This is coming in late but at least not never!!
I had a private Independence Day Celebration!! Yippeee!!! For those of you who couldn't find anything worth celebrating, good for you!!! For me, I celebrated the fact that I still have a nationality (yes!! things could have gotten so bad in the country that u wake u one day and find that someone stole your nationality and sold it. How can!!?? YES IT CAN).
*sigh of relief*
Having said that, I decided that since we were celebrating, something special and traditional must be cooked! What better way is there to celebrate a culturally rich country?
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| Pounded yam and Ofe Nsala with fresh fish |
This meal is special as it is not one I would make on a normal day because of the pounded yam component. I am not a pounded yam lover, not even a 'liker'. It's one of those dishes I cook to make loved ones happy :) . I could opt to eat ofe nsala with wheat or unripe plantain but somehow, pounded yam just makes it complete.
This meal is traditional because it is purely a Nigerian dish eaten mostly by 'Ndi Igbo'. I know other tribes have their own variation of this soup and have different names for it but this is 'Ofe Nsala' as my people know it.
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| The Ingredients |
1 whole catfish
1 dried fish
Yellow pepper
Onions
Ground Crayfish
Fresh Uziza leaf
Fresh Utazi leaf
Uda seed
Uziza seed
Ehuru
Seasoning cube
Salt
I started by preparing all my ingredients because cat fish usually cooks in very few minutes then starts to break up and fall apart.
1. I washed my catfish with hot water and salt. I can't stand the slimy skin!
2. I washed and cut my uziza and utazi leaves (I used about 5 uziza leaves and 2 utazi leaves). I always put them separately in a bowl because while the uziza leaf has a strong aroma and is a bit hot, the utazi leaf is quite bitter and if used more than necessary can cause a disaster.
3. I gathered my seeds (uda, uziza and ehuru) and ground them dry till very smooth. Some may prefer to just buy peppersoup mix from the market and use but I like to grind my ingredients myself so I know what exactly is in it and the quantities. For me, I like more of uziza seed, a little less of uda seed and very little ehuru.
4. I washed my dried fish with warm water and salt and removed all the tiny bones. I leave the bigger bones because I can easily remove them when the meal is ready and after they have added their flavor to the soup.
5. I ground my yellow pepper with one small red onion. Whenever I make traditional dishes I prefer to use the yellow pepper that we call "Ose Nsukka" because it has a very unique aroma and flavor (I also use if for noodles and fried eggs and the difference is clear).
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| The making |
2. I put in my ground pepper, ground spices, crayfish, seasoning cube and dried fish and allowed it to boil.
3. I put the catfish into the broth and allowed it to boil for about 5-7 mins (at this time the catfish was cooked)
4. At this stage, I could have used my pounded yam to thicken the soup but I used yam flour instead because 1. I had just enough pounded yam for the two portions I needed and couldn't spare any, 2. Catfish cooks so fast that the time needed for the yam to thicken the broth will overcook the fish. However, if you prefer to use pounded yam, simply take out the fish when it is cooked in step 3 and put in small lumps of pounded yam to thicken the broth and return the fish before step 5. But if you choose to use yam flour, I simply mixed about 3 table spoons with very little water and added it in small portions at intervals.
5. After thickening, I tasted the soup and adjusted spices as desired, sprinkled the uziza leaf and utazi leaf (put in a little, stir and taste till u start getting the slightly bitter taste of the utazi leaf), stirred and allowed to simmer for 1 minute.
6. And Voila!!! Ofe nsala is ready!!
Thanks to my group friends on "so you think you can cook" I had already 'pounded' my yam with the aid of my food processor!!!
And that is how I celebrated Nigeria @ 53!!!
