Some people believe that the synonym for the word ‘business’ is the Igbo man. For decades, the Igbos have embraced the concept and practice of business; buying and selling. No stranger to foreign exchange because of said business, the presence of non-indigenes has become a norm in Igboland. One would wonder at how immersed people were in the Igbo culture, especially in the most popular Igbo foods.
One cannot speak about culture without the inclusion of food. Indigenous delicacies are at the heart and centre of any culture. For most tribes, the recipe for their dishes is borne out of ingredients surrounding them. This include crops that thrive well in their territory and its environs. Indigenous cuisines most times transcend the potency of feeding the stomach: they are cultural pieces, a heritage of sorts passed through generations.
The Igbo culture is packed with traditional delicacies, feeding both indigenes and foreigners in Igboland. In the spirit of cultural relations, many Igbo dishes have exceeded local borders and borne the flag externally as the most popular Igbo foods. With the belief that you have eaten at least one if not all, here are five of these popular Igbo foods:
Ọkpa
Okpa is curated from the Bambara nut, flexing the most comprehensive and practical of recipes. A staple in Igboland almost to the point of being a snack, Ọkpa is made by mixing Bambara nut flour with palm oil, then hot water to a near watery consistency, seasoning only with salt, roughly ground peppers and a very optional ụzịza* seed which is ground to powder. In deeper parts of Igboland, Ọkpa is cooked in banana or ụma* leaves and traditionally served with pap (akamu); a gelatinous semi-liquid made from grains.
Abacha
Abacha bears a funny alias, ‘Igbo spaghetti’ among Nigerians, although more formally it is addressed as ‘African Salad.’ This popular Igbo food is prepared from shredded (striped) cassava that is washed in hot and/or room temperature water or left to soak in the latter, depending on consumer preference. Properly strained after being removed from water, Abacha is mixed with a syrup-textured base known as ncha. Ncha is gotten by mixing palm oil, water and potash. When Abacha had been mixed with ncha, all the other conventional seasoning follows; pepper, salt, ground ehuru* seeds, onion rings, diced garden eggs and shredded pumpkin leaves, ogiri* a local seasoning is also involved. Fried fish and ponmo are unanimous finalizers.
Ụkwa
Known in English as ‘Breadfruit,’ Ụkwa is a delicacy that many refer to as a delicacy for royalty for reasons that either fall to one or is a summation of the following three; the cost of purchase, the classy scarcity that ensures that it is not seen anywhere-anyhow-ordinarily, the sheer aura that comes with so unique a dish. Carefully sorted and boiled, usually with potash to enhance taste and speed cooking time, it could be eaten plainly with protein more commonly streamlined to fish (fresh and dry fish) and bitterleaf (preferentially) cooked alongside or mixed in a sauce containing pepper, crayfish, dry fish, stock fish, palm oil and salt.
Good to know: Ụkwa is eaten alongside the water it was cooked in, a practice loved and repeated by many.
Ofe Onugbu na Akpụ
‘Soup’ translates to ‘ofe’ in Igbo, and ‘bitterleaf’ to ‘onugbu.’ Soups are permanent residents in Igboland with Ofe Onugbu taking the lead. Word on the streets is that an occasion is not complete if Ofe Onugbu is not present. Cocoyam is boiled and pounded in rapid succession and then mixed with palm oil. The mixture is scooped into a pot of boiling water and left to cook until the water thickens. Proteins such as beef, stock fish, dry fish and ponmo are included in the pot. Then the bitterleaf (expectedly cleansed of 50% of its bitterness) is put in the pot to cook alongside the cocoyam and proteins, with the pot uncovered. Ogiri is added, then Pepper, crayfish, salt and seasoning cubes follow.
Ofe Onugbu is eaten with akpụ, a meal made from cassava and commonly called ‘swallow.’ Its other names among Igbo people include fufu, ụtara, mgbadụga. Ofe Onugbu has a sister soup; Ofe Ọha whose only difference is the vegetable used. Where Ofe Onugbu employs bitterleaf, Ofe Ọha uses the Ọha leaves.
Good to know: In some parts of Igboland, Achi is used to substitute the cocoyam.
Nkwọbi
The food for relaxation, the perfect stress reliever; Nkwobi is no stranger to the soft life. Starting out initially at restaurants and chilling joints, the sensation that comes from eating Nkwobi has set it loose from said joints and into the homes of the Igbo people. Literally meaning to ‘cut in two,’ Nkwobi is one of the most popular Igbo foods consisting only of beef inclusive of cowleg and cowhead (ponmo) cooked in thick palm oil gravy, a gravy like that of Abacha’s ncha. When Nkwobi is paired with a topping, onion rings are a no brainer. Occasionally pumpkin leaves are included although based on consumer preference. Nkwobi is always accompanied by drinks bathed in cold sweat.
While there are so many other cuisines peculiar to the Igbo people, five of them identify as the popular Igbo foods and they are mentioned above. Which of these have you eaten? Which is your favourite?
Let us know in the comments!
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Ụzịza* – West African pepper/Guinea cubeb/Sorowisa. Ụma* – sweet prayer plant/moimoi leaves. Ehuru* – calabash nutmeg. Ogiri* – (fermented) locust bean seeds. Ọha* – African rosewood plant