The Ofada Rave

Many Lagosians of all ethnic backgrounds have once tasted this food, even you. I did not say all ooo!


Ofada Rice and its stew is a native Nigerian dish for the Yorubas. Right now, everyone, especially those who reside in Lagos, have a fire of Ofada Rice burning in their tommies.
Did you know that Ofada rice has this strong pungent smell when it is being cooked? Yet nobody want to miss it! I am so sure the stew makes up for the short comings of the cooking process and this makes ofada a top delicacy in direct competition with the pizzas and pasteries that have now flooded the food market.


The Ingredients to cook Ofada Stew are:
2 green tatashe peppers or green bell peppers
1 locust bean seasoning (Iru, ogiri okpei or dawadawa)
20cl red palm oil (at least)
40 pcs unripe habanero peppers
1 big onion
1 handful crayfish
850g assorted meat and fish.

Beef
Shaki
Dry fish
Stock fish

Preparations

• Wash and blend the peppers and the onion. Remember to remove the seeds from the green tatashe or the green bell peppers.
• Grind the crayfish and the locust bean seasoning with a dry mill.

A very important procedure of cooking the stew is  " Bleaching the palm oil"

Tips for bleaching red palm oil

• Bleach the palm oil with a clean dry stainless steel pot. Aluminium pots work well too. Never use non-stick pots or enamel pots when bleaching red palm oil.
• If possible, use a free flowing pure red palm oil. The congealed almost yellow ones contain some water.
• Use low heat when bleaching the oil. This ensures that the oil is not very dark when done.
• Do so in a well ventilated area. Turn on your kitchen extractor to remove the smoke as much as possible. Turn off your smoke alarm if any, you don't want everyone to know that you are cooking Ofada Stew. 
• Do not leave the pot unattended because the oil will catch fire if overheated. Check it constantly and turn off the heat once the bleaching is complete.
• Do allow the oil to cool down a bit before adding the ingredients. This will prevent hot splashes of oil and will keep your food from burning due to the high temperatures.

Cooking Directions

• Cook all the meat and fish with the stock maggi cube till well done.
• Pour the pepper blend into a separate pot and cook on high heat till all the water dries up.
• Pour the red palm oil into a clean dry pot and bleach till it turns clear. It should look like vegetable oil when done. Your own time may vary depending on the type of heater you have and the quantity of oil.
• Leave the oil to cool down a bit then add the boiled pepper puree. Fry till all the water has dried from the pepper.
• Add the crayfish and locust bean seasoning, the orisirisi meat and fish and stir well.
• Add salt to taste, leave to simmer and it is ready to be served.
• Serve with Ofada Rice. To get the full effects, line the plate with uma leaves. If not, you won't get the Real-Ofada feeling.

If and when you eventually follow my recipe, after cooking, make sure to send my own portion to  send@gistsandfotos.com

Don't bite your tongue, chop with caution.

Credits: Nigerian Recipes