I made a post last week as regards the foods that get me back on my feet when I'm feeling a little bit out of the weather.
You can check my profile if you would like to read through. In that post I talked about my love for native foods especially African salad called ‘abacha’ in igbo language in eastern Nigeria.
I promised to share the recipe with you guys so here it is!
African salad is anative delicacy made with several natural ingredients. The reason why I love it is because it is very tasty and all the ingredients used are mostly medicinal.
Different people make theirs in slightly different way, however I'll be sharing how I make mine.
INGREDIENTS:
Cassava stripes
Ugba (fermented oil bean)
Baking soda
Pepper
Crayfish
Salt
Onions
Leaf (garden egg leaf, or utazi leaf)
Ogiri (fermented locust beans)
Garden Egg
Red oil
Dried fish and/or ponmo
PREPARATION
Pour red oil into a clean pot or bowl. Add a pinch of baking powder and little water then stir thouroughly until the oil changes from red to bright yellow.
Add pepper and the cassava stripes (pre soaked) into the bowl, stir thoroughly.
Add ogiri, Ugba, crayfish, onions (sliced in cubes), Sliced leaf. Garden eggs( cut in cubes) and turn the mixture together. Salt is usually the last thing added and then little pieces of dried fish and/or ponmo.
Mix everything together to obtain homogeneity. If the mixture is too thick, you can add alittle bit of water. That’s it!.... Your African salad is ready to be served!
In the village, we eat African salad an chew on fresh garden eggs or the sticks from the garden egg leaf.
Most people in the rural areas make this using mortar and strir usin pestle. Some people also heat the salad alittle to make it warm.
THINGS TO NOTE;
Do not use a bowl or pot with trace of salty taste as this affects the proper mixing of the oil to get a bright yellow colour. The oil might be breaking.
It is healthier to use baking soda instead of caustic stone for the initial mixture of the oil cos caustic stone has certain has certain adverse health effects.
This food doesn’t last more than a few hours without slowly changing taste. To keep it for longer, avoid adding salt until its ready to be eaten.
So guys, this is how I make mine. How do you make yours?
Have you tasted this delicacy before?
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.
All pictures used were taken by me
Thanks for reading through and see you in the next post!