May 2012Issue: 1

Contents 7

3 Words From The Editor4 Did You Know...?The most random facts about black history you may not know about5 Women In the MediaMs Independent catches up with a few popular women10 Fashion & BeautyMs Independent’s extreme makeover on a university student11 Afro-Caribbean Recipes

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Features6-7 Inspiration Top five female role models for the ladies8-9 Menology Women’s opinions on the misogynistic lyrics in hip-hop music and interviews with two male rappers

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WORDS FROM THE EDITORDear Readers,

I am excited to present to you the first issue of the Ms Independent magazine - a magazine for ambitious, young, British black women. It is a lifestyle bible that will guide young girls onto a pathway towards success. Ms Independent is a unique magazine that celebrates femininity and blends Afro-Caribbean culture with modern UK living. Its aim is to bring out the best in a woman by providing important information about culture, careers, entertainment and advice on various issues from a fresh angle.

Aisha Kamara

My inspiration came from my dislike of the way black women are represented in magazines, hip-hop and R&B music videos and TV programmes etc.Take Beyoncé Knowles for example. Many people see her as a role model because she has an amazing voice and inspirational lyrics that women can relate to one way or the other. However, it seems that she sells her music through her beauty and sexy ‘bootylicious’ body image. It is disappointing to see that this inspires many young black girls to dream of becoming video dancers, eye candy and models rather than seeking a professional career. But is it really necessary for a woman to use her beauty to gain success? I believe that there is much more to a woman than just a pretty face.

Being a woman is about having values, cultural self-identity, knowledge, independence and ambition to pursue a successful future. The Ms Independent reader is a strong and confident woman who strives to be the best in her personal life and profession. As Marva Collings once said: “ success doesn’t come to you…you go to it.” Ms Independent is the name of the magazine because it echoes the true meaning of a woman, which is often misinterpreted in the mainstream media.

I hope you enjoy it.

Best wishes,

Ms Independent 3

Did You Know...?

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Speaking of Nefertiti…

The most random fascinating facts that you probably didn’t know about!

For many women it’s important to take care of their appearances, especially when it comes to their hair. Black women’s hair is their pride and joy. However, many women find it hard to maintain their natural curly Afro because Afro-Caribbean hair has a differ-ent texture from European and it requires different ingredients in the hair products. Have you ever wondered who invented hair products suitable for black people? When African American Madam C.J Walker (1867-1919) started suffering from hair loss, because of the stresses and hardship working as a farm labourer, she developed hair-growing lotions. After unsuccessful results from the hair products available at the time, she decided to create her own remedy by mixing various types of plants together and weeks later her hair was growing faster than ever. Mrs Walker shared her formula with friends, for whom it also worked and decided to open her own business. She named the scalp treatment Wonderful Hair Grower. The daughter of former slaves, Madam C.J Walker, transformed herself from an uneducated farm worker into one of the most successful self-made female entrepreneurs and also became the first African American female millionaire. Thanks to her we can say no to a bad hair day.

Although it is common knowledge that women love buying perfumes, not many people actually know the fascinating history of fragrances. Over four thousand years ago, the word “perfume” originated from the Latin term “per fume” meaning “through smoke.” It was the ancient Egyptians who created the first form of perfume by burning aromatic gum resins, such as frankincense and myrrh, and herbs gathered from trees. The hieroglyphic writings on Egyptian tombs show that perfumes played a vital part in their lives. Originally, it was only used in religious ceremonies for the gods or Pharaohs. For example, Cleopatra, the most recognised ruler of Egypt, regularly used perfume during her time in power. Many Egyptians believed that “cleanliness is next to Godliness.” They would have luxurious baths in scented oils that also kept their skin silky and smooth, up to three times a day. The burnt fragrant woods and resins were soaked in water and the liquid was then rubbed on their bodies. Egyptians also created glass and it was used to make perfume bottles. Other bottles were made from iron, ebony, porcelain, stone and even gold. Nefertiti, who is believed to be the most beautiful queen to have lived, also surrounded herself with sweet scented oils and beautifully designed, jars of lotions. Today, Egypt holds a prominent place in perfume essential oil production.

