If you attended ISI (The International School Ibadan between 1996 and 2004 chances are you will remember Mrs Alabi Turkey. Mrs Alabi was the biology teacher’s wife,  she didn’t have a stand at the stalls but she ran business from their apartment which was above the boys dormitory. Her husband was the House Master for the boys dormitory (He went on to own his own school Maverick College in Ibadan).

Mrs Alabi sold fried turkey and Zobo drink. Her fried turkey was quite high end, so if your parents were not rich or your break money was not above 100 naira a day, you couldn’t ’t afford to buy Mrs Alabi’s turkey.
There was something that gave Mrs Alabi’s peppered turkey a different taste . I tried severally then to re – create it back at home then using only a mixture of salt and Cayenne Pepper. It just didn’t taste right.

So you can imagine how lucky I felt few year ago when I struck the proverbial gold. A little bit of Yaji and I had my own version of Mrs Alabi’s turkey.

Mrs Alabi’s Turkey

Recipe.

• 1 Kg of Turkey
• 2 wraps of double Knorr Chicken Cubes  (or any chicken bouillon cubes you prefer)
• 1 tsp of Cayenne pepper (ground dried pepper/ata gigun)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 medium sized onion.
• (*Optional) Curry powder and dried thyme
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 tbsp Yaji  (aka Suya Spice) for sprinkling

Procedure

• Marinate the turkey in salt, pepper, onions and all the other spices for at least 30 minutes.
• Parboil the turkey in the marinate for a few minutes ensuring not to over cook the turkey as turkey tends to cook very quickly.
• Once the turkey is cooked , fry the turkey till golden brown.
• Take out of the oil and strain on a paper towel .
• Healthier option would be to grill the turkey after marinating.
• Then sprinkle the Yaji all over the turkey.

Enjoy with a chilled drink.

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