Cooking in Niger: Some Recipes and Tips

The first meal I cooked was a boil a bag rice packet with a sauce of tomato and meat sauce. I added garlic, salt, pepper, and maybe some oregano. It was good but it was my first attempt at cooking.

My next attempt was spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce. I went to the market and bought an onion, and 7 small tomatoes. When I got home I realized I didn’t really have a pot to cook the sauce in so I improvised and decided the skillet (which is a little deep) would have to do. My only pot was being used for the past. I sliced the tomatoes and diced the onion. I threw a little oil in the bottom of the skillet, added the veggies and began with the spices. I used Maggi poulet (chicken bouillon), garlic powder, salt, oregano, and fresh piement (small, spicy green peppers). I let it all sautee in the oil and used a spoon to smooth the tomatoes out. It was delicious! And typical American, it was a very fast dish. The women here spend all day making their meals and I was in and out (including eating time) in half an hour.

To make a good sauce it is important to find quality vegetables which can sometimes be hard to do. I have a refrigerator which makes it easier to keep veggies but there are some things that just don’t last long. If I buy in Niamey where it is easy to find great quality fresh food it has to survive the HOT bush taxi ride back to Kollo. I ended up with tomato paste in my bag one day. In Kollo’s ecogar you need to go early in the morning or just after the 4 o’clock prayer to find really good food. It also helps to find a vendor who will let you hand pick the ones you went. Some ladies just toss your amount into the bag. I am NOT a fan of that method. Why buy tomatoes that you can’t even use? For the annassara (white person) sometimes it is also necessary to send a Nigerien to do your shopping. I have experimental proof to back up my statement. One day, I asked for 100 CFA of tomatoes. Just after I left, my friend Bachir bought me another 100 CFA worth and his bag was much fuller than mine. Not everyone does this and I am a very loyal shopper, which also helps. By going to the same person they come to know your expectations and sometimes they even give you cadeaux (gifts).

Another favorite dish of mine is tuna pasta (when I can afford or have received tuna in the mail). I get the water boiling and put the pasta in. While the water gets hot I chop half an onion and place it in oil. I season with garlic and Maggi arome (sort of like soy sauce) In the 7 minutes it takes to cook the pasta I sautee the onions until they’re golden. I mix the tuna with garlic powder, poultry seasoning, and one slice of Laughing Cow cheese (think Velveeta texture). I put the pasta in a bowl, throw the tuna on top, and then finish with the onions and oil. I mix it all together with a little salt and yet another fast, easy, and delicious meal.

Chocolate is a relative term. One day (after receiving a bag of Reese’s PB Cups from Shiree and co.) I tried to think of a way to make a dessert. I had some Kuli Kuli (powdered peanut resin) and a wave of genius crashed over me. I mixed 100 CFA of Kuli Kuli with 9 spoonfuls of Milo chocolate powder (the closest I have to cocoa powder). I crushed 10 sugar cubes in my mini mortar. I added 4 spoonfuls of powdered milk. I added a dash of oil and about ¾ a cup of water. I had really only intended to make the dough moist enough to form into balls but the amount of water was an accident. The result was somewhat like brownie batter so I put it into a Tupperware container and put it in my fridge. It tastes almost like a brownie and when it freezes it sort of has the texture of fudge. I also plan to try on making it the text time on the stove. Maybe it will be more like pudding. I hope to find or receive some vanilla extract for the next batch. My neighbor kids beg me to make this all the time and I usually do. It’s so easy and I like it too. I’m going to try and make it so I can actually freeze it completely into bricks.

Another item I make on the regular that my neighbors also love is juice. When I am in Niamey I buy Foster Clarks strawberry powder. The former volunteer always bought lemons (which look like limes) from a vendor. He wanted to sell them to me but when I first started buying I didn’t know what to do with the lemons. I finally found a suitable bottle and I juiced them all at once so they wouldn’t go bad before I could use them. Now the kids like to help my cut and juice so the process is much faster. Now in a liter bottle I add lemon juice, the strawberry powder, and fill with water. Shake, chill, and serve.