Perfumes Make Women Feel Like Goddesses

The black eyeliner around her eyes is called Kohl. Made by combining castor oil, soot, ground galena and other ingredients, Kohl eyeliner was invented around the same era as the perfumes.

Ice Cream Treats In the SunMany people enjoy the cool and refreshing taste of ice cream on a hot sunny day. Thanks to Augustus Jackson, an African American candy confectioner, for developing various ice cream recipes. Although Augustus did not invent the idea of making ice cream himself, he was a businessman and helped to perfect the manufacturing of ice cream, in 1832. He created several ice cream recipes by adding different flavours to the original ice cream for a better taste. Ice cream, strawberry sauce and waffles…yummy!

Africa Day is celebrated annually around the world on the 25th of May. This day provides the opportunity for many Africans to acknowledge the achievements of freedom from European colonial control and the support from the United Nations. The Organization of Africa Union (AU), founded this day in 1963. The AU is made up of 53 member states and has brought the continent of Africa together to resolve issues such as civil wars, climate change and poverty. They are working hard on establishing peace and security in Africa. They are also trying to increase democracy and promote respect for human rights, especially when it concerns women and youth. The events to mark Africa Day that include street marches, panel discussions, cultural entertainment, poetry and speakers. Lets enjoy the day and embrace African culture.

Happy 49th Africa Day!

Having A Nappy Hair Day?

It was believed that Kohl protected the eyes from sun burn and eye infections. Four thousand years after its creation, Kohl eyeliner has become popular worldwide.

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Women In the MediaFive Minute Catch Up With…Ms Independent talks with some popular women in the media to find out what are they up to now. We caught up with Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock, the Isis Magazine Editor, Linda Graham and the BBC London News’ Art, Culture and Entertainment Correspondent Brenda Emmanus.

Leigh-Anne Pinnock

Linda Graham

Brenda Emmanus

You probably recognise Linda Graham from Tesco and T-Mobile commercials or brief appearance in one of the episodes of the BBC One’s Holby City. Twenty four year old Linda, from London, not only is a model and an actress, but is also a chief editor of the Isis magazine. Linda, originally from Sierra Leone, is currently in her last year of studying social policy and criminology degree at London School of Eco-nomics and Political Science. Her upbringing from African parents centred on stud-ies, learning and expanding the mind that developed her passion for writing. Linda decided to start her own magazine as she loved writing and was passionate about spreading knowledge about African culture. She designed the Isis magazine to promote a healthier lifestyle to men and women of African heritage and it has been publishing since October 2011. The magazine focuses on spreading the awareness of the harsh chemicals existing in many products that causes damages to black peo-ple’s hair and skin. The Isis magazine aims to promote products with more natural ingredients and offers tips on how to keep different types of hair healthy and skin radiant. It also provides advice on profession and healthier diet with recipes. Linda hopes to start her own natural products for hair and body when she graduates and is currently working on the third issue of the magazine that is due to be released on the 20th of June.

Group member of the last year’s X-factor winners Little Mix, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, says that they are currently writing and recording songs for their upcoming album. The nineteen-year-old singer, from High Wycombe, says that all of the girls are try-ing to settle in their new apartment in London and are busy working on their album that they are planning to release soon. The name of their first single is ‘Wings.’ Before finding success on the show, Leigh-Anne, from High Wycombe, was work-ing as a waitress at Pizza Hut restaurant. Leigh-Anne dreamed of becoming a singer from a young age and posted many videos of her singing on YouTube, hoping to get noticed by major record labels. Originally, Leigh-Anne and other band members Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall and Jesy Nelson auditioned as solo artists, but were all eliminated during the boot camp. However, the X-Factor judges decided to bring the girls back and asked them to join together as a girl band. Little Mix reached fame when they became the first group to win the X-factor in its eight-year history. Their winning cover song, of Damien Rice’s Cannonball track, topped the UK Single’s Chart. Since their success, Leigh-Anne and the girls have made guest appearances on ITV1’s This Morning, National Television Awards and many more shows. Little Mix is also planning to release their own range of dolls, puzzles and games in No-vember this year.

