Sometimes, even against all your most fervent efforts, Nigeria will body slam you into a brick wall and there is nothing you can do about it.
Pele, dear, it happens.
It’s not news that things are somehow right now. Inflation o, security o, electricity o, it’s getting harder and harder to point out something in Nigeria that is working as intended.
If it’s not the government fighting over not wanting to pay workers a livable wage, it’s the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seemingly overlooking the alleged ₦80bn fraud of the former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to go after 127 “suspected Internet fraudsters” in Ondo.
It is well.
So you can see, we’re battling both principalities and powers in our fatherland.
But arguably the most pressing concerns are the soaring prices of food.
According to the latest National Bureau of Statistics Selected Food Price Watch report (April 2024), some food prices (rice, beans, garri, onions, tomatoes, etc) have shot up to 155% more than their April 2023 price.
Some traders have to sell tubers of yam in slices so consumers can afford them, and tomatoes and peppers, usually a staple in the Nigerian diet, are becoming more of a luxury as their prices rise due to insecurity, petrol subsidy removal, climate change and other factors.
We know you just breathed an ultra-heavy sigh because we did too.
But this is why we’re here for you.
Again, have we ever presented a problem and didn’t give you a way to manage or entirely circumvent it?
We hope that day will never come.
(Amen)
Life is busy and life is hard, but at the very least, let’s eat. Please.
And while it might be tempting to order a quick bite from Chicken Republic, it’s not every time nau.
When you eat out, you’re paying for the restaurant’s staff salaries, their bills, taxes, and then the profit they make.
When you buy the ingredients and make your meal yourself, you’re directly supporting local vendors and traders, plus you know almost exactly what you’re putting into your own body, and you save money because you’re not paying another person’s salary.
Now, isn’t that best?
But even with cooking your own meals, making a good meal these days is not beans (get it?).
This is why we’ve come up with a little guide (we could call it a recipe book but we’re really just so modest) of ultra-simple, customisable and affordable recipe ideas you can follow to get your food affairs in order.
From ingredients and their prices to the tools you’ll need and the recipes, we’ve got you covered.
We’ll even compare what you would spend cooking a meal at home, vs buying food outside to show you that home-cooked really does pay.
To further cut costs and help you plan your life well, we suggest you cook in bulk, then store it (probably in all those plastic containers you have, dear). Apart from saving money, you also save time.
Plus, it’s a lot harder to convince yourself to spend on food outside when you know that you have containers of food in your fridge.
We suggest you take a day to cook for the following week, then store it all in your fridge or freezer.
Budgeting and meal prep can save your life o, no dull am.
Oya, to the kitchen!
Tomato paste (a 10 piece roll is about ₦2500) – Base for stews, sauces, and of course, jollof rice.
Red onions (a small bowl of red onions goes for ₦3000-₦5000 depending on individual size) – They add flavour to almost any dish, let’s be serious
Dried Pepper powder or flakes (a cup is about ₦800-₦1000) – Spice up meals with a kick
Curry masala (a big pack is about ₦2300, and it. will. last. you) – A mix of curry powder, thyme leaves, and rosemary. Affordable and easy.
Yaji/suya pepper (₦1000 for a pack) – A sweet pepper that makes anything taste good and isn’t too spicy.
Seasoning powder or cubes (a pack of about a 100 cubes should be around ₦1200-₦2000 depending on the brand) – Because, duh.
Salt (1kg is about ₦300-₦500) – Again, no brainer
Vegetable Oil (a 750ml bottle is about ₦3000 and up, depending on brand)- For frying and cooking.
Eggs (a crate goes for ₦4500-₦5000, if you cant afford it, you can usually get 12 for about ₦2000)
Garri (a cup sia about ₦150, and a kg is about ₦1000-₦1500) – Would this list be complete without garri? No.
Rice (a cup is about ₦250, and a 4 litre paint bucket of local rice goes for about ₦7500) – A Nigerian staple. God bless rice!
Indomie Noodles (a pack goes for about ₦9000 or you can buy individually if you dont want to splurge) – Quick and easy.
Of course, you don’t need to have these in your kitchen at all times, but, it does make it easier to quickly whip something up.
Also, like we mentioned in our Nigerian life skills article, don’t be shy to take one or two bagco bags to your parents place (if you can) and raid their own pantries. They kuku put you on this earth, so it’s fair game, really.
Now on to the food…
1 cup of Flour
2 teaspoons of Baking powder
4 tablespoons of sugar
1 Egg
1 cup of Milk
Two 20g sachets of Milo powder (or whatever chocolate you prefer), to taste
Cooking oil
A big-ish mixing bowl
A fork to mix
A spoon to scoop (optional)
A frying pan, preferably non-stick
Mix your ingredients.
