How to make Jollof Rice without a blender! (New Recipe)

Hey Guys,
This has been a long time coming, but I've literally been too lazy in getting this out here, but it's  finally here now.
As a student, I didn't have a blender the whole of first year and for most of second year so I had to get super creative and one of the ways was in making Jollof rice. As you may know, you usually need a blender for making Jollof rice, but the truth is that you can actually make it without one and taste wise there is little difference. Does it taste much better with a blender? Of course it does, but when you just don't have one, this recipe is a fast and alternative way to enjoying the food you love.

Cooking time: 1hr
Feeds: 4 people (average)


INGREDIENTS
A cup of Rice
1 Onion
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 small spicy pepper (Ata Rodo for my Nigerians)
1 tablespoon of Tomato puree
1 tablespoon of oil
Seasoning-(MAGGI, Parsley, dried pepper, jumbo all purpose seasoning, all purpose seasoning, a little curry powder, Jellof seasoning and a dash of salt)
** I haven't really put measurements for the seasoning as I'm the type of cook that likes to play it by taste but a half a tablespoon of everything should be fine but always taste to make sure it's to your liking.

RECIPE
1. Put the rice to boil, you only want to parboil the rice, not fully cook it, so make sure you don't cook it until it's completely soft, take it off the fire once its almost cooked but still resistant to your bite.
Sieve out the remaining water if there is any and wash the rice with cold water then leave to the side.


2. Next, in a different pot, put the oil in the pan, and once heated, fry the chopped onions and chopped spicy small pepper. (this is really spicy so be sure you can handle it befoe you mess with it) You can also fry this along with some chopped fresh tomatoes.

3. After 2 minutes, open the can of chopped tomatoes and pour into the pot. Use the wooden spoon to break the bits up into as small pieces as possible and allow to start cooking.

 After about 10-15 minutes, start adding your seasoning, it doesn't really matter what order you add them in, but make sure you taste it regularly to make sure it's not too salty or too spicy etc.










4, Leave to continue cooking for about 10 minutes, then pour in the rice. Stir in the rice, adding tomato puree if the  consistency is too watery. The tomato puree may not be needed. The rice should not completely fill up the tomato sauce as this will leave you with light orange rather than bright orange rice and the tomato should not be too much otherwise the finished product will be  too soggy. Consistency is essential with this method.

 5. Leave the rice to boil, cover with a piece of foil to allow it to steam, make sure to check it regularly to avoid it burning to the bottom of the pan and to avoid it being overly soggy.

**You can use any type of rice  you wish but from experience (and I have had a lot of failed attempts believe me, long grain rice usually works best with this method.) You can of course use basmati also but there is risk of the rice becoming mushy if cooked for too long. (Under no circumstances must you use cheap 40p rice  from morrisons/asda, it will be the worst mistake of your life)

     

Hope you guys enjoyed the recipe, Let me know how it turns out for you. Remember to comment below, subscribe to the channel and share!

Until next time,

Blessing. xx

The Top 10 Afrobeat Songs of 2014!

Merry Christmas Guys!

Al-right, I Know it's not actually Christmas, but it was less than 3 days ago so it still counts. I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas times, eating all the turkeys (or jollof rice if you're proper African). Those who know me know that I am the Queen of Afro-beat! I live and breathe it and if a club isn't playing it then there's no chance you'll find me there so I decided to share with you the top 10 songs in 2014 which BANGED! Hard!

1. DOROBUCCI- by the Mavins
When you're old fashioned mum who doesn't even know who Beyonce is or WIzkid starts singing a song, then you know that song has made it. Dorobucci swept the country hard even though no one, not even Don Jazzy knows what the hell 'Doro' means. Basically just put Doro in front of every word.

2. SHOKI- Lil Kesh
This song is actually just amazing! Nah this song is the real meaning of BANG!  You know how Ghanain azonto to every song well Nigerians now shoki to every song. The song is amazing and the dance is even better. I can't do it justice with words, check it out yourself. BTW; he's olamide's younger brother!

