Homemade spices are perfect for those intolerant to MSG ( monosodium Glutamate), kids under 1year old and those concerned about what goes into their food. Most store bought spices contain lots of additive and anti- caking agents that ends up making your food taste weird. Apart from it been easy to prepare, homemade spices have rich aromas unlike the store bought products.
Stock cubes
Stock cubes are those cubes we add to our cooking to enhance the taste of the food and they are one of the commonly used spice used in Nigeria.
For chicken flavoured homemade stock cubes, you will need:
500g chicken
6 Spring onions)
1 onion
3 big carrots
Salt to taste (optional)
For fish flavoured homemade stock cubes, you will need:
3 Mackerel/Titus heads
2 spring onions)
1 onion
3 big carrots
Salt to taste (optional)
Preparation
The directions described here is for making chicken flavoured stock cubes in your home but the same procedure applies to beef flavoured, fish flavoured and vegetable homemade stock cubes.
-Cut up the chicken and vegetables into small pieces.
-Put everything in a pot, add water to half the level of the contents of the pot and cook on medium to high heat for 45 minutes or till everything is soft and tender.
-Set aside to cool down completely.
-Remove the bones from the chicken.
-Blend the chicken and vegetables.
-Strain with a sieve to remove all traces of bones and other particles that did not blend well.
-Pour into ice cube trays and place in the freezer overnight.
-Once frozen, bring out from the ice cube trays and put in a container with a cap.
-Cover and put back in the freezer and add to your cooking as you would use store-bought stock cubes.
Suya spice/ Yagi
In making this spice, you have to be careful of the measurements of ingredients to achieve its trademark look, flavor, taste and texture.
Ingredients
5 tablespoons crushed Kuli Kuli (110g) also known as groundnut cake
5 tablespoons ginger powder (75g)
2 tablespoons of dry red pepper flakes (6g)
10 strands of African Negro Pepper known as Uda in Igbo, erun in Yoruba and chimba in hausa
1 small stock cube (4g)
½ teaspoon salt
Preparation
The dry ginger should always be the same measurement (in tablespoons, not grams) as the Kuli Kuli. So if you want to make a large quantity of the suya spice, use the same cup/bowl/container used in measuring the grounded kuli kuli to measure out the ground ginger. So mix all ingredients together in a big bowl and add seasoning according to your taste. There you have your suya spice.
Nigerian pepper soup spice
Ingredients for Homemade Nigerian Pepper Soup Spice Mix
6 to 8 pieces calabash Nutmeg
8 pieces Negro pepper (Uda seeds)
1 tablespoonful seeds of Aligator pepper (Atariko/Ulima seed)
This makes about 3 tablespoonful pepper soup spice mix. some people add dried ginger roots and uziza seeds to their mix, so feel free to add a little if you want to.
Preparation:
-First roast the Calabash Nutmeg on a frying pan until it begins to turn dark brown and you can smell its lovely aroma. Gently peel off the outer skin and take out the seed inside.
-Now, combine the calabash nutmeg, Negro pepper (Uda seeds) and Aligator pepper(Atariko/Ulima seeds) in a blender, and grind to a fine powder.
-Pour into an airtight container and store in a dry place.