Sunday, September 6, 2020

Nigeria - Our Ninth Meal

For our ninth meal, Mark made us a wonderful Nigerian dinner! Wow, it was so delicious!!


I was totally crazy about the beef suya (a Nigerian street food of spicy grilled beef skewers with peanut flavor), and jollof rice (rice flavored with a slurry of tomato, bell pepper, and onion, plus a bunch of spices). Everything was very hot/spicy, and everything was very good!!


The peppersoup was the least exciting part of the meal to me (it wasn't spicy), but I could imagine it could be a nice comfort food, kind of like chicken noodle soup is here. 


Our beverage was a nonalcoholic drink called Chapman, which is apparently drunk everywhere in Nigeria although there are lots of variations (like with sangria mix in other places). This one had grenadine, currant juice, and cucumber slices among other flavors, and it was really delicious and refreshing, like a grown-up fruit punch. 


For dessert, Mark made us puff-puff, a traditional Nigerian street food, which is fried dough lightly dusted with powdered sugar, and eaten fresh/hot. Wow, so yummy! Very like some donuts we have had. These were served with slices of raw plantain, which is apparently eaten at every meal in Nigeria (in some form). I'm not much for banana but I liked the plantain! A bit firmer texture, which I prefer.
 

After dinner, we watched The Wedding Party (2016), the highest grossing Nigerian film of all time, about the festivities and drama surrounding one affluent Nigerian couple's wedding celebration. Apparently, wedding festivities are a HUGE deal in Nigerian culture, and (at least among the wealthy) are large, extravagant, colorful affairs. Check out this interesting NYT article about the fabric of Nigerian weddings to learn more.

By the way, the printed tablerunner you see in these photos has a design which appears (to my untrained eye) to be inspired by kente, a kind of woven fabric originally hailing from Ghana, but popular throughout West Africa. Traditionally, kente was worn by royalty, and the colors and patterns have special/sacred meanings. Nowadays, the use of kente-inspired patterns in fashion appears to be pretty widespread.

The movie was cute and a treat for the eyes, definitely recommend. :) 


When? September 5, 2020
Who cooked? Mark
What's for dinner? (Recipe links) jollof rice, peppersoup, beef suya, puff puff, chapman

The Federal Republic of Nigeria Stats
  • Population: 195,874,683 (7th in the world)
  • GDP: 1,118 (22nd in the world, just above Poland) -- surprisingly high, given that 90% of Nigerians are very poor. Evidently radical wealth inequality is a big problem in Nigeria (as it is in America)
  • Life Expectancy: 54.3 (182nd in the world)  -- so low! :( It has apparently been improving steadily since 1960, but the low life expectancy is due to diseases (malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV), extreme poverty (partly fueled by corruption), and high infant and maternal mortality. 
  • Founding Date/Age in 2020: 1960 (gained independence from UK) / 60 years, another young country
  • Official Language: English, although many other languages are spoken as it is a very diverse country; Yoruba and Igbo are spoken in The Wedding Party
  • Largest producer of 
    • yam
    • cassava
    • taro
  • Most HIV/AIDS deaths
  • Highest importance of religion (tied with Bangladesh and Somalia)

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