NATIVE RICE

Tomato is still very scarce and expensive at the moment in Nigeria, but that shouldn't be the reason for you to stop eating your everyday meal.
There are still some other ways of beating this scarcity of tomatoes and not allowing it to affect your menu.
One of the popular staple foods in Nigeria is Rice and most families eat this meal at least twice in a week. Most people are used to the usual white rice and stew or 'jollof rice'
But there is another kind of rice you can eat that would make you not to even remember the scarcity of tomato. It is Native Rice or Concoction Rice as it is popularly called.
This in one food that doesn't care how expensive tomato is because it doesn't need it in its preparation. Interestingly, when you have just a taste of this rice, you may not want to eat the popular'jollof rice' again as this is traditional, taste and also unique.
It is cheap and easy to make and it doesn't require so much fuss including looking for chicken, beef or assorted meat as complement. It doesn't require all the 'sophistication' that comes with preparing other rice dishes too. The local spices, including the curry leaves, scent leaves and ogiri or iru (locust bean cake) used in preparing the dish, are medicinal as they help fight against diseases.

INGREDIENTS

• Rice
• Pepper
• Salt to taste
• Seasoning cubes
• Scent leaves
• Curry leaves
• Onion
• Ogiri or iru
• Palm oil
• Crayfish
• Fresh fish
• Dry fish
• Stock fish

PREPARATION

• Wash the rice with hot water and put in a pot to cook.
• Wash and slice the onions. Put Cooking spoons of red oil in a frying pan and heat in a low heat. Add the onions and fry under one minute.
• Add the pepper, seasoning cubes and pour inside the rice. Add salt to taste.
• Grind the crayfish and ogiri or iru and also add to the rice. Add the dry fish and stock fish, allow to cook.
• Add the fresh fish and the sliced scent leaves and curry leaves. Leaves to simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until all the water in the pot is dried.
  Yes food is ready.

Happy Eid-Ad-Fitr to all my Muslims brother.