Bitter herb and pepper soup

09/08/2010

Bitter herb.  Anyone heard of that before?  I’ve read about it in the Nigerian literature as it gets mentioned quite often by different authors. 

A while back Revival (The Namibian ambassadors wife, remember?) gave me a stick to put into the ground to see it grow. I had that stick, which did start growing vigorously, in a sack on my back veranda for a month or more. Eventually last Wednesday I got Kenny, our driver, to stop along the road in search of the right size pot.  Roadside nurseries stretch along most of the main streets in Nigeria.  When I explained that I needed a pot and some soil, not a plant, the sales gent simply pulled out a plant and gave me the pot with soil and all, at a price of course.  And the stick plant got potted and its dignity back.  It looked good almost like a decorative plant and developed lots of nice leaves. 

That was yesterday.  Today it has just a few feeble leaves left.  The reason?  Pepper soup.

Fatima was going to teach me how to make the famous Nigerian pepper soup.  It is very easy, but … and there lies the trick, apart from lots of chilly peppers you need Nigerian herbs.  Lo and behold my back veranda had two of the herbs needed: A mint, also from Revival and my stick plant, the bitter herb.  Fatima is going to get me the other traditional herbs from the market because you cannot buy it in a grocery store: atariko (a kind of small chillie), uda (like a small thin mushroom), gbafilo, rigije and uyayak (all leafy herbs).  The internet gave me a list of substitute herbs for Nigerian herbs: aniseed, aniseed pepper, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, allspice, dried ginger, tamarind pods and fennel seeds.  However Fatima said it is not the same and then believe me, it is just not the same.

We have now a pot of hot, hot (really hot) cold pepper soup, waiting to be heated up for our supper tonight.  Maybe I should divide it, freeze the one half for another brave day and just heat up a small bit. Because I think, at least I, will only have a limited amount. Nick likes the hot stuff and is always smothering his food with tobasco.  Small wonder he likes all my cooking.



With the pepper soup and other soups and stews, the West Africans eat a dough like lump of yams, coco yams or cassava. They are all tubers which are dried, ground and steamed. The cooked product looks a bit like our stywe pap, but they present it in a ball, the size of a tennis ball, wrapped in plastic.  That is how you get it at all the big hotels here.  I am not sure how they presented it in the pre-glad wrap years and in the rural areas.  After opening this package, one pinch off a piece, roll it between your fingers into a small ball and then dip it into the soup or stew before eating it.  It taste very different from anything I have eaten before, but not unpleasant, though I will have to get used to it before it will become a selected choice.



Bitter herb



There is another handy purpose for the bitter herb.  Most useful here where foreigners found that they struggle to keep their stomachs stable and comfortable.  Mix the bitter herbs with water, liquidize it with something sweet such as an apple or honey (to make it more palatable) and drink.  Apparently this green drink is excellent to stabilize the tummies.  No wonder the locals do not seem to battle with upset stomacs, this bush grows every where and they just chew the leaves and  no wallah (pigen English for… yes you have guessed… no problem). The Hausas says Ba Komi, meaning more or less the same as no wallah.



Understanding language and fabrics

Understanding the local people can be difficult at times.  While spending some time painting in my friend Tyna’s studio I met another artist friend of hers, with a nickname of Perfect.  I asked him if it is not difficult to earn a living as an artist and how he earns an income as selling paintings can be very sporadic.  His response was that he makes “kik”.  My puzzled expression got Tyna to explain “He makes kik, mah”.  My brain was rushing to try to make sense of the word.  Surely he can’t be selling “kicks”, or maybe “chicks”, and the only other word I could think of was an unsavory Afrikaans word, which it could not be either.  And then after repeatedly being thrown with the word by both Tyna and Perfect….clarity: Cakes!!!! It turned out he bakes and decorates cakes for special occasions such as christenings, special birthdays, graduations and weddings. What a laugh we all had.  I then got shown some photos of his cakes….very professional.

Working once a week in Tyna’s studio has brought me in contact with a few Nigerian artist and I am enjoying their conversations, however badly understood sometimes.  They are young, ambitious and quite outspoken.  In the process I have been asked to join in a group exhibition to be held at the end of September coincidently right here in the same compound as where we are living: Ancestors court.  I was shown the draft invitation card yesterday:  50 years of  Nigerian woman artist.  I beg you, where do I fit in with my four months residency behind me? And my name is boldly on the invitation!!!!.

I went fabric shopping the other day:  Nigerian fabrics.  A friend told me you could get dress fabrics quite reasonably priced at Sahads.  Apparently a lot of expatriates turn their noses up for the shop, I was told, but they did not mind as things are in general a lot cheaper there. Parking is difficult as it draws quite a crowd of locals, exactly because of its price reputation.  The four story building does not look at all like a shop and my instinct told me to squeeze up the stairs to the first floor.  There were all kinds of groceries and only a small sign that gave me a clue that there are fabrics hidden around the corner in the grocery shop.  Fabrics in Nigeria do not get sold from rolls, from which you get cut the exact length of material you want.  It is all precut in 6 yard lengths.  This makes for a colourful display of different strips of colourful materials on the shelves – a display which had caught my eye repeatedly in the past in the markets.

The fabric shop area was full of people, men, women and even children, all comparing different patterns and colours.  Watching them I became aware of how different my choice of pattern and colours is to most of theirs. To my mind their choices are loud jarring colours and big unattractive patterns.  How on earth can they make dresses out of that?  Yet by now I have noticed that their dress makers are very skillful with placing patterns to compliment the figures and it does turn out very striking…. most of the time.  However when I came to chose a length of material, with in mind to get one of their dressmakers make me a Nigerian dress; I just could not go that bold.  I had to choose between either clashing colours or big, bold printed shapes.  I went for the big patterns and a more muted green blue colour scheme.  I managed to whip out my cell phone to pretend I was phoning but in reality I took some photos.

Tomorrow Fatima is going to show me how to make Nigerian pepper soup.  I must tell you pepper soup is only for the brave…and Nigerians of course.  It is one of the tastiest dishes I have ever tasted, but you have to have a glass of water ready.  In spite of the delicious taste I could not manage more than a few spoonfuls.  It certainly beats hot Indian curry.  Maybe if I make it I can keep the taste and bring down the heat..???