Saturday, June 20, 2009

Food for non-foodies

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I am not a foodie. In fact, in New York, I eat pizza about five times a week. I understand that a lot of people really enjoy food and searching out different flavors and styles, but I've always been more "eat-to-live" than "live-to-eat." I really enjoy the social aspect of sharing food with others, but the physical act of eating has just never given me much delight.

Which is a good thing, because in Nigeria there are not too many options. One thing I've recently been eating is akara, which is a pretty typical Nigerian street food. Akara are fried bean fritters, as seen in the foreground below, being cooked in that pan by a wonderful woman I met this week in Surelere. Very basic, but very good. Here's a recipe.

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6 comments:

  1. I sit here reading your blog all morning...
    I must say, you are doing a really good job! Most esp becos you are actually taking the time to actively participate in what ur researching, as oppose 2 jst observing.
    D article on hawking seems 2 be gaining mre critics than imagined but it's gud 2 read things 4rm this end. Great job!

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  2. Akara is very delicious as well as nutritious.

    Have you tried "Moi-Moi" yet? It's a very delicious food with similar main ingredients to Akara (Beans). The major difference however is that instead of frying, it is bioled/steamed.

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  3. Hi sean, could you please archive your older blogs posts on the front page so they're easier to go through? Just discovered your blog and i'm addicted and trying to start from the beginning.

    Cheers

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  4. Sean, who told you there're not too many food options in naija? I think you need to get out more or travel out of Lagos a bit more, then you might change your mind.

    No wonder you look a bit skinny. You only eat Pizza? You need to bulk up o.

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  5. Thanks for those comments.

    I haven't been outside of Lagos much, Wienna, but I eat out every day. Most of what I see is rice, eba, amala, amala, eba, rice -- with your choice of pepper stew or egusi. Maybe a couple other options. I know there are some Thai and Indian places on Victoria Island, but like I say I do not need a lot of variety in my diet.

    Bishola, I will look into archiving my posts.

    And Baba, I recently tried moi moi, but it was at Mr. Biggs of all places. I assume their moi moi is not the best, but I still liked it.

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  6. I have no idea about their food! All the names you are mentioning is a mistery for me. I wish I could try it!

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