Ask AvartsyCooking: Different Meal Options Aside from Staples?
I get questions from readers and while I usually respond, I wanted to provide an additional outlet to garner more responses. This inquiry is from Gina in Lagos (Nigeria) who would like to know of other meal options apart from the usual suspects.
If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, send it to submit@avartsycooking.com
Dear AC, My husband and now my children are so picky about food that I am so bored with cooking just rice, yam and amala or pounded yam.. Their choices are so limited am running out of my mind when I think of the next meal. I would really be glad if you could assist me out of this predicament. Regards Gina
My answer~ You have other options in the form of plantains, potatoes, pasta (spaghetti and macaroni) and beans. You can use unripe plantains to make Plantain Porridge, use pasta to make Jollof Spaghetti and beans to make Moi Moi. You can then bake or fry the potatoes or cook it in one pot with chicken, chicken stock and carrots.
So, dearest readers, what say you? Do you have some other suggestions? Please let Gina know in the comments section.
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20 Responses to "Ask AvartsyCooking: Different Meal Options Aside from Staples?"
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Gina, you can also just boil yams and eat with stew or beans…
Hey Farida!
Yup, yam is an option too, apart from pounded yam.
Hi Gina,
I used to be faced with a similar situation to yours before I got into cooking, lack of variety and getting bored with the same old ‘classics’. But what I usually do is just prepare the food differently and include lots of vegetables. For example; with pasta one day I can boil it and eat it with a sauce I make on the day OR boil it in some fried chopped tomatoes (mixed with vegetables or on its own) and I usually mix different pasta shapes or use a different one (spaghetti, macaroni, penne, twists – the list is endless) on a different day. I’m even going to attempt making my pasta from scratch soon.
While I understand this isn’t possible with everything; for some other food items, I cook with different techniques (?) – boiling one day, shallow frying the next, baking/grilling. It alters the taste in a somewhat significant way which is usually enough for me. Hope this helps, I know it’s not superdetailed.
Take care and hi Yetunde ;)
Hi AO!
Pasta from scratch? Step by step photos, plus recipe please, thanks in advance ;)
Thanks for sharing!
Its easier than you think Yetunde :-). Super super easy.
Hey Uzo!
You make it too! Share somebody, share!
Sorry Yetunde – i meant making your own pasta from scratch
Hey Uzo!
I finally figured out what you meant and updated the comment to reflect that! I had to go back to the post and see what you were saying
Like Ayodeji said, different methods of cooking helps, and also using different ingredients. Like red oil tomato sauce with spinach for yam one day, or canola based sauce with eggs the next time. You can also reach outside Nigerian staples, try flat bread either Indian or Mexican as a base, or make chili con carne, a different kind of beans, a different kind of recipe. Use Avartsy or other Naija recipe sites out there to diversify your usual methods too.
So many ways to cook different things, and numerous variations.
Yam pottage – with or without greens, plantains, shrimp.
Beans – corn, dried fish, stockfish, dodo, fried sweet potatoes, yam.
Starch – Delta staple (my favorite). Lots of different ‘swallows’ to swap with different soups – semolina, rice flour or mashed rice (which I picked up from a Ghanaian friend), pounded yam, eba, akpu, amala.
Peppersoup – fish and goat are my favorites.
Suya – Probably not up to par with the ones sold on street corners, but buying the spice, using it to marinate meat (or fish) and baking in the oven (or grilling) should give you a different flavor of meat.
And the list could go on and on…
As a mum of three, this is a constant challenge for me but I mix things up by trying new recipes. Some of my faves:
- Home made burger and potato wedges
- Roast fish and noodles
- Chicken with roast potato
- Beef casseroles with potato or rice
- Tagliatelle with seafood
- Jamaican Goat curry and rice and peas
- Indian style curry and basmati rice
- Home made pizza
- Spaghetti and meatballs
- Mashed potatoes, gravy and a choice of meat
etc etc
The internet is a great source of ideas. Try it out…………………………
I suggest making meatballs yourself with fresh ground mince and making a nice tomato sauce for pasta for the kids. Also, potato gratin – sliced potatoes (real thin) in the oven make a change. Potato wedges are also fun seasoned with all purpose spice and baked or fried. For a change white beans and rice cooked together with a nice stew makes things a little more interesting.
Sweet potatoes make a great substitute for potatoes, and are higher in fiber than regular potatoes and most carby bases. Mashed, roasted (my absolute favorite, tossed lightly in a tiny bit of oil and herbs/seasoning, it cooks up in less than 20 mins in a very hot oven). You can cut it up into fries, or roast it whole. It also works well boiled or fried. Plus – because it is a little sweet, most kids absolutely love it. It works well with Naija stews and sauces or Western ones too.
Another favorite is ‘fried pasta’ – made similar to fried rice with sauteed veggies, chicken etc.
A very simple way to make chicken more interesting is to simply roast it with some dried rosemary – which is easily available in the larger Lagos supermarkets – some salt, a bit of Knorr-style seasoning. It gives chicken a whole new lease on life.
Then, Naija-style spaghetti bolognese – make a regular obe ata/stew base, but instead of adding chunks of meat as usual, fry up some minced meat and stir it into the stew. This works really well with pasta, roast plantain/oven roasted boli or rice – or yam/bread for breakfast on the weekends (because, really – who has time to make stew on a weekday morning?!)
Shoprite used to have pre-packaged Thai curry sauces, although I’m not sure if they still have them. Thai curry is super easy to make with the sauce – all you need is chicken, veggies (green and red peppers, green beans and ideally eggplant or igba) and coconut milk which also used to be available at Shoprite. Feeds at least 4, takes 25 mins to make! Served with normal or basmati rice, it’s just as good as the ridiculously priced Thai restaurants in Lagos.
Finally, you can try making shawarmas at home, with lightly fried strips of chicken meat, lettuce, onions, tomato, green peppers, red peppers and some thousand island sauce wrapped in pita bread or tortilla bread. I promise everything here is available in Lagos and while they aren’t cheap, they aren’t out of reach for many people either!
Hey Sunflowery!
You’re some kind of wonderful! Thanks so much for the detailed response!! :)
Chapatis are great!! My Kenyan friend makes some awesome chapatis with oninons in them and gosh! those things are awesome. You can eat them with your meals on the side. Or just snack on them with whatever you want to eat them with – sauce, chicken… anything at all. When I get her recipe, i’ll share it!
Um you can also make your meat differently. Instead of just boiling and frying, you can bake it in the oven. I usually just marinate my chicken and put it in the oven. you can do the same for fish. Bake/grill it.
Another way to avoid routine type food is to add veggies to it. For example, you can try adding peppers to your meals. I mean like green, red and yellow bell peppers. Instead of boiling them, you cant slice them and pan-fry them with very little oil or grill the peppers. Not for too long though so that you can retain the crunchiness. Green peppers are awesome with beef.
Thanks for sharing! I agree with you on all points, especially the baking bit!
Pls how can I make nnkobi….don’t know if am ryting the correct thing but all I know Is tht it is an ibo food…..thank you.
Hey Maim!
I have never had nor made Nkwobi, but I have a family friend who knows how to make it, so I’ll ask her and add it to my list of requested recipes :)
Baked yam
Thanks C!