Brenda Emmanus may have disappeared of our screens for a while but she will be back soon. She has been busy preparing to cover the artwork in the London 2012 Festival that will take place from the 21st of June to the 9th September. The twelve-week Festival brings exciting opportunities to see over twelve thousands events and performances across the UK. Various artists from all over the world showcase their music, dance, theatre, fashion, foods, arts and films and many events are free of charge. Brenda is currently the BBC London News’ Art, Culture and Entertainment Correspondent. She has worked in various television broadcasting, radio and print journalism for many years. She started her career as one of the few black female pre-senters in the UK in the 1980’s, working for five years on the BBC One’s The Clothes Show. Brenda then moved on to presenting the interior design programme The Terrace and The Midweek National Lottery all aired on the BBC One. Previously an Arts and Features Editor for The Voice Newspaper, Brenda has achieved awards such as Media Awards from the Voice Newspaper and European Federation of Black Women Business Owners and many more.

Inspiration InspirationTop Five Inspirational Black WomenHistorically, black women have played a massive part in shaping the world through their strength, courage and determination. So Ms Independent decided to make history a little more relevant to young black women today by profiling five women who should be recognised for their achievements. Whether they are in enter-tainment, business or literature, these five women have overcome challenges and succeeded in their careers. Young black women need more positive role models to look up to so we contacted five inspirational women for help. We phoned and emailed them asking what advice would they give to young black women that would encourage them to seek a successful future and here is what they said:

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Fifty-nine-year-old Doreen Lawrence is the Director of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, launched in 2008. Doreen and her family fought for eighteen years to get justice for her son Stephen, who was murdered in a racial attack in South East London in 1993. With the support from the community, media and Sir William MacPherson’s judicial inquiry of the circumstances of her son’s death, Doreen’s public campaign exposed the failings of the Metropolitan Police in the murder investigation. This year two men were found guilty of the Stephen Lawrence murder and were jailed for life, thus changing the nature of race relations in Britain and forcing amendments to the Race Relations Act, 2000. Not only did Doreen campaign for justice for her son, but also for other victims of racist crime and she was awarded an OBE for services to community relations. She founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust to promote a positive community legacy for her son and to tackle the under-achievement of young black people. Nigerian painter, Chris Ofili, painted a portrait of Doreen in 1998, named No Woman No Cry, that showed her crying and each tear was an image of her son. It was part of his Turner prize exhibition and now hangs in the Tate art gallery.

1 Doreen Lawrence

Doreen’s advice:Unfortunately, Mrs. Lawrence was unavailable for an interview due to her busy schedule. However, we received a response from her agent, Aaron Tomassi-Gadd, who emailed a photo of Doreen to us.

Malorie BlackmanFifty-year-old Malorie Blackman is an award winning author from London. Before be-coming a writer, she worked in numerous jobs and was qualified in the computing indus-try. In 1990, Malorie published her first book for teenagers Not So Stupid! that earned her popularity with the readers. Since then, she has written over fifty books for children of all ages and scripts for television shows such WhizzWig (fictional children programme), Byker Grove (teen show) and the BAFTA wining Pig-Heart Boy (teenage novels about a boy who needs a heart transplant) series. She has also written original dramas for BBC Education, CITV and a play The Amazing Birthday that was performed in 2002 at Polka Theatre in Wimbledon. Malorie has received many awards for her work and was awarded an OBE in 2008. She has received the Sheffield Children’s Book of the Year Award 2002, Fantastic Fiction Award 2004, Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year Award 2002. She has also received many more for her well known teenage novels Noughts & Crosses (2001) set in a fictional dystopia, where she explores topics such as racism, love and violence.

