How to make this delicious Igbo delicacy yourself
This spicy cow foot delicacy goes perfectly with chilled beer or palm wine.
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This spicy cow foot dish is a South Eastern cuisine from Nigeria, served commonly as an appetizer. It's a simple dish to make but the boiling of the cow foot takes a long time if you do not have a pressure cooker.
Cooking time: 1 hour with a pressure cooker, but can go over 4 hours without one.
Nutritional value: Rich in VitaminB12 and Zinc. Raw cow meat contains 215 calories. One serving contains about 300 calories.
Serves: 3 people
Ingredients
2kg cow foot (cut into sizeable pieces)
20cl (200ml) Palm Oil
1 tablespoon powdered edible potash (Akanwu/Kaun/Keun)
1 teaspoon ground Ehu seeds (Calabash Nutmeg)
2 tablespoons ground crayfish
Peppers (to your taste)
1 medium onion
2 big stock cubes
Salt (to taste)
10 Utazi leaves
Instructions
1. Wash the cow foot chunks and place in a pot (preferrably pressure pot due to the tough nature of the meat) along with crushed stock cubes and chopped onion.
2. Add a small quantity of water and start cooking at medium heat till well cooked. Add just enough water to prevent burning as you cook. There should not be any stock (water) in the pot when the meat is done.
3. While the meat is cooking, pour the palm oil into a clean dry pot.
4. Put powdered potash in a bowl with a small quantity of water and stir. Sieve (finely) the mixture into the oil.
5. Stir with a wooden spatula as you pour the potash. The palm oil will begin to curdle and turn yellow. Keep stirring till all the oil has turned yellow.
6. Crack and remove the outer shell of the ehu then grind with a dry mill.
7. Add the ground crayfish, pepper and ehu seeds to the oil. Stir very well till they are all incorporated.
8. When the meat is done, add salt, stir and cook till all the water has dried.
9. Add the well done cow foot to the palm oil paste and stir very well with the wooden spatula.
10. Put it back on the stove/cooker and heat till the Nkwobi is piping hot, stirring all the time to make sure it does not burn.
Your Nkwobi is ready. To garnish, cut the onions into rings and cut the utazi into long thin slices and place on top of the servings. Serve with cold beer or palm wine!
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