Nkwobi

This soup is highly popular among the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria. Nkwobi is a traditional delicacy made from cow legs and head, and it's usually decorated with Utazi leaves and palm oil. It's frequently served with a glass of palm wine, which is said to be the greatest beverage for flushing it out of the stomach.

Ingredients

• 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 onion2 big stock cubes
• Salt (to taste)

Instructions

• Wash and put the cow foot chunks in a pot.
• Add the stock cubes (crushed) and the chunks of onion.
• 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.
• While the meat is cooking, pour the palm oil into a clean dry pot.
• Pour in the potash mixture (sieved) into the oil.
• Stir with a wooden spatula as you pour the potash. You'll notice the palm oil begin to curdle and turn yellow.
• Keep stirring till all the oil has turned yellow.
• Add the ground crayfish, pepper and ehu seeds. Stir very well till they are all incorporated.
• When the meat is done, add salt, stir and cook till all the water has dried.
• Add the well done cow foot to the palm oil paste and stir very well with the wooden spatula.
• 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.
• To prepare the garnish, cut the onions into rings and cut the utazi into long thin slices.
• Serve the Nkwobi in a wooden mortar as shown in the image above.
• Add the thin slices of utazi and onion rings on top for the full effects.