Abacha ncha or African salad is a traditional meal from South East Nigeria. It is prepared from boiled and shredded cassava tuber. The shredded cassava is then soaked overnight in cold water and washed thoroughly. The shredded cassava may be sun-dried to preserve it.
Ingredients:
Abacha 3 handfuls
Ugba or ukpaka (oil bean) 2 cups
Palm oil 30 cl
Potash
Fish/meat
Onion 1 large bulb
Salt
Pepper
Ground Crayfish
Seasoning cubes
Ehuru seeds (calabash nutmeg)
Fresh utazi leaf
Ponmo/kanda (cow skin)
Garden egg
Garden egg leaf (small specie)
Direction:
- Prepare the ehuru seeds by grinding them with a dry mill after roasting. If you will use kanda, cook till done and cut into small pieces.
- Depending on your choice of fish (you can also use all of these: fried or roasted mackerel, boiled stock fish and deboned dry fish).
- Wash and cut the vegetables into tiny pieces. Cut the big bulb of onion into tiny pieces and cut the medium one in circles. Wash the garden eggs and set aside.
- Soak the abacha in cold water and rinse the ugba with lukewarm water. Once the abacha has softened, put in a sieve to drain.
- Put the powdered potash in a cup or bowl and pour about one cup of cold water. Stir well.
- Pour the palm oil into a sizeable pot. Pour the water from the potash mixture, making sure not to pour the sediments.
- Stir very well and you’ll see the oil turn to a yellow paste.
- Add the ground pepper, ehuru, crushed stock cubes, crayfish, diced onions and ugba and then stir very well.
- Add the diced kanda/ponmo and stir very well.
- Add the soaked and drained abacha and stir till it is well-incorporated in the palm oil paste.
- Add the sliced utazi. Stir well. You can also use dry, utazi if the fresh one is not available where you live.
- Add the sliced garden egg leaves. Stir very well and serve.
NB: It is important that you add salt last because after adding all that seasonings, your abacha may
