I believe one of the best ways to learn about different cultures is to cook their recipes. One can learn so much by studying flavors, spices, and cooking styles of other cultures. While researching I came across Suya. Suya is a Nigerian street food. These spicy kebabs are seasoned with a peanut spice mix that packs a punch. The Suya marinates the meat giving it lots of flavor, and making it nice and tender after grilling. Enjoy these kebabs with Herbed couscous for a nice, light lunch or dinner. If you cannot find a Suya spice mix (also known as yaji) in the store, I’ve linked the recipe to make your own.
Ingredients:
Kebab ingredients:
2 lb sirloin
1 recipe Suya, 2 Tbsp reserved
Lime wedges for serving
Herbed CousCous Ingredients:
2 cups cooked couscous
Sprinkle of garlic powder
Black pepper TT
Salt TT
Drizzle olive oil
¼ pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
⅓ grilled red onion, chopped
Chopped fresh herbs (I used thai basil, basil, mint, cilantro, thyme, and oregano)
Directions:
Freeze sirloin for 1 hour, then thinly slice. Mix together suya ingredients, and reserve 2 Tablespoons worth for later. Rub the remaining Suya over the sirloin. Refrigerate overnight.
Skewer the sirloin so it is flat on the skewers. Slice an onion into 3 rounds, skewering each to keep together on the grill. Spray everything with nonstick spray. Grill skewers on a hot grill for 5-7 minutes turning once, erring on the side of Medium/Medium rare. You just want a little bit of char for flavor. Grill onions for 7-10 minutes, until grill marks appear and onion starts to turn opaque.
Chop up ⅓ of the grilled onion and mix all of the couscous ingredients together. Serve hot or cold with the yaji. Squeeze a lime wedge over the yaji, sprinkle with remaining suya, and enjoy!
