Growing up as an Igbo girl gave me the golden opportunity to savour lots of dishes. Whether at home, restaurants or even at occasions ranging from big to small, Igbo dishes are so mouth-watering and yummy that even the after taste makes you want to go for more. I’m going to be sharing pictures of delicious Igbo delicacies and the ingredients which are mostly responsible for their tastiness. A lot of Igbo delicacies contain rich amount of cellulose and fibre (courtesy of the different green vegetables in our soups), carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, etc. You’ll learn a lot more of these as I show you in the list I arranged below.
1. Abacha
Image: Abacha dish Source: Sisi Jemimah
It is a popular Igbo dish made from Cassava tubers. It is peeled, boiled and grated into fine thin slices before they are dried under the sun and packaged for sales. When you buy them in bulk, all you have to do is get the quantity you need and soak them in hot water before you set it aside. Next is to get a bowl and mix palm oil, dried peppers or fresh peppers, crayfish, ugiri (locust bean), salt or maggi before they are mixed together with the Abacha after which you serve with any vegetable of your choice mostly with garden eggs or leaf, onions, fried fish or ponmo (cow skin) depending on your choice.
2. Ofe oha
Image: Ofe oha Source: Dooney's kitchen
When you hear the term “Ofe”, it means soup in Igbo language so saying Ofe oha is the same thing as saying oha soup. Oha is the vegetable used in this dish but the method of preparation is just the same as Ofe Onugbu which is the next dish I’ll be talking about. Ofe oha is a tasty Igbo soup that is prepared by boiling your proteins,mostly beef or goat meat with mainly crayfish, pepper and salt for taste. As they are boiling, you can include your stock fish and offals. Depending on the quantity you want, you can add more water to the broth before adding palm oil. Please note that if you are using fresh akwu, make sure to boil it separately till it cooks before adding the stock. By then your ede (coco yam) is boiled and pounded till it draws. After the soup cooks for a while, you add the ede and allow it melt before you add salt or maggi for taste of beer be then you wash your veggies and put them in the soup to give you that stunning beauty you see in the picture above.
3. Ofe Onugbu
Just like Ofe oha, ofe onugbu has exactly the same recipe as the former. The only difference is the vegetables. Onugbu is the Igbo name for bitter leaf. Asides using it to prepare soup, it can be used to treat malaria/fever. For none Igbos, you’ll be wondering how the soup would be delicious since it is called bitter leaf soup. When the leaves are harvested from the plant and plucked. You wash them till the leaf no longer tastes bitter.
4. Okpa
Image: Okpa Source: Lyndishes kitchen
I’m sure when you research about Igbo dishes you must have seeing this dish on the internet. The main ingredient of this lovely dish is made from Bambara nuts which must be washed, dried and friended before packaging to sell. After you’ve bought your grinded bambara nut, all you have to do is g wet your palm oil and mix it till it becomes an orange powder. After that, you add water to the mixed powder until you get the required consistency you need. After that you add salt to taste. Some people do put maggi in place of salt but ensure it’s not too salty. Pepper also takes the flavour of this dish to another level but it can either be much or minimal depending on personal preference. Onions and crayfish are also optional too. After mixing, the mixture can be packed into washed banana leaves or aluminum tins before they are steamed. When it’s hardened, you turn of your cooker and serve with hot tea, coffee, pap or custard depending on your choice.
5. Ukpaka
Ugba/ukpaka also known as African oil bean is another tasty Igbo dish I love so much. It can either be used as a desert or full meal. It can be eaten with Abacha, mostly mixed with palm oil,pepper,crayfish and salt. It can be used to cook vegetable yam pottage ( yam means ji in Igbo language) with spinach. It can also be made into sauce used to eat yam or roasted plantains (ripe or unripe). The sauce can be made by first heating the palm oil before frying the onions,pepper and crayfish. Then after sometime you add salt or maggi for taste before adding the ugba. After this, you add your fermented ugba and stir for a while. After that, you add your washed utazi leaves. Serve with roasted yam or plantain and step down with sweet fresh palm wine.
6. Ukwa
Ukwa, is another tasty Igbo dish made into either porridge (the yellowish porridge as seen above) or drank with water from boiling it (the one in the smaller plate). Ukwa is the Igbo name for bread fruit which is harvested from the big round fruit before it is packaged and sold. There are different ways we prepare Ukwa in ala Igbo of which I know of three. Others may know of four or five methods but I’ll quickly explain three. The one you see in the smaller bowl is called mmiri ukwa which means bread fruit water in English. The Ukwa seeds are selected to check for stones or any other inedible objects before they are washed thoroughly in water and put in the pot. What gives it this ash colour is the use of potash which must be stired and drained with a sieve to prevent the food from being sandy. You can sieve about two or three times to ensure you know what you’re doing before you pour it into the Ukwa to cook. More water can still be added to ensure it doesn’t burn. The potash helps to soften the ukwa and help it cook faster. After it’s done boiling, the water is usually seperated from the Ukwa to avoid it being too soft and melting. Also some people may like to eat it without drinking the water. Some may like to serve it with the water. For the porridge, some of the already drained Ukwa should be transferred to another pot after which you turn on the cooker. You add boiled corn seeds, maggi/salt, pepper and some blended uziza seeds before adding palm oil. Turn it very well before serving just like the image above. The last method is just like the porridge Ukwa but has more of water in it. It’s cooked the same way we cook porridge beans only that you add some stock fish and dry fish to it. The Ukwa is boiled without potash this time around. After that, you fry some onions into a pot of heated oil,add maggi and pepper, then you add the ukwa and mix with maggi cubes or salt for taste, serve and enjoy your yummy dish with palm wine or any other favourite drink of your choice.
