Category: Beninese cuisine

Beninese cuisine

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Jollof rice with Whole Fried Chicken

This is one of my mom’s recipes and it was inspired by the Senegalese Thiébou guinar. But this is not Thiébou guinar because it does not have 2 keys ingredients (guedj and yet). The jollof rice is enjoyed in Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria… This recipe is perfect for the parties and will allow you to impress your guest easily. The condiments are blended and then fried in peanut oil. Then we wet with water depending on the amount of rice to cook and the desired appearance for rice. The rice is cooked in this sauce, which gives it a specific color according to the quantity and type of tomato used (concentrated and fresh) with the vegetables of your choice. In this recipe, I used broken rice but jasmine or basmati rice is just perfect for this recipe. The rice is then served with vegetables and chicken.

Jollof rice with Whole Fried Chicken

  • 2 chicken (8 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons ginger, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon pepper)
  • 4 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 cubes
  • 3 large fresh tomatoes
  • 1 big onions
  • A red pepper
  • 3 large glasses of rice
  • 1/4 cup of oil (optional)
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 Cabbage
  • A pinch of bicarbonate
  • Green pepper
  1. Wash the rice and put in a colander
  2. Clean the chicken and marinate with the spices, cube and salted to taste. Cook for 1 hour (30 minutes on each side) – Add enough water to cover the chicken at all time.
  3. Once chicken is cooked, remove broth and set aside
  4. Add 3 tomatoes, crushed onion, tomato paste and a pinch of baking soda and salt to taste. Cook for 5 minutes.
  5. Add vegetables, 4 cup water and bring to a boil. (Adjust the seasoning with cube and salt). Simmer pendant 15 min
  6. Using a perforated spoonful remove the vegetables
  7. Add chilli and rice and stir and cook over medium heat. As soon as there is more water evaporates cover with a plastic bag then the lid of the maronite. And reduce the fire.
  8. The grains of rice are peeled off each other when cooked
  9. Fry the chicken
  10. Serve hot in a large bowl with the vegetables and chicken; and crushed green pepper

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Red Pinon (Gari Éba)

Pinon rouge

Gari is made from the roots of cassava, the gari is in the form of fine, white and crisp semolina.

  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/4 onion sliced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 to mato puree
  • 1 cube
  • 1 teaspoon garlic and ginger
  • chilli pepper to taste
  • Chicken stock
  • Gari
  1. On a medium heat, in a sauce pan and add the oil and onion.
  2. A the paste tomato, tomato, spices, cube, chilli and stock
  3. Add the gari the hot broth gradually stirring vigorously until obtaining a homogeneous paste (Pinon),
  4. Arrange the pieces of meat on the Pinon, basting with a little cooking oil.
  5. Serve hot.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Sorrel (Bissap) drink

Sorrel (Bissap) drink

Sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa) Sorrel has one of the highest levels of antioxidants of any widely available food. According to some studies, antioxidants enhance nitic oxide production in the body which reduces blood sugar, reduce cancer and oxidized lipids. Sorrel also exhibit activities against atherosclerosis, liver disease, cancer, diabetes and other metabolic syndromes. Sorrel harvested fresh to produce pro-health drink due to high contents of vitamin C and anthocyanins. French (Oseille de Guinée, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Bissap, carcade ou Roselle) English (Sorrel and Rosella) Sorrel is a species of Hibiscus probably native to West Africa. In Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, and Jamaica sorrel drink is made from sepals of the roselle infused with cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, ginger and rum or wine. In Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Burkina Faso and Benin calyces are infused with mint leaves, dissolved menthol candy, and/or fruit flavors (pineapple). It often sold as popsicle. The Middle Eastern and Sudanese “Karkade” is a cold drink made by soaking the dried Karkade calyces in cold water overnight in a refrigerator with sugar and some lemon or lime juice added.

Sorrel (Bissap) drink

  • 2 cups dried red sorrel
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • ¼ cup chopped ginger
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 5 whole allspice
  • 1 orange zest
  • Sugar to taste
  • Rum (optional)
  1. Bring all 4~10 cups water to a boil in saucepan.
  2. Add all the other ingredients except the sugar.

  3. Set aside overnight .

  4. When ready to serve sieve ingredients, with fine sieve and discard all particles. Reserve drink

  5. Add the sugar as needed, together with rum according to preference.

  6. Serve with ice or make suck suck out of it.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Akpan – Ogi

Traditionally processed Ogi is the type of Fufu made with fermented cornstarch with the distinctive sour taste. Unfortunately, for those who live overseas, fermented corn is not easy to get. Therefore I use a powder of fermented cornstarch sold in most African stores. Ogi is simple yet very difficult to prepare with the powdered Ogi flour.