Malorie’s advice Malorie was unavailable for interviews as she is in the middle of writing her new book. However her agent, Laura Bennett, emailed us back with her photo and directed us to Malorie’s website that provides tips for new writers. These are:1) Develop your own style. Don’t copy anyone else’s. Your own voice is individual and unique so don’t be afraid to use it.2) Write from the heart as well as the head. Write about what makes you angry, what moves you to tears, the things about which you feel passionately. If you feel it when you write, others will feel it when they read.

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Inspiration

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Benny BonsuThirty-year-old Benny Bonsu is an award winning underground presenter whose career started at Basketball 247 five years ago. Originally from Ghana, Benny is one of the leading women in the world of basketball in the UK. Before Benny became a presenter,she was a director of Hawks Basketball Academy in London and was also a consultant at Tottenham and Arsenal Football Clubs, supporting youth sports programmes. Benny is also taught in Africa, Europe and USA and worked as a Sport Policies & Operations Coordinator at LO-COG (Organizing Committee for the London 2012 Olympic Games). She is the only female presenter to be the face of OHTV’s Black Olympic show during the London 2012 games where she will be hosting and producing series of documentaries to introduce Olympic & Paralympics and basketball. She has interviewed many politicians such as Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and Ghana’s presidential candidate Nana AKufo-Addo. Benny has also inter-viewed many athletes such as Kevin Price Boateng, Lebron James, Michael Essein and many more. Benny has achieved many awards for her hard work. She was voted as an Outstand-ing Contributor of London and three years in a row she received the Outstanding Leader-ship for the Princes Trust ‘Celebrating Success Award.’Benny also achieved the DREAM Award from the London Mayor Boris Johnson for being an Outstanding Role Model in London.Benny’s Advice:1) In life you have to make sacrifices, even if that means less partying, less time relaxing or chatting on Facebook. If you don’t put 100% effort in everything you do, you will not get anywhere. There is no time for slacking.2) If you choose to go into the entertainment field, make sure you have a back up plan. Nothing is guaranteed, but education and experience will open more doors to opportuni-ties.Fatima Turay

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4 Forty-year-old mother of two, Fatima Turay is a mental health nurse at the Greater Man-chester West NHS Foundation Trust. In 2008, Fatima’s life drastically changed. She became paralysed from her spine down to her legs and was hospitalised in a critical condition. She had spinal surgery that involved removing part of the spine and a metal replacement for back support. Doctors did not know what caused the spinal injury and recorded it as a new case in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. She stayed in hospital for three months before she was released home and was depending on the home nursing care. The doctors told her it would take her two years to recover but Fatima was determined to stay strong for her family and get her life back. It took six months of physiotherapy for Fatima to walk again and a year to get back to work. Because of her severe injuries and health and safety reasons, she decided to change her career and is now studying abuse studies as she wants to be a clinical therapist. Fatima’s advice:1) Never stop believing in yourself even if you are in a bad situation and pray to God to thank him for your life and your blessings each day.2) Never stop learning, the more knowledge you have the wiser you are.

Kubi SpringerThirty-one-year old Kubi Springer is the C.E.O of the Kubi Springer Company,a lifestyle- marketing agency in London. The Kubi Springer Company offers marketing and promo-tional campaigns, training on the behalf of clients and a weekly online business talk show, The Kubi Springer Show, assisting the viewers on how to build successful brands. With over fourteen years of experience, Kubi has provided campaigns for well-known clients such as Justin Timberlake, Rio Ferdinand, Nike, MTV, Puff Daddy’s marketing and adver-tising agency Blue Flame and many more. Kubi has worked with MOBO founder Kanya King and at the age of twenty-six she was selected as the youngest Head of Marketing and Brand Communications for MOBO Awards. She is described as the ‘UK’s Oprah’ by Black-Weekly.

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Kubi’s Advice:1) Aim to be number 1. Never chase the money. When you are number 1, the money fol-lows.2) Aim to consistently study your industry – education is a life-long developmental process.

