NKWỌBI AS A SPECIAL AND ROYAL IGBO DELICACY

NKWǫBі AS A SPECIAL AND ROYAL іGBO DELICACY

Written by

Mazi Mike Ngozi Osuji

Email: osujimichael60@gmail.com;

Tel: +2348033865418.

Nkwobi, as the name connotes, is one of the most ever cherished Igbo delicacy, liked and eaten amongst the rich, the high and the mighty, within the Igbo society and beyond. Nkwobi is a delicacy specially prepared and seasoned for special people during special occasions. It has class as an Igbo food delicacy seasoned with very rich bush flavors, aromas and natural tastes and meant for those who can afford it.

Any Igbo food narratives are not complete without the mention of Nkwobi, which has become one of the leading Igbo natural delicacies ever known within the Igbo food culture.

Igbo people love and cherish good food, and as a people they will prefer to pay more for good food rather than settle for less, hence the maxim, ‘ife dị mma rie m ego, ụmụnna atawa m ụta’, meaning, let a quality product cost me so much money,  my kinsmen can go ahead to blame me.’  Therefore, Nkwobi is one of such food products within the Igbo food culture that the Igbo elites, made up of the traditional, the political, the business, and the social class, cherish so much and are ready to pay for, no matter how expensive it is to put it on the table.

THE RECIPE FOR THE PREPARATION OF NKWOBI

The rich natural tastes found in Nkwobi is as a result of the combination of the natural ingredients, bush flavors, and seasonings brought into the cooking and preparation of the Nkwobi delicacy. First of all, lumps of pre-cooked goat legs, cow-legs, or goat-head meats, according to one’s preferences, are considered, as the meats component, followed by spoons of palm oil, craw-fish, spoons of ground pepper, saint leaves- Nchanwụ, oil bean-ụgba, onions, ehili- nutmeg,  and salt are the main constituents within the Nkwobi recipe.

THE SIMPLE LIST OF NKWOBI RECIPE

• v  Pre-cooked lumps of cow-leg, goat-leg, or goat-head meats,
• v  Ungrounded craw fish for garnishing effects,
• v  Grounded crawfish for seasoning effects,
• v  Kitchen-spoonfuls of palm oil and water for making Ngụ, (Palm oil and pepper sauce)
• v  Grounded nut Meg, Ehili   for bush flavors,
• v  Sliced utazi leaves for aromatic, and spicing effects, and additional bush flavors,
• v  Grounded fresh or dry pepper for (Peppering effects),
• v  Rounded onions slices for garnishing effects and for decoration
• v  Grounded onions for seasoning effects,
• v  Powders of potash (Akanwụ or nnuanwụrụ, or ncha ) for paste  effects on oil and pepper sauce,  ngụ ,
• v  Slices of oil bean seeds,  ụgba,  for spicing, aromatic and flavor effects.
• v  Salt for tasting effects 

Cow- Legs      

                         

Goat-Legs

                               

Goat-Head

Fresh Utazi leaves       

           

 

Ehili- Nut Meg Seeds      

       

Onions

Ugba-Slices of Oil bean Seeds  

     

    

Palm Oil

       

HOW NKWOBI DELICACY IS PREPARED

The process leading to the making of a delicious Nkwobi delicacy can be a little bit complex, especially, when a good knowledge of the component members on the recipe is lacking. One must take cognizance of the fact that, the body component of any Nkwobi is either the cow-leg, goat-leg or goat-head meats; otherwise, it is not the original Nkwobi so to speak.  Though,” thick kanda”,that is, thick cow-skin,  can also be used as a last resort, or as one prefers.

Therefore, the making of any Nkwobi begins with the cooking of the cow-legs, goat-legs, or goat-head or “kanda”( thick cow skin ),as the case may be. The meats of cow-legs, goat-legs and goat-heads and cow-skin, are usually very hard, indeed, and they must, first of all, be chopped into reasonable lumps of meats, ready for cooking with the use of a cooking pot, and water.

The cooking time of the cow-leg and goat-leg meats is usually very long, to ensure that the meats are boiled enough, and cooked to soft for easy chewing,. One hour cooking period can be allotted to the cooking, while a small quantity of Akanwu (potash powders) can be added to achieve faster softening of the meats. Seasoning and spicing ingredients such as ground onions, curry powders, pepper, magi cubes, and salt must be added to enrich the tastes of the meats during cooking

Failure to cook the Nkwobi meats very soft, can present an embarrassing moment during consumption, because, the beauty and joy associated with the eating of the Nkwobi delicacy begins with the softness and tastes of the meats; therefore, soft cooking of the meats, must not be compromised at all, even if more time period has to be allowed for the cooking to ensure that the Nkwobi meats are easily chewable.

Chopped lumps of cow Legs

THE MAKING OF THE OIL AND PEPPER SAUCE (NGU) FOR NKWOBI.

Having cooked the meats soft , the next step will be to prepare the palm oil and pepper sauce known as ‘ngụ’ into which the pieces of meats will be mixed to have the Nkwobi ready for eating. To begin, pour two kitchen  spoonfuls  of palm oil into a wooden bowel or mortar, add 2 table spoonfuls of potash powder ( Akanwu ), and start stirring continuously until  the palm oil and potash, akanwu,  mixture turns to a yellow paste; keep adding water bit by bit into the mixture as you stir along.