3. JOHNNY- Yemi Alade
This song was a banger as soon as it came out, like there was no question about it. From the video to the lyrics to Bovi's humorous interferences, the song is just a winner. Added to that, plenty of girls can relate as there are many Johnny going around these days. (Yes that was an indirect)

4. AYE- Davido
This was the love song of the year, girls were singing it, boys were singing it on the sly so they don't look gay, uncles in the club were singing it, their wives at home were singing it. The only thing wrong with the song is him saying that 'she no want designer, she no want ferrari' who is she cause all the girls i know deffo want designer.

5. ADONAI- Castro ft Sarkodie
Firstly, RIP Castro. Secondly this was one of the biggest song of this year, Literally every single black club, music station, phone, persons mouth was playing this song. It was afrobeat at it's best infused with some Christian elements (allegedly it's gospel though I'm not 100% sure) either way people were tripping for this song.

6. KHONA- Mafikizolo
Was sure I was going to spell their name wrong lol. This is more late 2013 but it fully banged in 2014 and really brought South Africa and other African countries into the mainstream afrobeat scene. 1
question though, what does Khona mean? Guess we have the same problem as 'Doro'

7. IJO SONA- Sona
This one makes me so sad because Sona is actually such a live afro-beat artist. He is UK based and the 4 songs he has released have been so on point and gotten me gassed till i found out he's been arrested. The song came out of nowhere and banged though! Make sure you check out his other songs.

8. THE BADDEST- Moelogo ft Giggs
This song is actually such a harddd song. From the first moment I heard it in a friend's car, I've been searching for it. The collab with Giggs was genius and the guys lyrical flow was on point. I hadn't heard of him before but I certainly have now.

9. GIRLIE O- Patoranking ft Tiwa Savage
AHH i know literally all the words to this song and so does half the girls that ahve heard it i suspect. it is such a beautiful song with some jamo undertones( that's patoranking for you) and Tiwa savage's voice just made it 10/10.

10. ALKAYIDA- Guru
This one is a funny one because people here the title and get it confused with an organisation with an identical sounding name but NO, don't be scurred, Alkayida is a recent Ghanain dance that has taken over every afro-beat club and black house party and even though hald the people can't do it, you'll see them flexing their hands and pretending they can when it comes on.

I can only put 10 down but trust me there has bee en so many good songs in 2014 that I have just loved. Mr OREO is my all time favourite, STORY FOR THE GODS just gets me, JASI is actually the funniest thing ever, BABY HELLO, ELELE, TINA, SHAKE BODY, to name a few.
Comment below some of your favourites.
The moral of the story is that Afrobeat bangs so keep listening to it.

Odabo. (Bye)

Short hair on a Round face!

Hey Guys!

So you know the new year is always here so I was exploring and thinking of new ways to have my hair. The thing is I have a pretty round face (at least I think so) with a very wide smile so I've always stuck to the conventional hair past my shoulders, thick full hair kinda thing but just this week, I was in between hair styles and my mama suggested I try a pixie cut, I was like are you kidding? (I didn't actually say that to my African mum) My face is too round, I'd have to pout permanently to look decent but I tried it anyway and was pleasantly surprised. I got so much compliments and I think it really suits me. I'm thinking of making it my permanent hairstyle.

I guess it just goes to show that even if you're not completely sure on something or doubting if it'll work, give it a go and you never know, you may be pleasantly surprised like I was.

 Me with normal hair

too scared to smile incase it doesn't bang!

Which do you prefer? Do you think it suits my face? Or am I just decieving myself?

Comment below and don't forget to subscribe ;)

How to make a Spicy Chicken Wrap with red pepper and tomato salsa

Hey Guys,

So I'm bringing a new recipe to my fellow adventurous cooks!
This one is one I stole from the madre, if you know her, you know her food be slaying. She made me one for lunch for my Law firm event and I fell in love so got back to Manchester and decided to make my own spin on it.