MENOLOGYMs Independent Asks the Ladies the Question…Misogyny in hip-hop lyrics: What is your view on it?Women have played an essential part in the development of hip-hop culture. However, hip-hop has often been criticised by black feminists and academics for showing a clear depiction of sexual objectification, belittling women and providing negative stereotypes of them int he music videos. The use of “misogynis-tic” lyrics that promotes violence towards women has also become a frequent feature in the work of many popular male rappers.

“ M i s o g y n y a c u l t u r a l a t t i t u d e o f h a t r e d f o r f e m a l e s s i m p l y b e c a u s e t h e y a r e f e m a l e . I t i s a s e x i s t p r e j u d i c e a n d i d e o l o g y a n d , a s s u c h , i s a n i m p o r t a n t b a s i s f o r t h e o p p r e s s i o n o f f e m a l e s i n m a l e d o m i n a t e d s o c i e t i e s , ” B l a c k w e l l S o c i o l o g y D i c t i o n a r y.

We asked the question and YOU give the answers!

Enii Fagbola, 22, Administrator:Rappers portray women as gold diggers, dependent on men, vulnerable and only good for sex and abuse in their lyrics and music videos, which makes me angry. You see those young girls dancing around men half naked with ridiculous size booties and breasts, simulating various sexual acts and they wonder why many men have no respect for them. Those rappers make us women look like we are not capable of looking after ourselves and we are in a need of a sugar daddy to take care of us by taking us shopping and buying us expensive gifts in return for sexual pleasures. What happened to being independent? We are striving for independence and equality but yet those girls are conforming to men’s given stereotype and there is so much more to a woman than that.

What shocks me the most are the lyrics of some rap artists that encourage violence towards women if they disrespect men in anyway or if they don’t do the things that men tell them to do. If a woman disobeys, then she will get punished and will get beaten up, verbally abused or raped. It’s sickening. The other day I was on a bus when I heard a teenage girl playing Tyler the creator’s song Tron Cat and I was disgusted when I heard his some of his lyrics. He was talking about victimizing a pregnant woman who he referred to as b***h and boasted about telling his friends that he had a three some, meaning him, the woman and the baby. Its sick and young girls grow up enjoying listening to this.

Velma John, 25, Jewellery Designer:

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I think that hip-hop music has made misogynistic attitude towards women acceptable. Girls sing a long and dance to songs where a guy says that for one night only he will treat a girl like his wifey, after sex, he will kick her out the house and call another “hoe” the next day. I guess Chris Rock was right when he once said, “if the beat is right, she will dance all night.” To him it was a joke, but I don’t find it funny because it’s true. I don’t think girls see that it’s wrong for a guy to talk about a woman like that because now it just seems so normal. I believe that every man should treat a woman like a queen because without us they would not be on this earth but when I listen to this music I feel like men don’t see us as human beings and talk about us like we are dogs that should respond to their commands. Until those video girls stop dancing in the videos, I don’t think that women will be fully respected by men.

Gladys Majange, 22, Student:I think that today’s hip-hop artists are bad influence on the younger generation. I see black boys as young as eleven on the street wearing skinny jeans, tight vest tops, big chains, new pair of vans and they are singing “money, drugs, b***hs, liquor.”Makes me wonder, do those little boys even understand what Lil Wayne or any of the other rappers talk about in their music or are they just repeating it because they think its cool.

MENOLOGY MENOLOGYInterviews With Two Rappers...Lil Mo and Neiman Brown

Ms Independent 9

Ms Independent spoke to two rappers who have different views on the misogynistic attitude towards women that is often displayed in the hip-hop music industry.