It is now time to add 2 table spoonfuls of ground pepper, ground crawfish, ground nutmeg,  Ehili , and a mixture of grounded onions and utazi leaves into the yellow paste, Ngụ, and keep stirring. Stir vigorously, then, add salt to taste. If the yellow paste or ngu is too thick, add more table spoonfuls of water and stir until paste is stable. Remember not to allow the Ngu to become watery, instead, make sure that the Ngu paste is viscous to some reasonable extent; taste the Ngu you have just prepared and check the taste if it is ready, by your own assessment or by someone else, as the case may be.

Now that the palm oil and pepper sauce,  Ngụ, is ready, pour the entire lumps of meats into the bowl or mortar and keep mixing until the sauce and the meats are well blended. Check the taste of the new mixture of meats and “Ngu” sauce, and ensure that the tastes are uniformed, otherwise keep mixing till desired result is achieved. With this, the delicious Nkwobi is ready for serving and consumption.

HOW THE NKWOBI DELICACY IS SERVED IN IGBO LAND

Funny enough, the process leading from the cooking and up to the serving of this unique Igbo recipe, Nkwobi, for final consumption, can be very creative and artistic, giving the wrong impressions of complex procedures. Like I said earlier, in the cause of this discussion, Nkwobi as an Igbo food delicacy is uniquely meant for class within the Igbo society and that is why everything about Nkwobi is classic, right from the kind of meats traditionally required for cooking Nkwobi, the recipe, the special sauce, and the serving method, all goes to undoubtedly, depict this special delicacy as food meant for the cream de la cream of Igbo society.

It is not just enough to prepare a delicious Nkwobi delicacy; the serving process must be taking into perspective. The presentation of Nkwobi on the table must show the cooking artistry of a home grown Igbo house-wife, the class, category, and royalty she places her husband, as all these attributes should  

be in display at the final service of this unique Nkwobi delicacy to the table of her husband.

The grass-root Igbo house wife would not only want to impress her loving husband, but would want to show him to what extent she holds him in high esteem as her king and Lord of her life. This was prevalent in those days among house-wives who would gladly and romantically address their husbands as ‘My Lord’; to express her deep honor, respect, and romantic love to her husband, she tends to put everything into the outlandish decoration and garnishing of her Nkwobi recipe.

No man who is served with such a delicious delicacy so outlandishly decorated and spiced with bush flavors and garnished with green aroma oozing green leaves of Utazi, and onions that would not fall in love again and again. This is the origin of the saying that, ‘a woman’s way to the heart of her husband is through good food’, and trust Igbo women, they know how to use good food to capture the heart and purse of their husbands.

CONCLUSION

Finally, put the mixture of Ngu and meats into a wooden or clay medium size bowl with shallow dept or rather, smaller bowls and fill the bowls to the brim with the Nkwobi mixture. Garnish with ugba slices, sliced leaves of utazi, and rounded slices of onions and serve your Nkwobi steaming warm or hot and don’t forget to serve your Nkwobi with a keg of palm wine or a bottle of beer

HOW NGWOBI IS EATEN IN IGBO LAND

The preparation of Nkwobi down to the serving, and now to the eating, can present a whole lot of artistic experience. This delicacy can only be eaten with the hands and not with spoon or fork. Igbo people traditionally eat with their fingers, because Igbo cultural foods are inherently made up of swallows  such as pounded cassava tubers( fermented) , popularly called ‘akpu’, fried cassava powders, referred to as ‘gari’ or iba’,  pounded yam , called “asụrụasụji”, which can only be enjoyed if eaten with soups and hands.The same goes for  Nkwobi as an Igbo food delicacy

The eating of Nkwobi involves finger licking and sucking and this can only be possible if the delicacy is eaten the way it should be eaten, that is by hands. The delicious mixtures of meats and ‘ngu’ sauce, and the characteristic texture of the meats are only going to be the business of the hands, that is, the fingers, order wise, the taste, and fun associated with the eating of this wonderful recipe will be lost.

No matter how highly placed a person is in the Igbo society, tradition demands that he eats his Nkwobi food with his hands, order wise,  he isn’t going to enjoy it. He will miss the fun and fantasy that goes with finger sucking and licking and the peppering sensation that comes with Nkwobi eating.

NKWOBI AS AN IGBO EAT-OUT CUISINE

In a typical modern Igbo society, Nkwobi has become a popular Igbo eat-out cuisine for families and friends, highly adored and cherished among fun-seeking individuals and groups. This delicious Igbo cuisine is ever available in the menu list of many popular restaurants and drinking bars like  Cubana Lounge, Ibari Ogwa, channel O, Nwanyi Anambara, and Mimi’s Place,  all in owerri; in cities outside Igbo land where the Igbo people live and do business in large numbers, there are popular restaurants and bars that lives up to the expectation of taking care of their Nkwobi needs; popular hotels like Avenue Garden, in Ago palace way, Royal water Parks in Okota, Full House Lounge in Festac, all in the city of Lagos. Fun seeking families, individuals, especially, couples on honeymoon, like to spend their holidays and honeymoon with Nkwobi as a preferred cuisine.

It is also common to see the Nkwobi cuisine being served at very important social gatherings such as traditional weddings (Igba Nkwu Nwanyi ), white weddings,  birthday parties, and big Ǫmụgwǫ ( Child dedication ) ceremonies, including of course, burial functions. While some families like eating their Nkwobi together, served in a big clay or wooden bowl, others may prefer being served with smaller bowls to individual members of the family during outings on the same table with a keg of palm wine or bottles of beer to gulp it down.