FOODY CORNERS

CHAPTER 11: ASSORTED/LOCAL DISHES

• MELON SAUCE

Ingredients:
 Melon
 Fresh tomatoes
 Oil
 Onions
 Salt
 Seasoning cube

Preparation:
1. Cut the melon into smaller sizes to allow it cook fast. Remove the seeds, wash and cook till soft.
2. Use spoon or knife to scrape the inside into a bowl.
3. In another pot, add in some oil and a teaspoon of salt. Add some sliced onions and pour in the tomato puree.
4. Allow to fry till it’s no longer sour, then pour in the scraped melon and stir.
5. Add in the other ingredients and stir thoroughly before turning off the heat.

Serving:
Serve with fried yam, boiled yam, potato or rice.

• ABACHA

Or African salad is a local dish that is famous in the eastern part of Nigeria. It is also made from cassava.

Ingredients:
 Abacha
 Palm oil
 Ogiri
 Ukpaka
 Kpomo
 Dry fish
 Seasoning cube
 Salt
 Ehuru
 Crayfish
 Onions
 Utazi
 Potash (optional)
 Garden egg/leaf

Preparation:
1. Put the Abacha in a bowl and pour in some water, sieve out after some minutes and leave it on the sieve while you prepare the sauce.
2. In a frying pan, add in some crayfish and turn on the heat. Once the cray fish is crisp enough, turn off the heat and set aside.
3. Break the Ehuru (calabash) and pound in a mortar till you get the flour. Add in your pepper and pound as well.
4. Add in the oil and use your pestle to stir, add in salt and seasoning cube and continue to stir. You can add potash now, if you’re using it, this will give it a thicker texture. If you’re not, continue to the next step.
5. Add in your ogiri and continue to stir. The ogiri will make the sauce thicken a little, add in the Kpomo which you should cut into smaller sizes.
6. In a plate, scoop out some of the sauce and put in the Ukpaka and mix together, this will be used in serving the Abacha.
7. Add in the crayfish and mix before adding the Abacha. You can mix together with your hand, spatula or mortar.
8. You can add onions at this stage, it is optional. Taste for salt and other ingredients. You can serve, if you think all is balanced.

Serving:
Dish out on a plate, add the Ukpaka mixture, smoked/dried fish, garden egg/leaf. Eat with chilled zobo or soft drinks or palm wine.

• SALAD
When making salad, you can decide to use or remove different kinds of vegetables and fruits. But most salad contains, cabbage, peas, sweet corns, carrots, cream etc.

Preparation:
1. Cut and slice all vegetables you’re using and put into a bowl and mix together. You can add sprite or lemon, fruits, cream.
2. Then serve with anything.

• BREAD FRUIT

This is a special local dish, especially prepared in eastern part of Nigeria. It is very delicious and special.
It can be cooked without any ingredients and still be so delicious, but it can also be prepared with some ingredients.

Ingredients:
 Breadfruit
 Palm oil
 Cooked corn
 Pepper
 Ogiri
 Dry fish
 Ehu/Ehuru

Preparation:
1. Cook the breadfruit, it takes longer time to cook, so you can add potash to make it cook faster.
2. Once it’s done, scoop out some of breadfruit into another pot, separating the liquid from the fruit.
3. In a mortar, add in the cooked corn and pound it for a minute before adding it into the pot you put the breadfruit.
4. Add in palm oil, grinded Ehuru and Ehu, pepper, salt, seasoning cubes, Ogiri and stir together. If you’re using dry or smoked fish, you can add and stir all together.
5. If you don’t want to use corn, you can do the above process without corn.

Serving:
In a soup plate, dish in the breadfruit soup and in another plate, dish in the breadfruit with corn. You can dish this in the same plate as well.

• COCOYAM AND SAUCE
This is a local dish cooked and prepared in the eastern Nigeria. Most grandmas prepare this hearty delicacy for their children. The grandmas know how to prepare this best.

Ingredients:
 Cocoyam
 Palm oil
 Pepper
 Ogiri
 Salt
 Seasoning cube.

Preparation:
1. It takes time to cook cocoyam, especially the head which I mostly enjoyed.
2. If the cocoyam is ready, then the sauce is next.
3. In a mortar or bowl. Add in your palm oil, pepper, salt and seasoning cubes, then ogiri and stir all together. There you have your sauce.

Serving:
Just like yam, you can peel and cut the cocoyam and dip it into the sauce and eat.