Masa (pronounced ‘maa-sha’ not like the Spanish word for marriage, I was told.) is another northern Nigerian food which is eaten at breakfast. It’s made of corn starch – like Gari Foto or garin kul. To make Masa, firstly the powder has to be mixed into water. Then it’s got to be boiled and then put onto a clay plate (or pottery) to dry

Once the Masa is dried, it can be eaten alone, with Jagaimo or at least that’s what I’ve been told! It tastes like Rice Krispie bar – that slightly chewiness and it’s sweet enough to counter the saltiness of jagaimo – if you know what I mean.

Before eating, it’s usually roasted or fried as well as seasoned with Maggi cubes and knorr cubes (optional). Masa tastes best when boiled with neutral oil such as Rice Bran Oil which is healthy, tasteless and doesn’t change the flavor of the food. I’ve also had Masa with spaghetti – very tasty!

Oh yes, it’s no wonder they call Nigeria “God’s own country”. A lot of our staple foods are healthy and very delicious. Rice for carbohydrate, Corn Meal/Soy Meal/Masa for protein, Rice Bran Oil for healthy fats, Rice bran water is great for the skin.

The ingredients are also very affordable – making it a favorite food of many Nigerians living below the poverty line. Ah life in Nigeria isn’t so bad after all. I’ve not seen this masa in the south of Nigeria, but if you’re familiar with other southern Nigerian foods that are common to both geographical areas – do share them with us! I’d love to learn about it.

A foreigner would probably wonder why Nigerians mix wheat flour with Rice – which is peculiar to Nigerian cuisine. Rice and corn are common staples for most of the world, even some Europeans eat Rice Flour Bread! Rice has a higher carbohydrate content than Wheat so it’s more filling and a good source of energy, approximates 100 calories for every 100g consumed.

Wheat is mostly protein. Rice has very little protein content – Rice and Rice Flour in general, contain less than 5% protein by weight! Rice also lacks several essential amino acids which Wheat flour does not lack…which makes the combination of Wheat and Rice a complete source of protein and gives it a good bite.

Rice Flour Bread is wheat flour where Rice has been ground into powder – this makes it lighter and healthier, approximates ~100 calories for every 100g consumed. Some claim Rice Flour bread creates faster sugar release in the body which gives you that feeling of being hungry soon after eating – Rice Bran Oil and Rice Bran Water both take about 4 hours to create full blood sugar.