7. Akidi
Akidi, as seen above can also be referred to as black beans in Igbo language. It can be prepared with various methods and can be combined with carbonhydrates like yam, rice and even Abacha. In the picture above, it was prepared like porridge beans where the Akidi is first boiled and drained to remove the dark water from the beans, after which boiled yam,pepper, onions, salt/maggi and palm oil are added before mixing very well to give a yummy and appetizing dish as seeing in the picture. In some cases, ugba is included into the dish to elevate the taste of the dish. Eating this dish often can provide you with carbohydrates, proteins, fibre, etc.
8. Fio fio
Image: fio fio Source: Loria's kitchen
Fio fio is the Igbo name for pigeon pea. From the image, it looks very much like beans and can as well be cooked like porridge beans either with yam or plantains depending on preferences. From the previous dishes i explained earlier, i belive you know how we prepare most of our leguminous plants into porridge. Don't forget your major ingredients..........yes, you're right. You need your onions, pepper, maggi/salt, yam tuber, fio fio and palm oil. It can be served with garri or pap, custard, oats, etc.
9. Ofe nsala
Image: ofe nsala Source: sisi Jemimah
The next dish on our list is ofe nsala. Its a very easy soup to make and does not take time like the ofe oha and ofe onugbu. All you need is to get catfish, stock fish, dry fish, crayfish, uziza leaves, yam, ugiri or okpei depending on your preference, pepper, salt/maggi for flavour. The stock fish is hard which is why it must be boiled till it softens, after which you add the cat fish. The cat fish must be washed, scraped and cut into the preferred sizes before boiling with the stock fish. After that, the pepper can be added. After a few minutes, the ugiri or blended okpei can be added. Some people do add blended uziza seeds for more flavour. The yams should be boiled till they are soft then be put into a mortar to pound until they start having a drawy texture. After that, you scoop the yam with a spoon from the mortar little by little until they are all in the soup. Note that all the catfish must be taken out of the soup after boiling to avoid it from scattering. The purpose of the yam (ji) is the same reason why ede (cocoyam) is used in the two previous soups i mentioned earlier. To thicken the soup. After the yam melts and the soup thickens, You add the washed uziza leaves which are most often very few in number. Unlike other Igbo soups, ofe nsala doesn't require much vegetable leaves. After that, you add your dry fish and then the catfish and turn off your cooker. Ready to serve!! serve with any swallow of your choice.
10. Ofe akwu
Now we move to another interesting dish of ndi Igbo. Ofe akwu. Akwu is the Igbo name for palm fruit. If you observe, we cook most of our meals with palm oil. Palm oil is processed from palm fruit which is usually harvested from the palm bunch that grows on a palm tree. What you will do is to boil the quantity of palm oil you need. After that, you get your mortar and pestle and pound until the outer skin is removed and all you'll see is the fibre and endocarp of the fruit. After that, you add water and until you filter all the pulp from the palm nut. After that, you put it on fire and boil it till you see oil floating on top. By then, you would have bouled your beef/goat meat/fish (depending on choice) with some onions, pepper and cray fish until its ready. After that you add your boiled protein into the already boiled palm nut paste and add your okpei or dawadawa (locust bean) spice. Make sure to blend your okpei spice with crayfish and add to the already boiling ofe akwu. I know you saw dawadawa earlier on. It is actually the same thing as okpei but in Hausa language just as locust bean is the English name. While your kitchen is filled with the aroma, make sure you wash your rice, parboil and rewash. If you don't have help then make sure you cook your ofe akwu on the lowest heat of your cooker but i you can't cope, finish with the ofe akwu before you boil your rice. The last step is to add your washed and sliced scent leaf into the meal and tada...... Food is ready!!! Serve with hot boiled rice and chilled mineral, juice or as usual, sweet freshly tapped palm wine from the palm tree (sadly only our people that reside in Nigeria or any other African country can access this, our diaspora people can enjoy other drinks they have in the countries they reside in).
11. Ofe owerri
Image: Ofe owerri Source: All Nigerian recipes
Ofe owerri is one of those interesting and tasty dishes we have in ala Igbo (Igbo land) but is eaten mostly by owerri people from Imo state. Just like how we prepare meat before we cook the soup with the broth, this soup is also no different. Cocyam which we all know is ede in Igbo language is boiled, peeled and pounded till it has a drawy texture. By the time the meat is boiled, you add your stock fish, dry fish and snails to boil. Make sure you have also added more water to the soup by then. Add salt or maggi for taste, add some ugiri and boil. After that, you add your cocoyam and let it thicken the soup. After that you add your washed and chopped uziza (piper guineense) and ugwu (pumpkin leaves) and soup is ready. Serve with any swallow of your choice.
