Suya

Ingredients

• Beef sirloin — in thin strips600 g
• Roasted peanuts150 g
• Ground ginger2 tsp
• Garlic powder2 tsp
• Cayenne pepper2 tsp
• Paprika2 tsp
• Stock cube1
• Neutral oil4 tbsp
• Onion, tomato, cabbage to serveto taste
• Saltto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Grind the peanuts to a fine crumb, wrap them in a cloth and press hard: the oil stays on the cloth and the powder comes out dry.

   12 min

2. 2

   Mix the peanut powder with the ginger, garlic, cayenne, paprika, crumbled stock cube and salt: this is the yaji.

   5 min

3. 3

   Oil the strips of beef and coat them in half the rub. Leave them half an hour.

   32 min

4. 4

   Thread the meat onto skewers in waves so the heat gets between the folds, and grill it over a fierce fire two or three minutes a side.

   8 min

5. 5

   Dust the hot meat with the other half of the rub and serve with onion rings, tomato and cabbage.

About the dish

Yaji is a rub of defatted ground peanut, ginger, garlic and chilli. The peanuts must be defatted by pressing them between cloths: oily ones turn to paste and give no dry crust.

The beef is sliced very thin and across the grain. Thick pieces have no time to take the spice and turn tough over a fast fierce fire.

The second dose of rub goes onto the hot meat after grilling. It does not burn, and it carries the sharp nutty flavour that the first coat has partly given up to the fire.

Worth knowing

• — Pressing the peanuts is not optional. Without it the rub clumps and burns on the fire instead of forming a crust.
• — Do not marinate longer than an hour: the salt in the stock cube draws out the juice and the meat dries.
• — The rub keeps a month in a sealed jar and works on chicken, lamb and even baked potato.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

520 kcal

Protein

42 g

Fat

34 g

Carbs

12 g

More from Nigeria

• Jollof rice — Rice cooked in a thick sauce of tomato, pepper and onion. The sauce is reduced dark before the rice goes in.