Akpan – Ogi

Akpan is a fermented cereal pudding typically made from maize. Traditionally, the grains are soaked in water for up to three days, before wet milling and sieving to remove husks. The filtered cereal is then allowed to ferment for up to three days until sour.

  • 1 cup Fermented cornflour
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 3 cup hot water
  1. Mix the cold water and the cornflour. Mix well until lump free.

  2. Pour the cornflour into the boiling water.

  3. cook for 5 mins or until thickened

  4. Serve with Yebessessi, Adokougbi, braised fish…

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Togolese Braised chicken with Djinkoumè

Togolese Braised chicken with Djinkoumè

8 cups flour

2 chicken 

8 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons ginger

2 cloves

bay leaf

1/2 onion 

2 cubes

Salt

4 tbsp tomato paste

3 large fresh tomatoes

1 big onions

A red pepper

Clean and cut the chicken in half, marinate with the spices, cube and salted to taste. Cook for 1 hour (30 minutes on each side) – Add enough water to cover the chicken at all time.

Once chicken is cooked, remove from  the broth and set aside

Mix the tomato paste, 1 tomato and 1/2 onion , 2 tablespoons chili puree, 1 cup chicken broth and salt.

Brush the chicken with the tomato mixture.

 

Faites-le braiser sur le barbecue en prenant soin de retourner les morceaux de temps en temps pour ne pas les brûler.

While the chicken is cooking,  add you flour to a dry pot .

Grill it by turning regularly on a medium heat while turning with a spatula for 20 minutes, then reserve.

When the flour takes a “café au lait” color, remove it from the heat and reserve it. 

-If you are roasting too much flour, it does not matter because you can keep it in an airtight container.-

Remove excess oil

Mix 1 cup of water and 1 cup of the roast the corn flour and set aside.

A soon as the water start boiling add the corn and water mixture. Add the salt.

When the liquid start to boil reserve the third. 

Add 2 cups of the roast the corn flour and mix thoroughly

If it is not soft enough for you add the broth on the side.

Mix and cover for a 7 min

Cut the fresh tomato, the African pepper, the fresh onion into thin cubes.

Serve the Djinkoumè with the tomato mixture and fried chicken.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

How to make fried patties?

Cabbage and hot-dog fried patties  || Cabbage and hot-dog fried empanadas

This is my easy recipe for homemade empanada dough for frying. The process to make this empanada dough for frying is very similar to the empanada dough for baking. A few differences are that this dough has a little bit less butter, but adds baking powder. The empanadas are light fluffy texture when you fry them.

Fried patties

Dough

  • 4 cup all-purpose flour (, plus more for dusting)
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup butter ((1 stick) melted)
  • 1 cup water (cold)

Filling

  • 4 cup cabbage (shredded)
  • 5 hotdogs (sliced)
  • 1/2 cup onion
  • 1/2 Maggie cube
  • 1/2 cup bell pepper (diced)
  • 1/2 cup carrot (diced)
  • 2 eggs (boiled)
  • hot peppers ((optional))
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil (to sautee the hotdogs and veggies)

Make the dough

  1. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add just enough cold water so dough comes together. Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Make the filling

  1. On medium heat sautée the onion. Keep turning mixture with a spatula, as if cooking hash, until onion is softened and browned, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage cut until tender and add the hotdogs, and stir well to incorporate. (Add a little more fat to pan if mixture seems dry.) Add bell pepper and carrot. Season with cube, salt and pepper and let mixture fry for 2 more minutes. Turn heat to simmer, stirring well to incorporate everything.

Time to make your patties

  1. Divide chilled dough into 1-ounce pieces and form into 2-inch diameter balls. Roll each piece into a 4 1/2-inch circle. Lay circles on a baking sheet lightly dusted with flour.
  2. Put about 2 tablespoons filling in the center of each roundand some hard-cooked egg to each. Moisten outer edge of each round with water. Wrap dough around filling to form empanada, pressing edges together. Fold edge back and finish by pinching little pleats or crimping with a fork
  3. Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C). Place 3 or 4 pies into the fryer at a time. Cook for about 5 minutes, turning once to brown on both sides. Draion paper towels, and serve hot.

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Djinkoumè (Amiwo) with chicken

Djinkoumè (Amiwo) with chicken and Yebessessi (Moyo). This is a very common meal in Togo and Benin. It’s the mixture of sauce and roasted corn. Typically, the corn is roasted prior to grounding it, but since i live abroad, it easier to slowly toast the corn flour. The Djinkoumè in Togo or Amiwo in Benin is served with braised or fried meat on the side of Yebessessi or M’gbagba (or dja). 

