Suya recipe

Paper-thin beef coated in yaji, the Hausa dry spice mix built on kuli-kuli peanut cake, then charred over an open flame and eaten with raw onion and extra spice.

1 hour and 40 minuteseasy12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp kuli-kuli peanut cake
• 700 g beef sirloin
• 2 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 red onion
• 2 tomatoes

How to make Suya

1. Grind 1 tbsp kuli-kuli to a fine powder (outside Nigeria, finely ground dry-roasted peanuts are the usual stand-in) and mix it with 2 tbsp ground ginger, 1 tbsp cayenne, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 crumbled bouillon cube and 1 tsp salt: this is your yaji.
2. Slice 700 g beef sirloin against the grain into strips about 3 mm thick and 5 cm long.
3. Toss the beef with 3 tbsp peanut oil and two thirds of the yaji until every strip is coated, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
4. Thread the strips tightly onto skewers, soaking wooden ones in water for 30 minutes first.
5. Grill over hot charcoal or an open flame for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once and brushing with a little oil, until the edges char.
6. Sprinkle the skewers with more yaji as they come off the heat.
7. Slide the meat off, cut it into bite-size pieces and serve with 1 sliced raw red onion, 2 sliced tomatoes and the remaining yaji for dipping.

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