INGREDIENTS:

Tortilla Wraps (If you want it more healthy, get whole wheat ones, they taste just as great)
Chicken Fillet/ Breaded Hot and Spicy Chicken
One Red Pepper
1/2 Tomatoes
Half an Onion
Lettuce
Dollop of Mayonnaise
A tablespoon of oil
A teaspoon of tomato puree
Seasoning (All purpose, parsley, chilli powder, maggi)

RECIPE:
First, if you are using a breast fillet, season the chicken and put it in the oven. Personally I preferred the Iceland breaded hot and spicy chicken, it tasted great and brought the whole meal together but if you feel the need to know exactly what goes into your mouth then you can season a breast fillet as well, I would advise coating it in bread crumbs for the added flavour though.

2. Chop up your onions, tomatoes and red pepper.

3.  fry them in as much oil as you feel is required, I suggest about a tablespoon. Add a tiny bit of tomato puree to thicken it then season. My choice of seasoning was a Maggi cube, Parsley, a tiny bit of curry powder, the good ol All Purpose seasoning and a lot of chilli powder.

3. Lay out the Tortilla, cut the breast fillet into about four portions and assemble 2 on each tortilla wrap or if you are using the Iceland breaded chicken use 2 to a wrap.

4. Place the tomato and pepper mix on top. Then add your lettuce to the mix and smear on a little mayonnaise.

5. Pop back into the oveN for about 5 minutes to cook the tortilla. Take them out, cut in half and Enjoy!

This literally took me under an hour to make so whenever you're feeling a little peckish and want a quick healthy bite to eat. You know what to do!

How to make Nigerian Fried Rice!

Hey Guys!

So recently on my weightloss journey post, I mentioned that I would be doing some healthy recipes and sharing them with you. Now you're probably thinking FRIED rice can't be all that healthy but there actually isn't that much fat in it and if you add a lot of vegetables the meal can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet, so here is my step by step on how to make Nigerian Fried Rice.

Ingredients

2 TABLESPOONS OIL

2 CUPS OF RICE

SWEETCORN

SPRING ONIONS (for flavour and aroma)

ONIONS (to act as onions)

PRAWNS

TOMATOES

PEAS/MIXED VEG

CARROTS

PEPPERS(optional)

SEASONING (Listed in recipe)

PLANTAIN AND CHICKEN WITH SUPERMALT (Like real Africans do)

Recipes

1. Chop up all your vegetables and onions. Cut up all the vegetables into one bowl and then chop up all the onion into a separate bowl. 

2. Line the bottom of the pot with oil(use as much or as little as you think you need but you don't need a lot. Then add the onions, fry for about 3 minutes.

3. Wash your rice then add to the oil and make sure there is significantly more rice than oil and start to fry the rice. Mix it about often to stop it sticking to the pan, sticking together or burning. Do this for about 7 minutes.

4. Add water to the rice, not so much that there is excess water over the rice. Just enough that the water is just about level with the rice or a centimetre above it. At this point, add your seasoning. (All Purpose, Parsley, Curry powder-this gives it the yellow colour, mixed herbs, Maggi, chilli powder).#

5. Leave to cook, after a while, when the rice begins to soften and cook, add your vegetables, if the rice is drying out, add more water but be careful not to drown it and make it soggy and nasssty. With the vegetables added, Cover it with foil and let it simmer. Make sure to check up on it often and add water if required. 

6. When the rice becomes soft enough to your taste, take off the boil.

7. Serve and accompany with Plantain and Chicken. (Comment if you would like a post on how I season my chicken.)

I wish I could have given you step by step pictures as well but my phone gave up on me midway. But this is the final product. I served this to a couple of my friends who loved it and praised it highly but then again they're my friends  so they may have just said that but I'm gonna take it regardless.

Finally shout out to my mummy for teaching me how to cook and increasing my bride price by N100 000.