How to prepare isi ewu nkwobi?

• 2kg (4.4 lbs) 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.
• 2 habanero peppers (or to your taste)
• 1 medium onion.
• 2 big stock cubes.

In this post, I will show you how to make nkwobi without potash (kaun/akawun).

Nkwobi is a delicious dish of well-cooked, tender cow leg mixed with thickened palm oil flavoured with spices and peppers. This delicacy, usually enjoyed as a snack in the evening, originates in the Igbo-speaking part of Nigeria but is widely sold in restaurants (joints) across the country.

The cut of meat that we call the “cow leg” is the cow’s heel. The meat cut is usually tough and bony, but once well cooked, it turns into a flavourful gelatinous meat, which is a delight to eat. It is a cheaper cut of mea that is used to bulk out and add texture to soups and sauces.

Garnished with onions and utazi leaves to balance the creaminess, nkwobi is traditionally served in a wooden bowl called okwa. This wooden bowl comes up and is deceptively shallow, hence why nkwobi is usually piled high up in the bowl.

Here are the ingredients you need…

Wash the cow leg and pour into a pressure cooker with three cups of water. Slice one onion and add into the pressure cooker. Add the bouillon cubes with some salt.

Leave to cook for 20 mins after the pot comes up to pressure, then remove from heat. If you’re cooking in a regular pot, it could take between 90 mins – 2 hrs.

Separate the meat from the leftover cooking liquid.

Ground the calabash nutmeg in a mortar or coffee grinder. Slice the remaining onion and keep aside. Wash the sliced ugba and keep aside.

Mix the bicarbonate of soda with ¼ a cup of water. Then mix into the oil and stir for some time to emulsify. You will get light orange, thick creamy sauce at the end.

Add the pepper, crayfish, calabash nutmeg, and ugba into this mixture. Add some salt to taste and mix properly.

Mix in the cooked cow leg and stir in to coat with the oil.

Serve in a bowl and garnish with the onion rings.

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