12. Ofe achara
Image: ofe achara Source: all Nigerian recipes
Ofe achara as the name goes is eaten by Igbos mainly in Abia state. It can also be known as elephant grass soup as that is the main vegetable used in its preparation. It is prepared just like egwusi soup or ofe egwusi, only that, you will need to mould the egwusi which is what we call akpuruakpu egwusi (moulded egwusi). Stock fish and dry fish are the main protein needed to prepare this dish. They must both be deboned at all times before usage. The dry fish and stock fish are usually soaked in hot water to soften it while the egusi mould is prepared by blending the fresh egusi (melon) seeds in a blender (use the one for dry things) till you get a pwdery egusi. After that, you take some out and spice it with okpei and crayfish before adding water until it forms into a dough, after which you begin to mould it into flat shapes. The remaining egusi can be fried in heated palm oil while the stock fish and dry fish cook seperately which can still be spiced with okpei, crayfish and salt/maggi to taste. After that, the stock is added to the fried egusi and allowed to cook for a while. After this, the akpuruakpu is added to the soup and while its cooking, you get your okazi leaf ready. After they are washed and chopped, you add it into the soup and stir before serving. As always, remember to serve with any swallow of your choice.
13. Isi ewu/nkwobi
Image: Isiewu/nkwobi Source: All Nigerian recipes
Yes......i know i made a big mistake, lol. I should have even put this as the first because this dish is one of the most important dishes in ala Igbo because any major event you attended, you must eat nkwobi and isi ewu wether as an appetizer or full meal depending on the quantity you can eat but this meal must be included. Anywhere you see people eating this, there must surely be palm wine to step it down except the person prefers other drinks or the occasion took place in the diaspora (i mean our brothers and sisters that are based overseas). I put Isi ewu and nkwobi becuse they are practically the same in terms of preparation but what differs is the use of protein. That of nkwobi can be prepared with cow foot while isi ewu is known as goat head (isi is head and ewu is goat) in English. Firstly, the protein (isi ewu and cow foot) are chopped into pieces and boiled with some salt and onions till they are very soft, after which they are set aside. Then in a bowl, you mix palm oil and drained potash, ngu. Remember i explained it in the making of ukwa. After that, you mix them together to give you a thick paste, then you go ahead to spice it with your ehu (calabash nutmeg) seeds, salt and pepper and mix it thoroughly. After that, you mix your protein into the already mixed paste and heat it till its hot. Usually, its served in a small wooden plate like you see in the picture above but if you don't have it no problem. What is more important is, you have a lovely dish you are about to enjoy, so enjoy buddy!!!
14. Swallow (akpu)
Image: Akpu Source: All Nigerian recipes
Akpu!!!!
Lots of people also refer to it as fufu, santana or loi loi but akpu is the Igbo name for it. Before i explain how it is prepared, you recall i always mention swallow to be paired with all the soups i talked about. Swallow is a general term referring to food formed into mould usually shaped in spherical forms. They can be made out of different food crops such as yam, cassava, potato and grains such as oatmeal and wheatmeal. These crops are the raw materials while the swallows are the finished products. There are may others which are eaten by other ethnic groups in Nigeria just like akpu is eaten by ndi Igbo. It is made out of cassava tubers which are fermented before pounding depending on the specie. Some cassava species can be washed, boiled and pounded without fermentation but some species require fermentation before they are safe for eating because of cyanide poison. Akpu can be eaten with any soup of your choice and washed down with water....yeah!!! not every time drink, lol. Drink water!!! like aproko doctor would say.
15. Agidi
Image: Agidi and peppersoup Source: All Nigerian recipes
Another native dish the Igbos love to enjoy on a good, normal sometimes rainy or cold day is agidi. Agidi is made out of corn which is usually blended and sieved after which the sieved corn is allowed to settle for a while. Later on, the corn starch is settled beneath the water which is the drained out. After that, you heat your corn starch into a pot and keep stirring till it thickens. Next is to scoop them into washed banana leaves before being folded and left to cool. Earlier on i mentioned that agidi is mostly eaten on rainy days and that's because it is mostly eaten with hot pepper soup which provides warmth to the body. It is also very good for sick patients and nursing mothers to help with breast milk production. From the image you can notice an inclusion of assorted meat with blended pepper and some chopped scent leaves. Pepper soup spice is usually added to give it that signature taste that makes someone know that yes!!! This is pepper soup. Pepper soup is a very easy dish to cook and can be eaten with carbohydrates like agidi (corn starch), boiled yam and rice or minerals like unripe plantains. All these ensure you are getting a range of nutrients and balanced diet. Before i go let me help aproko doctor pass his message, drink water!!! But me i'll say don't over drink o cos too much of everything can kill. Please, drink what your belly can take and when you're full, you relax. Thank you so much for reading to the end, i'm grateful for your time.
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