Nigerian Suya Beef Skewers
INDIAN · INDIA

Nigerian Suya Beef Skewers

SuyaSnack

Charred, smoky beef skewers rubbed in yaji — roasted peanut, ginger, garlic and chilli — the smell of every Nigerian night market. Grill them hot and fast, slice thin, and serve with raw onion and tomato.

Total
42 min
Heat
4/5
Serves
4

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Flavour profile

Heat
Funk
Acid
Richness
Umami
  • Nutty
  • Peppery
  • Smoky
  • Spicy

The real deal

Region
Northern Nigeria, Hausa street food sold by the mallam at roadside grills.
Technique
Yaji spice rub of roasted groundnut, ginger, garlic and chilli, grilled hard over open fire and tossed in extra yaji off the heat.
We kept
Thin-cut beef, peanut-based yaji, no wet marinade, onion and tomato on the side.

Ingredients

4 Serves

beef

  • 700 g · thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp
  • 8

yaji

  • 120 g · skins rubbed off
  • 2 tbsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 tbsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp

side

  • 1 · sliced into rings
  • 2 · thinly sliced

Method

  1. Drop into a deep tray of cold water and leave them to soak for at least 30 min. Dry bamboo splinters on the grill.

    No soaking tray? Wrap the skewers in wet kitchen paper, then go straight to the grill.

  2. Pound or pulse 120 g until coarse and sandy, with a few crunchy flecks left. Do not take it to paste.

    Over-grinding turns the peanut oily and the yaji turns into a claggy paste that steams instead of crusts.

  3. Rub , , , , , and into the ground peanuts until the yaji is even and brick-red.

    Bloom the yaji in a dry pan over low heat for 1 min first: the spices smell sweeter and rounder.

  4. Slice as thin as you can against the grain, into pieces about the size of your palm.

    Part-freeze the beef for 20 min first; it firms up and slices much thinner.

  5. Toss the beef with 2 tbsp , then rub in half the yaji. Thread the slices onto the soaked skewers, weaving them up and down so they stay put.

    Put the skewer through the slices in a wave, not flat; the folded edges catch the fire and char.

  6. Slice into thin rings and into thin rounds. Keep them raw and cold.

  7. Get a grill or griddle blazing hot. Lay the skewers on and grill for 3 min a side, turning once, until the edges are charred and the beef is just cooked through.

    Keep the lid open and the heat high; low heat dries the beef out before it chars.

  8. Off the heat, dust the hot skewers with the rest of the yaji and toss so the spice sticks.

    Dust while the fat is still glistening; that is what makes the yaji cling instead of falling off.

  9. Pile the skewers on a plate with the raw onion and tomato and eat straight away, with your hands.

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