Traditional Yoruba (Nigerian) Cooking Part VII – Putting it all together

So there you have it folks!

We just made our introductory foray into cooking Traditional Nigerian food. I hope that it was clear and easy to follow. If not, contact me and I’ll be happy to help.

So now that I’ve outlined the different steps in (hopefully) short and easy to understand steps, you may be wondering, how do you put it all together and cook everything simultaneously? Well, it’s the same well-choreographed dance of cooking any other big meal (think thanksgiving). You just have to know what to start with, where to go next, and so on and so forth.

Here is the order that I prep the dishes on Stew-making day:

1. Prep the meats – par boil the meats. While the meats cook on the stove…
2. Prep the sauce – blend the tomatoes, onions peppers in the blender.
3. Cook the Stew – After the meats go in the oven, I pour the tomato sauce mixture into the remaining chicken broth, then start to cook the sauce.
4. Prep the Okra – while the Stew cooks on the stove.
5. Add the meats – when the Stew has cooked down and flavors have melded together.
6. Cook the okra – while the meats stew in the the Stew and finally…
7. Make the Iyan/Pounded Yam – the last step.

This way, everything is ready to go at approximately the same time, if you are planning on eating the Iyan the same day you cook the Stew. It may seem like a lot for one meal, but remember, the Stews (both the Okra and the Pepper Stew) will last more than one meal. The next time you get a hankering for some Iyan, the Iyan is all you have to make.

I hope that this series was helpful, informative and gets you cooking, African style! Please contact me if you have any questions. In case you missed any parts of the post, here they are: