Abacha (African Salad) Recipe.

Ingredients:

Abacha  (3 handfuls)

Ugba  (2 cups)

Palm Oil ( 30 cl)

Powdered Potash | 2 tablespoons

Fish (Mackerel/Dry Fish/Stock fish)

1 large Onion

Salt and dry pepper (to taste)

Crayfish (2 handfuls)

2 Stock cubes (Maggi/Knorr)

1 teaspoon ground Ehu seeds (Calabash Nutmeg)

Other seasoning you can add to the Abacha

1 teaspoon Ogiri / Iru (traditional Nigerian seasoning that smells like you-know-what lol)

Other meat and vegetables for the Abacha

3 Fresh Utazi leaves (Gongronema latifolium)

Pomo / Kanda (cow skin)

Garden Eggs (As much as you can eat)

Garden Egg leaves (1 medium bunch)

1 medium Onion (for serving)

Preparation

1    Prepare the ehu seeds by roasting, dehauling and grinding them with a dry mill.

2    If you will use kanda (cow skin), cook kanda till done and cut into small pieces.

3    Fry or roast the mackerel, soak the stockfish in water and debone the dry fish.

4    Wash and cut the vegetables into tiny pieces.

5    Cut the big bulb of onion into tiny pieces and cut the medium one in circles.

6    Wash the garden eggs and set aside.

7    Grind the crayfish and pepper

8    Soak the Abacha in cold water and rinse the Ugba with lukewarm water.

9    Once the Abacha has softened, put in a sieve to drain.

10  Put the powdered potash in a cup or bowl and pour about 1 cup of cold water.

       Stir well and you are ready to start making the African Salad.

Making the African Salad

1    Pour the palm oil into a sizeable pot.

2    Pour the water from the potash mixture, making sure not to pour the sediments.

3    Stir very well and you'll see the oil turn into a yellow paste.

4    Add the ground pepper, ground ehu, crushed stock cubes, crayfish, diced onions and ugba, then stir very well.

5    Add the iru/ogiri and make sure it is mixed very well.

6    Add the diced kanda/pomo and stir very well.

7    Now add the soaked and drained Abacha and stir till it is well-incorporated in the palm oil paste.

8    Add the sliced Utazi and salt to taste and stir well. It is important that you add salt last because after adding all that seasoning, your Abacha may not even need salt anymore.

If you like your Abacha warm, transfer to a stove at this point and heat it up to your desired temperature at medium heat.

When done, turn off the heat and add the sliced garden egg leaves, stir very well and serve.

If you like your Abacha cold, after step 6, add the sliced garden egg leaves, stir and serve with garden eggs, fish and onions.