Spices for Coconut Rice in Nigeria

Spices for Coconut Rice in Nigeria

Coconut rice is one of the delicious rice recipe in Nigeria. It has a unique taste and flavouring which comes out as a result of the coconut milk used to prepare the food. I have written a comprehensive article on how to cook the Nigerian style coconut rice, you can read it carefully if you want to learn how to cook this dish.

Rice recipes are very common in Nigeria because of the abundance of different varieties of rice in the country. Using coconut is out of the fact that we also have a decent amount of coconut in the country also.

Coconut cut to reveal the meat

Some people might get confused between spices and ingredients. Ingredients for coconut rice on the other hand is a collection of all the items that one needs in order to prepare the dish. While spices which is part of the ingredients are those ingredients that ads a particular flavour and taste to your food. Having said that, it is also important to note that not all the spices that will be listed here should be added to the dish in a particular cooking.

This post will be centered more on the spices that can be used in cooking the popular coconut rice. Some of the spices are locally and naturally available as plants and vegetables in our neighborhood while some you will need to get them from the supermarket or the many open markers in the country.

Spices for Coconut Rice 

• Coconut flavour
• Nutmeg
• Scent leaves
• Scotch bonnet pepper
• Onion powder
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Thyme
• Cumin
• Bay leaves

Choosing Spices for Coconut Rice

Everything in life actually has something to do with choices and it’s not different when cooking. Making the right choices of spices matters a lot while cooking. More importantly it will be a thing of concern if you’re cooking for a large number of people.

But if it’s for you alone, your family or your friends, it will be more easier to make this choices, as you will already know the spices everyone is comfortable with, especially your family. If it’s for friends, and you really want to make an informed decision, you can always ask them before choosing the ones to use.

Conclusion

Spices have proven to be the easiest way of bringing out a unique taste for any recipe. But care needs to be taken when adding them. Always add spices in the right proportion or it might turn your delicious coconut rice bitter and salty.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Spices go With Coconut Rice?

Like I have said earlier, there are lots of spices the can be used in preparing coconut rice. You will need to choose which one you want to use from these list.

• Onions
• Chilli powder
• Garlic
• Nutmeg
• Scent leaves
• Cumin
• Curry leaves etc.

More of these spices are listed in the main body of this post.

Why does my Coconut Rice not Tasting like Coconut?

There are several reasons for this.

• You didn’t use enough coconut milk and coconut water
• The coconut was not fully matured
• Because of the specie or variety of the coconut.
• If the coconut has been infected by pests; example mites.