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Yaji Spice (Suya Spice Blend)

Yaji Spice (Suya Spice Blend) is a traditional Nigerian recipe for the classic spice and peanut blend use to flavour the meat dish, suya. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Nigerian version of: Suya Spice Blend (Yaji Spice).

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

10 minutes

Total Time:

20 minutes

Makes:

16 tbsp

Rating:

Tags : Vegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesNigeria Recipes

Suya is a Nigerian street food (very popular in Lagos) typically made of strips of meat (often goat, sometimes beef) marinated in a dry peanut-based spice blend that’s then barbecued over hot charcoal. It’s wonderful… simply served with a hunk of white bread… fantastic! My wife knows how much I love suya, so we experimented in the kitchen to make our perfect suya spice blend. No cayenne pepper for us, we dry our own Scotch bonnet (Ivorian pepper) and grind that to a powder. More heat, but also much more fruity flavour. Smoked paprika… fine. Toasted and ground peanuts (a definite yes). Maggi cubes, again yes (don’t use any other bouillon cubes, Maggi chicken or Maggi prawn is the one. It is based on soy sauce and so has much more umami flavour. Ground ginger, onion powder and garlic powder… these seem to occur in almost all recipes, so yes. For suya I think ground white pepper has a slightly cleaner flavour so I use that. And that’s the list of ingredients. Now, it’s just a case of how much and how to prepare. I’m also adding calabash nutmeg and Ashanti pepper here as they’re authentic, I have them in my spice store, and I like them, but they can be omitted.

Ingredients:

150g (1 cup) roasted peanuts (groundnuts)
1 tbsp crushed Maggi cubes about 3 cubes
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 ½ tbsp hot chilli powder (I use half chipotle and half naga jalokia or dried red habanero, but cayenne pepper works at a pinch) scotch bonnet is traditional
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp ground white pepper
12 Ashanti peppers (uziza, Piper guineense), optional (however this does give the authentic smoked flavour)
4 pieces calabash nutmeg (optional)

Method:

Grind together the peanuts and calabash nutmeg in a blender, coffee grinder, spice grinder or food processor for about 30 seconds, pausing and checking the texture as you go so that it does not over-blend and become a paste. Stop before the peanuts start releasing their oil. Separately grind the Ashanti pepper.

Combine ground nuts with all the other ingredients in a small bowl and mix until completely blended. Transfer to an air-tight jar and store in a cool, dry, cupboard away from heat and light (you can also freeze). The peanuts means that this will only last for up to two without refrigeration otherwise it can become rancid.