Neiman Brown: 23, Hip Hop Soul Artist, London

Lil Mo: 22, Gangster Rap Artist, London

Popular rappers like DR Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tyler the Creator all use the b-word and other offensive terms when they are referring to women in their lyrics. What do you think are the reasons for that?I think its because that’s how they reached their popularity in the first place. Young peo-ple are the main consumers of hip hop music and they like listening to lyrics that revolves around sex, drugs money and violence. So rappers like Dre and Snoop disrespect women in their lyrics because it sells their music even if they don’t necessarily agree with itHave you ever used derogatory terms to describe women in your lyrics?Nah never and I don’t think I ever would be-cause I was brought up by my mum so I have a lot of respect for all women. Do you think that women are partly to blame to the given stereotype?I suppose they are because many of them buy records and don’t have a problem with what rappers say about them. Is it possible for hip-hop music to be pop-ular without lyrics that degrade women?Of course it is! LL Cool J made many big hit love songs in the 90’s and I have similar style to him and a lot of people like it.

Popular rappers like DR Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tyler the Creator all use the b-word and other offensive terms when they are referring to women in their lyrics. What do you think are the reasons for that?When rappers call women certain names in their music, they are not trying to offend all women; they are just describing the type of women that they don’t have any respect for. The way I see it is , if you are not a gold dig-ger, loose or act like a bitch , then you should not be offended by the lyrics ‘cause they don’t refer to you.Have ever you used derogatory terms to describe women in your lyrics?Many times but as I said it’s not to offend all women, but to address the women who de-serve it. Hip-hop is all about expressing how you feel about certain things and situations. So when I’m talking about those women I’m just saying how I feel about their attitudes.Do you think that women are partly to blame for the given stereotype in the lyrics?If you act like a bitch, you will get treated like one, that’s my philosophy.Is it possible for hip-hop music to be popular without degrading women?Yeah ‘cause’ we talk about many things that affect our everyday lives. But women also make up a big part of it.

“I was brought up by my mum

so I have a lot of respect for all women.”

“If

you act like

a b***h, you will

get treated lik

e

one, that’s my

philosophy.”

Fashion & BeautyMs Independent’s extreme make over on a university student, Kereena Adams, and stories on black women’s hair and body.

From Ms Ghetto Fabulous to Ms Independent

It’s vital for many black women to take care of how they look, whether it’s to make them feel confident or to make a good impression on someone. Sometimes the clothes you wear can create a stereotypical judgment about what your personality may be like. You never know you might get talking to your future employer randomly on the street or bump into your future partner. So it is always important to look like a sophisticated lady not like a “ghetto”chick.

•Put too much make up on. Too much, foundation, blusher and lipstick can make you look as if you are having a competition with a clown•Wear too much jewellery. Small silver studs and big gold earrings don’t look good together •Gel your sideburns•Wear baggy tracksuits. It takes away your femininity and makes you look ‘ghetto’

Don’t:•Wear minimum make up. Make up is supposed to only enhance your beauty not change the way your face looks completely•Wear minimum jewellery. Pick either gold or silver jewellery•Leave your hair out and do a simple style•Wear clothes that will bring out your feminine figure

Do’s:

Beautiful: Big or Slim You Decide?

After Before

It’s common knowledge that many black women are self-conscious about their bodies. All black women want to feel confident about their physical appearances and will do whatever it takes to achieve the ‘perfect’ look. But with having different pressures from African and Western cultures, it may be difficult for some black women to determine what being beautiful is. In some African countries like Mauritania, being a larger woman is a symbol of good health, wealth and beauty.Mauritanian girls and soon-to-be-brides are often force-fed by their families with camel’s milk, butter and other calorie-rich. In Africa stretch marks, big hips and bottoms are sexy features but in the Western culture it’s disapproved of. Being an overweight woman in the Western culture is often associated with health issues like high blood pressure, heart problems and diabetes. The media glorifies the look of thin size zero models and celebrities, which increases the pressure on many black women to want to lose weight. Both cultures have different views on what beautiful is, so how can you decide which one is the right one for you? Its simple: you are the answer. For a woman to know what beautiful is she has to be happy with her body and not focus on other people’s ideas of beauty. A woman should always remember that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

