For a very large demographic of Nigerians, no recipe is complete until it has been doused in a healthy dose of pepper.
‘Milk or sugar in your tea?’
‘No I’ll have some pepper please.’
So I asked ten Nigerians who fancy themselves to be food connoisseurs of some sort about the oddest thing they put pepper in. Some of the answers were unsurprising, others downright triggering.
Can I get some rodo in that?
I like a bit of pepper in my salads not black pepper or any of that nonsense. I chop up some rodo and put in any salad I make or buy. It gives them a nice edge that no other ingredient could get you.
A dash of pepper in my oats
I like to eat oats for breakfast but in recent years milk has started irritating me. So one day I tried to put just small ground pepper in it. It changed my life and it’ll change yours too. Not a lot at all, just sprinkle a dash alongside your milk and sugar.
Tea, milk, sugar and pepper, please
Growing up my mum used to put a little pepper in her tea. When I got older I started doing it too. A lot of my friends think it’s strange, but it’s not strange to me. The funny thing is that there are even a ton of health benefits. I even heard it can help you lose weight.
I like pepper in my zobo
I’m not sure if this is odd or anything but a couple of people I know do it. I put a bit of pepper in my zobo. I know most people put ginger to give the sweetness some bite, but I don’t like ginger so pepper does the trick.
I don’t like sugar on my popcorn
I don’t like sugar on my popcorn. I prefer salt and pepper on it and I feel it should be an option at Nigerian cinemas. I mean we are in Nigeria for goodness sake, don’t they know anything about their target market? Very soon I’ll start going in with my own mix and I’ll fight anyone who wants to stop me. I’m a little light handed with the salt, but heavy-handed with the pepper. Sprinkle it on when the popcorn is still hot and sizzling. Heaven.
Fresh pepper on my pizza
See there’s this pizza Domino’s introduced I think last year – Chicken Suya, fresh pepper is one of the toppings and that thing is lit. I can’t remember the last time I ordered any other flavour from them. I’ve never really liked pizza, but I order this thing at least two or three times a month.
On avocado
I know a lot of people already sprinkle some salt on avocado, but just add pepper to that. It’s funny how it might sound odd when I put it this way but nobody thinks it’s odd to put pepper in like an avocado and chicken salad, which I do by the way. I’d probably also put some in an avocado and chicken sandwich. I just really like avocados and I really like pepper.
