Cuisine: Fried Beans and Fried Diced Potatoes.

Thanks to the lockdown so many families have come to be knitted tighter and suddenly everyone is becoming a Chef. To keep the family's together, happy, and going strong for a long time so many things come to place, one of such being food. After realizing how great a Cook I am, I would like to take you on a journey.

Nigerians are major consumers of carbohydrates, at such we see rice, bread, cassava products like Garri and Lafun (White Amala) being the centre of daily menu with little portions of protein and vitamin here and there to help brighten the dish.

Beans which is rich in protein is one food loved by Nigerians because it goes with almost all the Carbohydrates (if not all that is).

Beans could be boiled and served with rice, yam, spaghetti, and bread as a side meal which would need the services of a properly cooked stew to bring its purpose to fruition. Now that we are taking a saunter through beans, I feel I should let you know that beans could also serve as soup to edible meal (swallow). Today, we would not be having beans soup or boiled beans, rather we would be having fried beans and fried diced potatoes.

Ingredients are the go to items to get the meal started. For Fried Beans we'd be needing the following items; beans, fresh bell pepper (rodo), fresh tomatoes, onions, crayfish, palm oil, maggi, and salt. For our Potato meal all we'll be needing are potatoes and salt, with vegetable oil (ororo).

The process of Cooking doesn't start when the fire is ignited, it starts with the thought of what to cook. Our ingredients needs to be made simpler first; starting with the onions, I advice three large pieces (one for boiling and two for frying).

After slicing the onions, we grate our pepper, tomatoes, and ⅓ of the sliced onions, with little water. After this parboiling the beans is next, under mild fire conditions we boil the beans for 10 minutes. As the time elapses we drain the water off the beans and pour it back into fresh water already boiling, with ⅓ of our sliced onion (this helps in softening the beans faster and adds flavour). While the beans softens and consumes the water we'd dice the Potatoes. When the beans gets done with boiling we'd go on to frying.

First the pot is placed on the fire to get hot, then the palm oil is poured onto it. It is deemed fit for frying when it gives you that golden red colour, at this point we pour our remaining onions onto the oil to fry for two minutes after which we introduce the pepper, tomato, and onion combo, as well the crayfish to fry for at least five minutes. By the time you start perceiving the aroma of stew application of salt and magggi is next. Once this happens, we'd allow to fry for a while then pour in the beans, evenly distribute the stew, then cover the pot for a few more minutes.

Beans is ready!

All that's left for our stomach to have a glorious concert is the potato's arrival. Salt is being applied to our diced potatoes and evenly distributed. While that is being done our vegetable oil is being heated. Upon it getting hot we start frying and Vola!! Food is ready!!!

I know by now you must be consumed by the aroma of your food, on my own part; there is something in my tummy going bum bada bum bada bum. Until I see you again, learn to add more protein and vitamins in your meal.