Chicken suya

During our World Cup cook-off last summer, Nigeria was deliciously represented by beef suya. These proved such a hit with the whole family that Nigeria easily topped Group F in the first stage of the tournament, blew past France (salade niçoise, chocolate mousse), and obliterated Mexico (fish tacos) in the quarter-finals, before falling before Colombia’s unstoppable barras de limón.

Recently, I was lucky enough to be given a bag of authentic suya powder from a Nigerian friend and chef. I decided to try chicken suya this time, which proved to be every bit as tasty as the beef version.

Chicken suya
(makes about 16 skewers)

• 16 bamboo skewers
• 12 boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets
• 1/4 cup suya powder (also called yaji or tankora) – see recipe below
• sunflower oil
• 1 red onion, sliced into thin half moons
• half a small white cabbage, thinly shredded
• 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced

1. Lie the bamboo skewers flat in a roasting dish and cover completely with water. Leave to soak for at least half an hour.
2. Cut the chicken into 2cm square pieces. Pat the pieces dry with paper towel.
3. Thread the chicken onto the skewers.
4. Spread the suya powder onto a dinner plate. Roll each skewer in the powder, ensuring it is well coated, and arrange on another plate. Drizzle the skewers with oil.
5. Heat the grill or barbeque and cook the skewers, turning occasionally, until they are cooked through.
6. Serve with slices of red onion, shredded cabbage and tomatoes.

Suya powder

• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
• 1 Tb chilli powder
• 1 Tb ground ginger
• 1 Tb smoked paprika
• 1 Tb garlic powder
• 1 Tb onion powder
• 1 Tb pepper
• 1 Tb boullion powder

Tags: African food, barbeque, chicken, dairy-free, finger foods, gluten-free, peanuts