Fried chicken

  • 2 small Chickens
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli
  • 3 tablespoon garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon parsley
  • 2 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon cube

Amiwo or djinkoumè

  • 8 cups corn flour
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon cube

Yebessessi or moyo

  • 2 cups tomato
  • 1/2 onion
  • 4 peppers
  • 1 tablespoon cube
  • Salt to taste

Clean your chicken and cut in half

Season your meat

Refrigerate at least overnight

Boil the chicken until tender

While the chicken is cooking,  add you flour to a dry pot .

Grill it by turning regularly on a medium heat while turning with a spatula for 20 minutes, then reserve.

When the flour takes a “café au lait” color, remove it from the heat and reserve it.

-If you are roasting too much flour, it does not matter because you can keep it in an airtight container.-

Back to the chicken: Fry until golden on both side

Add 4 cups water (including the chicken stock) to a pan and put on a medium heat.

Mix 1 cup of water and 1 cup of the roast the corn flour and set aside.

A soon as the water start boiling add the corn and water mixture. Add the salt, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon cube.

When the liquid start to boil reserve the third.

Add 2 cups of the roast the corn flour and mix thoroughly

If it is not soft enough for you add the broth on the side.

Mix and cover for a 7 min

For the Yebessessi roughly puree all the ingredients together.

Serve the Djinkoumè with the Yebessessi and fried chicken.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Puff puff

Ivorian donuts (Bofloto or Gbofloto) are very popular in West Africa. Bofloto or Gbofloto is called Botokoin (Togo), Puff puff (Nigeria and Cameroon), Mikate (Democratic Congo), Bofrot (Ghana), BHB (Cameroon). The long list of name is proof of its popularity. The ingredients are the basics of the pastry of wheat flour, sugar, yeast …

Unlike donut balls, which are prepared with baking powder, Bofloto or Gbofloto are prepared with yeast. Bakery yeast must be activated before use. To do this, mix warm water, sugar and yeast stirring vigorously to ensure the complete dissolution of the yeast. Cover and reserve in a warm place for 5 to 10 minutes. Once the foam forms on top, your yeast is activated and ready for use. The other ingredients (wheat flour and salt) are added to the activated yeast. Nevertheless, salt in high concentrations can kill yeast.

When I was a child, I often looked with astonishment at how the women who sold the Bofloto or Gbofloto took the mixture with their fingertips, placed it in the palm of their hands and dropped the mixture into oil. I tried several times to imitate them but I failed, so I use the ice cream spoon. When the Bofloto or Gbofloto are golden, they are transferred and white sugar.

2)

1 + 2/3 cups warm water

2 + 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (1 packet)

3 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon Nutmeg (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Oil for deep frying

Mix sugar, water, and yeast . Set aside for 5 minutes in a warm place to activate the yeast.

Add flour.

Let the mixture rise for approximately 1 hours in a warm place.

Add nutmeg, vanilla and salt and mix thoroughly

Heat your oil.

Using your hands grab a little bit of mixture at time and drop in the oil.

Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown.

Turn the ball over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.

Use a large spoon or something like that to take it out of the oil. Place them on napkins right away to soak up some of the excess oil.

You can roll the finished product in table sugar or powdered sugar to make it sweeter

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Easy Djinkoume

Puree of chili and fried chicken
Chicken drumsticks
10, cleaned
Onion
1 medium, diced
Parsley
¼ cup chopped
Scallion
1 cup, sliced
Thyme
½ tablespoon. Chopped
Rosemary
½ tablespoon. Chopped
Lemon
½ juice
Black pepper
1 tablespoon
Garlic
1 tablespoon
Bouillon cube
1 tablespoon
Anise
Salt to taste
Add ½ of water and cook for 35 min and fry until golden on both side
Put the corn flour in a dry pan, grill it by turning regularly with a spatula for 20 minutes, then reserve.
When the flour takes a “café au lait” color, remove it from the heat and reserve it.
If you are roasting too much flour, it does not matter because you can keep it in an airtight container.
Chicken bouillon
4 cups
(If you don’t have enough stock add water)
Mix 1 cup of water, 1 cup of the roast the corn flour and set aside
Tomatoes
1 tablespoon, paste
Tomatoes
4 tablespoons, puree
Salt to taste
Pinch of baking soda
Add the mixture of water, roast the corn flour and mix thoroughly
Reserve 1 cup of the boiling mixture
Add 2 cups of the roast the corn flour
If it is not soft enough for you add the broth on the side
Mix and cover for a 7 min