This is the one recipe my husband talks about all the time. I can almost hear him salivating every time he says "suya". Suya, pronounced SOOya, is a Nigerian street food. It is known as grilled meat on a stick or what we would call shish kabob.


Recipe:

1 pound beef such as sirloin
1 cup peanuts
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 red onion peeled and cut into chunks
1 tomato peeled and cut into chunks

1. Cut the beef into bite sized pieces.

2. Make the peanut and spice rub.

1. Grind the peanuts in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Don't grind the peanuts too much because you'll end up with peanut butter. If your ground peanuts end up being oily, place the peanuts in paper towels and squeeze the oil out so the peanuts are dry.
2. Mix the ginger, pepper, paprika, garlic and other spices in a small bowl.
3. Split the spice mix between two bowls. Set one bowl aside.

3. Dip and roll the meat in the other bowl of spice mix. Be sure the meat in throughly covered.

4. Let the meat marinate for at least 30 minutes.

5. Push the meat onto skewers alternating with red onion and tomato if desired.

6. Place the suya on a hot barbeque grill. Grill until meat is well done.

7. Take the meat, red onions, and tomatoes off the skewers and put into a bowl. If you didn't roast the red onions and tomatoes, mix them in with the meat.

Serve the suya with the reserved peanut spice mix for sprinkling or dipping. Be sure you do not use the mix that came in contact with the raw meat.


Variations, Substitutions, Tips, & Hints

*You may also use chicken or goat meat in place of the beef.
*If you are using wooden skewers, cover the exposed wood to prevent the skewers from burning. Soaking the skewers in water ahead of time really doesn't work well.
*You can cook the suya in an oven at 400 degree for roughly 30 minutes.
*You can substitute red pepper or red pepper flakes for the cayenne pepper.
*Use a finely chopped clove of garlic instead of garlic powder.
*Try grating some fresh ginger root in place of the ground ginger.
*Other additions to the peanut spice mix to try are: 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 bouillon cubes, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/8 teaspoon chili powder.