HOW TO COOK OFADA RICE AND STEW (AYAMASE)
OFADA RICE
Ofada rice is a popular Nigerian rice variety. It is also called Unpolished rice as it is rice in it’s natural state and without genetic modification. It is very healthy and much more healthier than white rice and is identified as Brown rice.
Ofada rice is short and has brown stripes before it is cultivated without chemicals. Though looked down upon for its unrefined, local nature, and unique smell, it contains lots of vitamins and minerals that are good for your health. It is also high in fiber and is a good substitute for people who are supposed to stay away from white rice.
It is notorious for its dirtiness and stone contents though the quality has improved tremendously in recent times, now they are sold in small packets and they don’t contain as much dirt as before. Ofada Rice served with Ofada Stew (AYAMASE) is extremely popular at Nigerian parties and home.
Ingredients:
-2 Cups Ofada Rice
-Water
-Salt to taste.
Preparation:
-Pick the stones and dirt from the Ofada rice. Do this carefully as Ofada rice is known to be very dirty and full of stones.
-Pour the rice into a bowl, wash repeatedly.
-Rinse till the water runs clean.
-Now add 4 Cups of water, allow to cook on low to medium heat for 12 minutes…
Do not cover the pot throughout!
-Take the rice off the heat and rinse out the starch till water runs clean.
-Add 1 cup of water and cook till soft. You’ll need to check on it every now and then to prevent burning or sogginess. When it’s soft, take it off the heat and if you end up with liquid after the rice is fully cooked, drain in a colander
OFADA STEW(AYAMASE)
Ofada Stew is the hottest of them all when it comes to Nigerian hot and spicy food. It tastes like Vindaloo (Indian Curry) and is mostly for those who have natural coolers in their mouth to douse the fire that this stew brings to the palate.
You can see that you need 40 habanero peppers to prepare a small pot of Ofada Stew (see ingredients below).
Ingredients:
-40 pcs unripe habanero peppers (atarodo, ose oyibo, atarugu)Before You Cook Ofada Stew
Wash and blend the peppers and the onion. Remember to remove the seeds from the green tatashe or the green bell peppers.Cooking Directions
-Cook all the meat and fish with the stock cube till well done.-Pour the pepper blended 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. It took me 12 minutes on low to medium heat to bleach mine. 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 assorted meat and fish and stir well.
-Add salt to taste, leave to simmer and it is ready to be served.
Serve with boiled Ofada Rice. To get the full effects, line the plate with uma leaves. You can also use banana leaves.
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.
