NIGER: Beef Suya Kebabs and Rice with Black-Eyed Peas and Veggies (Shinkafa Da Wake)

Suya is a traditional smoked, spiced meat skewer originating from the Hausa people in both Northern Nigeria and Southern Niger. As I made chicken suya for Nigeria, I decided to go with beef for Niger. Once again, super easy and a wonderful flavor profile. The primary difference between the Nigerien and Nigerian versions (Nigrien is from Niger; Nigerian is from Nigeria) is that there is less heat in the Nigerien versions.

Beef Suya Kebabs

1½ lbs sirloin or flank steak

¼ cup natural peanut butter, creamy or chunky

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon ground ginger powder

½ teaspoon table salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon all spice

pinch cayenne powder, optional

1 tablespoon palm, peanut, or canola oil

1. Wrap beef tightly in plastic wrap and set in the freezer for 15 minutes.

2. While beef is chilling, in a small mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Whisk to mix thoroughly. Set aside.

3. Remove beef from freezer. Using a sharp chef's knife or slicing knife, slice beef against the grain into strips, ~1-inch-wide and ~½-inch thick.

4. Coat strips with the marinade. While you can grill immediately, even better to marinate for 2-24 hours.

5. If using wooden skewers, soak the skewers for 30 minutes. Heat a grill to high heat.

6. Skewer meat with soaked wooden or metal skewers or place meat directly on the grill without skewering. Cook about 2-3 minutes on first side, flip and grill another 2-3 minutes.

Rice with Black-Eyed Peas and Veggies (Shinkafa Da Wake)

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon palm, peanut, or canola oil

1 medium onion

1 Maggi chicken cube, Goya Sazon packet, or chicken bouillon cube

1 cup long grain rice

1 ~15 oz can black-eyed peas

½ teaspoon table salt

2 Persian cucumbers

2 Roma tomatoes

½ cup chopped Romain or iceberg lettuce

2-4 hardboiled eggs, optional

1 lemon, optional

1. Heat 1 cup of oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan with a lid.

2. Cut the onion in half from root to tip.

3. Cut one half of the onion into thin strips, to make the crispy onion topping, and add to the small saucepan with the cup of oil. The oil should bubble gently, with small bubbles forming around the onion slices. If the oil bubbles more violently, turn down the heat. If there are no bubbles, turn up the heat. You want to simmer the onion in the oil while making the rest of the rice, stirring every 3 minutes aor so and adjusting the heat to cook evenly.

4. Cut the other half of the onion into small dice. Add to the medium saucepan with the tablespoon of oil. Sauté until translucent, then add the Maggi chicken cube, Goya Sazon packet, or chicken bouillon cube to the saucepan, breaking up a cube if using. Add the rice to the pan. Stir to combine, 1 minute, to toast both the rice and seasoning.

5. Drain the can of black-eyed peas, and add to the saucepan, along with ½ teaspoon table salt and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook 20 minutes.

6. When fried onion slices are a dark brown, remove them with a spider or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Save oil in the pot to drizzle over completed rice dish.

7. Chop cucumbers into small dice. Stem and seed tomatoes and chop to a small dice.

8. When rice is done, fluff with a fork and taste for additional salt and pepper.

9. To serve, mound rice on a large platter. Surround by the chopped cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, and halved hardboiled eggs, if using. Top with the fried onions. Sprinkle a tablespoon or so of the onion oil overtop of the rice.

10. Serve with the remaining oil on the side and halved lemon, if using, to squeeze overtop.

#suya #grilledmeat #grilledbeef #rice #cookingaroundtheworld #familydinner #niger

FUN FACTS:

• Niger is known as the "frying pan of the world" due to extreme heat, with temperatures sometimes reaching 118°F.

• Niger is home to one of the world’s largest animal prehistoric animal etching. The Dabous Giraffe Petroglyph is a life-sized carving of two giraffes dating back about 10,000 years.

• Niger is home to the tallest mud-brick structure in the world, the Grande Mosquée d'Agadez, which is 88 feet tall.