How to Prepare Spicy Nkwobi (Cow Foot)
Nkwobi is an Eastern Nigerian food (a popular Igbo traditional, special pepper soup . it usually made of cowleg meat though the Nigerian dessert Nkwobi could be made from almost any kind of meat in Nigeria such as goat meat cow tail, chicken, turkey and different kinds of bush meats which includes grass-cutter, antelope, rabbit and even squirrel depending on your preference.
To make a tasty nkwobi, you need to have these basic ingredients such as cow tail, foot or leg. Ugba (ukpaka (oil bean), ehuru seeds (calabash nutmegs), edible potash (kauwu), utazi leaves (Gongronema latifolium) at home before embarking on your nkwobi journey.
Mostly served as a side dish and usually together with wine or soft drink. Nkwobi is a delicious meal and many people love it. It is very rich and mouth watery if prepared thoroughly and it serve well during a cold weather.
Nkwobi is mostly sold as evening food in few restaurants and some local bars; hence, it is commonly enjoyed with beer or wine or eaten as a main meal.
Are you tired of the Nkwobi joint cheating while on a Low Carb diet with your tiny portions? Prepare your own finger-licking and healthy Nkwobi using the recipe below...
Nkwobi/ cow foot Ingredients
- 1 kg of Cow foot (cut into sizeable pieces)
- 3 Ehuru seeds (Calabash Nutmegs)
- 1 tablespoon of edible potash (Akanwu/Kaun/Keun)
- 2 tablespoons of ground crayfish
- 1 ½ cup of palm Oil (Use tin milk for the measurement)
- 4 pieces of habanero Peppers (Atarodo)
- 1 medium onion
- 3 seasoning cubes
- Salt to taste
- 1 medium onion for garnishing of nkwobi
- 8 pieces of utazi leaves for garnishing of nkwobi
Picture of cow foot, well cleaned and it is ready for nkwobi
Tips for preparing Nkwobi
• Cow foot comes with a thick bone, you can tell the butcher to help you remove the thick bone and scrape out excess hair and dirt from the meat, then cut into medium sizes before taking it home.
• Cow foot is tougher than the usual meat you are used to, a pressure cooker or regular cooking pot can help you cook the meat in no time, but you can use charcoal fire or any other means to prepare this if you don’t have a pressure cooker.
Cow foot has been cut into sizeable pieces
• Edible potash, which is also called Akanwa in Igbo, is a very special ingredient in nkwobi sauce, it is what helps to curdle and change the colour of palm oil and it helps to thicken the palm oil for a perfect coating of the meat.
• If you add too much edible potash liquid to the sauce, it could change the taste of your nkwobi and also prevent the bitter taste of the utazi; use just a little portion of it to complement the taste.
Edible Potash, an easy way to dissolve edible potash is to soak it in warm water for 2 minutes.
• Ehuru seed or calabash nutmeg is an important spice in Nkwobi recipe; it adds some kind of earthen flavour to the dish. This should not be replaced with the normal nutmeg. The outer covering is tough and the easy way to peel them is by roasting them in a dry pan or in open flame for 3 minutes before cracking them with your teeth sorry not teeth but hammer or nut cracker. hahaha.
Ehuru seeds. (calabash nutmeg)
• You will also need some greenish vegetables like utazi leaf to garnish your nkwobi. Utazi leaf has a very bitter taste, but you need to used it sparingly, you just need a little of it to complement the taste of your meal. If you can’t tolerate its bitter taste, you can substitute it with Uziza leaf,
Utazi leaf (bitter herbs)
• Onions is also needed for garnishing of cooked nkwobi; it is usually sliced into rings and eaten raw.
Onion
• Your Nkwobi is delicious with or without Ugba, Ugba which is known as oil beans, contributes to the awesome flavour of nkwobi dish.
Ugba which is also known as oil beans
Before you start making nkwobi
• Use a big knife to cut cow foot into medium chunks; the butcher can do this in the market for you.
• Wash and place it in a pot; add 2 seasoning cubes, pepper, onions, and salt and cook until very soft. Make sure the broth is concentrated enough to be absorbed by the meat.
• If you have solid potash, pound it with a mortar into powder, bring it into a bowl and add about 5 tablespoons of warm water to dissolve it. You can simply drop the solid potash into warm water without having to pound it; it will dissolve immediately.
• Pass it through a fine sieve and set the liquid aside.
• Place the ehuru seeds in an empty dry pan and leave to heat up while tossing once in a while until you hear them crack open. Peel the skin and place the peeled ehuru in a dry mill. Grind and then set it aside.
• Wash and thinly slice utazi leaf and set aside and also slice the onion into rings
• Pound or chop pepper to your preferred size and keep aside.
• You can also grind the crayfish, if you don’t have the powdered type at home.
• Wash the ugba with clean water and soak it in warm water, then set aside.
Method of Preparation:
- In a medium sauce pan heat palm oil for 15 seconds or until it becomes hot.
- Pass the dissolved potash liquid through a sieve; make sure you don't pour in the residue into the oil.
- Stir the oil to prevent lumps as you stir in the potash liquid, you will notice the palm oil beginning to curdle and changed into orange colour.
- When the oil has completely curdled and the colour has changed, add the ground ehuru, crayfish, pepper to it and stir well to incorporate.
- Add ugba and bring in the cooked cow leg into the sauce with 2 tablespoons of the meat stock, stir with a spatula and leave it to cook for 5 minutes on a low heat.
- Put off heat and dish nkwobi into a traditional bowl, garnish with Utazi leaf and onion rings and serve as desired…
(food is ready!!!)
You can enjoy Nkwobi with a chill glass of palm wine, if you prefer.
Thank you for staying and reading through this post,I hope you will try these steps and make for yourself and home a spicy delicious Nkwobi recipe.
God bless you and one love.