Mix flour, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl, and whisk with a fork to combine.
Add egg and milk then mix until lump-free – shouldn’t be longer than 30 seconds.
Your batter should be thick but still runny. If your batter is too thick, add some milk.
Make your pancakes
Heat your frying pan – use medium heat if you have a strong stove, and medium high if you have a weak one.
Add a tiny bit of oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) and swirl to coat the pan. Make sure oil isn’t pooling anywhere and the pan is evenly coated. If there’s too much oil, pour it back into the container. This is the trick to avoid a dodgy 1st pancake and save oil.
Pour/scoop some of the batter into the middle of the pan, making sure to keep your pour as centred as possible so you can control how big your pancakes will turn out.
When bubbles rise to the surface, flip and cook the other side until golden.
Use more oil every 2 to 3 pancakes – depends on how good your non-stick coating is.
Serve with a hot cup of tea and see how full you get after.
Optionally, you could make the pancakes without Milo, then mix some with a bit of water (till it becomes a thick slurry) and drizzle over the pancakes.
If you really want to make this process easier, make enough of the dry mix (flour, baking soda, sugar, milo, and milk if you use powder) and stash it in a container in your fridge. Whenever you feel like pancakes, all you need to do is break some eggs and heat your pan.
So good it should be illegal.
₦400 worth of flour
₦25.20 worth of baking soda (if 100g is ₦ 300 and two teaspoons is 8.4g)
₦40 worth of sugar (if a tablespoon is 14g and a kilo is ₦ 2800)
₦200 egg
₦1800 worth of milk
₦320 worth of Milo powder
₦300 worth of cooking oil
Total cost of your meal: ₦3085
Cost of a similar meal at pancakes.ng or eatcheftees: ₦4500-₦6000
5 cups of rice
3 red onions
3 sachets of Power oil
5 spring onions – optional
4 green pepper
Seasoning cubes/Onga
4 small red chillies – ideally scotch bonnet
6 medium-sized carrots
A handful of green beans
10 cloves of garlic – optional
7 sachets of curry masala
A cup of soy sauce – optional
1 kg of frozen chicken
A medium or large sized pot
A knife (sharpen it, please)
A chopping board/flat surface to cut your veggies. It could also be a plate, whatever works.
A frying pan (optional)
A cooking spoon
Start with washing and marinating your chicken (you’ll need about 6-8 pieces, depending on how it’s cut). For the marinade you’ll need;
6 finely chopped garlic cloves
7 tablespoons of soy sauce (optional)
5 sachets of Curry Masala
4 or 5 seasoning cubes
A dash of water
Mix till it becomes a paste, then rub it into your chicken and let it rest for at least an hour (or overnight in the fridge if possible)
Prepare your rice
(Ideally, this recipe is done with leftover white rice, as the moisture content in fresh rice might make the dish soggy – which you don’t want, but if you do not have any, follow this) Add water (a cup and a half for each cup of rice) and your rice to a pot over medium heat. Cover, but make sure the water is simmering and not boiling so the rice can absorb the water and soften well. Should be about 20-35 minutes. When it’s done, remove the lid and let it rest then move on to the next step.
Take out your chicken and cut the meat from the bones so it cooks faster, Ideally, you should dice it.
Heat your pan (or pot) over a low to medium flame and add two and a half sachets of oil .
Add your chopped garlic just before the oil gets hot and stir lightly (this is because garlic burns very easily). When it turns a golden brown, add your onions (cut them however you like, but ideally sliced).
Add your chopped peppers (4) and continue stirring on medium heat for about 1-2 minutes or until the onions are almost translucent.
Add your spices now – 2 sachets of curry masala, 4 tablespoons of soy sauce (or water if you’re not using soy sauce), and seasoning cubes to taste.
Stir well then add your chicken and let it cook while stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
Stir well and turn the heat down so it doesn’t burn.
Chop or dice your carrots, green beans and green pepper, then add them to the mix and stir some more for a minute.
If you prefer your veggies softer, add some water and cover the pot to steam till as soft as you like.
Stir in your rice and make sure all of it gets coated in the sauce.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Just before you take it off the fire, finely chop some spring onion and sprinkle it in to add some pizzaz (optional).
This recipe is very customisable, so you can use other veggies like cabbage or green peas or protein like fish or beef if you prefer.