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It seems that many black women do not like their natural Afro hair. Many use weaves and long hair extensions to disguise their natural roots. Lace wigs with different lengths, colours and styles are very popular with the ladies. Many women also use hair relaxers to chemically straighten their natural curls. Some women may say that keeping the Afro hair in weaves and relaxing makes their hair more manageable to look after. Others may argue that black women are trying to look like European women. The owner of the black hairdressers ‘Tess’ in High Wycombe, Tess Sutherland, says that women who use harsh chemicals and artificial hair do not realise that they are actually causing a lot of damage to their natural hair. She explains that if the braids are too tight on the scalp, they can rip out women’s hair roots, which can possibly stop their natural hair from growing again. She also says that weaves can make the scalp itchy and dry, which can possibly develop dandruff. Wave goodbye to weaves and hair relaxers and start fresh. Staying away from the artificial hair and using more natural products will help your hair grow longer and faster. Embrace your roots and your culture.

Why Go Back To Natural Roots?

Afro-Caribbean Recipes

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MS INDEPENDENT brings to you the exotic recipes of African and Caribbean foods. Our instructions are easy to follow and will help you to discover your Afro-Caribbean traditional cuisines.

Jollof Rice (West African Dish)Ingredients:

•400g Basmati Rice •8 chicken breasts •2 Maggi cubes•1 tin chopped tomatoes•4 tbsp. tomato puree•1 large onion, sliced •1 red pepper, sliced•2 hot chili peppers, finely chopped •Oil•Mixed vegetables •3 bay leaves•1 garlic clove•Salt, black pepper to taste

Method

1) Season the chicken with salt and black pepper then heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large pan over a high heat, then add the meat. Fry for about 5 minutes till the chicken is golden and then add sliced onions, cook the onions until soft but not golden. 2) Blend chopped tomatoes, 2 hot chili peppers and 1 garlic clove until it becomes a smooth mixture. Add the mixture in the pan, stirring it gently on the medium heat. Wash the rice and cook in the rice cooker for 20 minutes.3) Add 600ml of water in the pan, add tomato puree, red pepper, mixed vegetables, bay leaves and Maggie cubes. Stir the mixture and then place the lid on the pan. Bring to boil for 20 mins and then simmer for 10 mins. Add rice in the pan and stir gently. Cook for 10 minutes on a low heat with lid on. Simmer for 10-15 minutes then serve. Makes 4 servings

Chicken Yassa (Gambian Dishs)

Ingredients:

•8-10 chicken legs, skin on•4 garlic cloves, finely chopped•2 large onions •3 tbsp. of mustard•2chili, chopped•Vegetable oil •4 Maggie cubes•Mixed herbs•1/2 cup of lime or lemon juice•1/4 cup of malt vinegar or cider vinegar•Salt and black pepper to taste•1 bay leaf, 1 chili pepper•1 red and green pepper, cut

Method

1)Mix a marinade containing the lime or lemon juice, vinegar, bay leaf, mustard, garlic, onions, and chili pepper. 2)Place the chicken in a shallow dish and pour over the marinade. Leave the dish in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.3)Remove the chicken from the marinade and pour oil in the frying pan. Add red and green peppers and the chicken in the pan then fry for a few minutes on each side until browned. 4)Put the chicken in the shallow dish and put in the oven on moderate heat for 30-40 minutes.5)Simmer gently until the chicken is done. Serve hot with rice or couscous. Makes 4 servings.

Fried Bakes (Trinidadian dish)

Ingredients:

•4 cups flour •4 tbsp baking powder •1/4 tbsp salt •1 tbsp sugar •A pinch ground cinnamon •Water

Method:

1)Add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon to a large bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands then rub in butter to flour mixture and mix again.2) Add enough water to make the dough soft and knead gen-tly for 2-3 minutes .Cover the dough with foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.3) Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.4) Heat up the oil in deep pan, flatten the balls of dough, and cook the dough on medium heat until brown.5) Serve with fried shark or salt fish or eat with cheese, butter, ham, jam or jelly.