Remove the Pork from the fridge and bring to room temperature.

Place the pork in a casserole dish/ Roasting dish or a clay pot and add the Ginger wine.

Roast in the oven for 2-3hrs till tender.

If you're using a roasting dish, seal with foil and for a clay pot use it's lid.

Take the pork out and leave it to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

The pork at this stage will break away beautifully.

Remove the crispy pork skin and place aside.

Sweet Potato Wedges

Pour the Sunflower oil in a Wok or Saucepan and place on a medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add salt to the sweet Potato wedges and mix well.

Carefully add the wedges to the hot oil (taking all necessary precautions)

Fry for about 6-8 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Once cooked, remove the Potatoes from the hot oil and drain the excess oil, using a colander or Kitchen blotting paper.

Green Chilli Salsa

Mix all the ingredients together and taste.

Serve

In a warm plate or bowl, add the Pork chunks, the Potato wedges and scoop the Green chilli sauce over it.

Serve with a refreshing Watermelon smoothie or Chilled beer.

Enjoy!