Tastes of Niger

Cooking with gas is an adventurous undertaking, but I’ve taken up the challenge of cooking from scratch with what I can find in the stores in Niamey. Each store has slightly different items in stock, and they may rotate their stock (like Aldi back home), so if you find something you like, you buy all of it. And produce is bought at local stands (along with eggs—better prices from the fruit stand guy). I am also dairy-, gluten-, and soy-free (6 days out of 7), corn-free, plus I don’t eat onions due to migraines, so there’s a lot of careful planning behind all of my cooking. Since I spend a good deal of time on it, I thought I'd write about it!

During my first week in Niamey, I adapted one of my favorite recipes, a one-pot recipe for keema aloo (Indian beef and potatoes) to make it with chicken. Here is a link to the recipe on AllRecipes, a fun app/website I use to find new things (I like their ingredient search feature- just type in what you find in your cabinet/fridge, and it will generate recipes for you).

This week I used the “More with Less Cookbook” to try a new recipe: coconut rice. It is my new favorite! With my first serving, I added fresh mango and cashews, and for the second, I added canned beets (yes, I love beets) and cashews. YUM!

COCONUT RICE

Heat 2 Tbsp oil or butter in heavy saucepan over low heat. Add ½ cup chopped onion or 2 Tbsp minced garlic, 3 whole cloves, 3 cinnamon sticks, and 3 bay leaves. Sauté until onions/garlic are browned but not burnt; add and fry for a few seconds- ¼ tsp ground turmeric and ¼ tsp salt. Quickly add 1 cup uncooked rice and 2 cups coconut milk. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Remove whole spices before serving.

I also love eating mangoes. Mangoes over rice, mangoes with yogurt, mango lassi, mangoes with chicken…I have fresh mango pineapple popsicles setting up in the freezer right now. Nowhere else on earth has better mangoes than Niger. I also eat peanuts in Niger, which my family will tell you is completely out of character; but the peanuts in Niger are also top-notch. I don’t know why.

Eating out has been a great experience so far. I love brochettes (beef kebabs, hold the onions) and fries, which are easy on the budget; and one of the local restaurants, Le Cabane, specializes in Lebanese food, and their hummus, falafel and baba ganoush are not to be missed. But the dangerous one is Namaste Indian Restaurant, because that’s within walking distance from my apartment. I had their butter chicken and I had to bring leftovers home! And don't forget dessert at LA Fondakayan: Nutella crepes! This was stuffed with "the works": honey, pistachios, bananas, and Nutella!

Finally, I have a new favorite drink: peach-raspberry syrup in water over ice (it’s 105 degrees; I have 4 or 5 ice cube trays filled at all times).

Stormy wanted to add that he’s not complaining about the new diet. He gets chicken or beef with rice, broth and carrots (my homemade version of dog food…there’s only 2 types of dog food I’ve seen in stores, and they’re not grain free). But sometimes mom lets him visit his friend at the convenience store, and then he gets a muffin as a special treat!