₦1500 worth of rice
₦750 worth of red onion
₦600 worth of oil
₦250 worth of spring onion
₦1500 worth of green pepper
₦200 worth of seasoning cubes
₦80 worth of scotch bonnet peppers
₦500 worth of green beans
₦250 worth of garlic
₦1400 worth of curry masala
₦400 worth of soy sauce
₦2000 worth of chicken
Total cost of your meal: ₦9,430
Cost of a similar meal at a fast food restaurant (6 servings of fried rice and chicken from Chicken Republic, The Place): ₦18,000-₦20,000
1 medium-sized bowl sliced Okro
1 Medium-sized Stockfish (or smoked fish)
1 kg of chicken (or any preferred meat)
3-4 red bell peppers
2 scotch bonnet peppers
2 seasoning cubes
1 sachet of Curry Masala
Salt (optional)
3 cloves of garlic (optional)
1 200ml cup of palm oil
Half a cup of blended crayfish
1 cup of garri
A medium-sized pot
A knife
A small manual blender
A cooking spoon
Prepare the Meat and Fish:
Wash the beef/chicken and (in your pot) season it with half a teaspoon of salt (or as much as you want), two seasoning cubes, half a sachet of curry masala, a cup and a half of water, and half a cup of sliced onions.
Boil the seasoned meat for 10-15 minutes on medium-high heat. Remove them while leaving the stock in the pot (you’ve made meat stock, ta-da!)
Cook the Stockfish:
Because stockfish can be pretty tough, add it to the boiling pot with one more cup of water. Cook for about 10 minutes until the stockfish is soft for consumption (this also adds more flavour to the stock).
Add 1-2 more cups of water to replace what was lost while softening the fish
Blend the Peppers:
Remove the centre seeds from the bell peppers, then blend them with the scotch bonnet peppers and peeled garlic to form a pepper paste. Try to get it smooth-ish, but it’s not a must.
Put it all together:
Add the blended pepper mixture to the pot with the stock and stir well.
Add the crayfish and some suya pepper. Stir to combine.
Pour in the palm oil and continue stirring. Cook on high heat for about 8-10 minutes.
Add the fish/meat you boiled and let it simmer (reduce heat to medium) for 2-3 minutes.
Add the Okro:
While it’s all simmering, slice the okro and set it aside in a bowl.
Add the sliced okro to the pot, and stir until well combined (about 3-5 minutes)
Cook for another minute to make sure the okro is tender and gooey.
Make the eba:
Boil about a cup of water in a pot.
When it boils, slowly add half or quarter a cup of garri (depending on how much your garri swells), distributing it as evenly as you can. Use a wooden spatula or spoon to stir until smooth and lump-free. Add more garri if it is too soft or more hot water if it is too hard.
The ratio is usually 1 cup of water to half a cup of garri, but adjust as needed.
₦500 worth of Okro
₦800 worth of smoked fish
₦2000 worth of meat
₦1,500 worth of red bell peppers
₦40 worth of scotch bonnet peppers
₦40 worth of seasoning cubes
₦200 worth of curry masala
₦320 240ml cup of palm oil
₦400 worth of blended crayfish
₦150 worth of garri
Total cost of your meal (4-6 servings, so you’ll be feasting for days): ₦5950
Cost of a similar meal at a fast food restaurant (five servings of soup – without eba – from The Place, Mama Ashabi in Abuja): ₦6,500-₦7540
Well, at least no one can say we didn’t feed you.
Your fridge must be full by now, with all the cooking you’ve done
There you have it! Three easy and affordable recipes you can make at home without Hilda Baci-type skills.
₦ow, let’s get into The Tastefully Broke Index!
Online Grocery shopping
Mano
Glovo
Supermart.ng
Pricepally
Applecart Nigeria
Planning & Budgeting
Piggyvest
Cowriwise
Moneysmart Budget Planner
Spending tracker
Johnny Africa’s Spreadsheet
Moneystart Budget Planner
Goodbudget
Learn how to cook
Theamazingama
Trenches Kitchen
TSpices Kitchen
Joyce Daniels
Opeyemifamakin
Riaz Kitchen
Amira Shuaib
Get your tools
Thrifted Kitchen
Helloolive Store
Jumia
(Local markets are often the secret to affordable kitchenware and great deals, so don’t be afraid to visit a few to stock up your kitchen!)
After reading this article, you should be hosting dinner parties and starting your own cooking show.
Sha don’t forget to credit us when your friends come over and drool over your (our) banging okro soup.
But really, what do you think of our recipes? Will you be trying one or two? Also, what other meals do you want recipes for?
Cook a little something for us in the comments!
