Rice on every Sunday is almost inevitable. Be it Jollof rice, white rice and stew, fried rice, sauced or any pattern of rice, but when it comes to Nigeria, rice is one food that knows no boundaries and it is cooked in various special ways. It is one food that has a high percentage rate of acceptability in various parts of the country.
One reason; it is the unwritten constitutional food for every event. If you’re cooking for your event, it has to be rice basically before any other food; else your preferred recipe may not be generally accepted.
When it comes to Sundays, it is almost like a tradition that every household regardless of religion cooks and eats rice on Sundays.
Most of us that grew up in Nigeria, grew up to get adapted to this tradition; (I can’t conclusively speak for other countries). Many of us grew up to witness this funny tradition and have upheld it ever since without questioning. I know there are some exceptions to this; as regards some families and some parts of the country, but the fact remains that many cook rice on Sundays.
Let’s make Ofada rice and sauce this Sunday, shall we?
Ofada rice is the short, robust and brown rice planted in Ogun state, South-West Nigeria and some other States in Western Nigeria. It is identified with brown stripes because it is unpolished. When cooked, it emits the unique ofada rice aroma that is often the first attraction.
The most delicious sauce for the Ofada rice is known as Ayamase (also known as designer stew).
Ofada rice is prepared like every other rice. What you need is the recipe for the sauce.
Ingredients for the Ayamase Sauce
- Palm oil
- Green bell pepper – (green tatashe)
- Scotch bonnet/habanero pepper – (Ata rodo)
- Iru – fermented locust beans
- Assorted meats (you can also use chicken or Turkey) – cooked and cut in small pieces
- Beef Stock
- Seasoning Cube
- 1 large onion ( chopped)
- 1 cooking spoon of ground crayfish
- Salt to taste
- Boiled Egg (optional)
Method
- Blend the Green Pepper with the ‘ata rodo’ and boil till it becomes thick. Remember not to blend the onions with the pepper.
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While the pepper is boiling, cover the pot and bleach the palm oil for 8-10mins. Turn off the heat and leave the pot covered till the body is warm.
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Once the pot has cooled, put it back on the heat and add chopped onions. Let it fry till it softens, and then add the iru and let both fry until a bubble of palm oil comes up.
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Add the meats stir and let it fry till the oil comes up.
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Add the boiled pepper and stir. Let it fry until oil floats to the top, then you add stock, roughly 1 cup, stir and let it fry until you start to see oil on top.
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Add ground crayfish (a cooking spoon)
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Stir and let the crayfish cook and combine with the stew. Reduce the heat, and let the stew fry till the oil comes back up again. At this point, you can add boiled eggs/dry fish/cooked ponmo if you wish. Once the oil comes up, taste again for salt and seasoning.
Enjoy with the boiled ofada rice (unpolished rice) or you can eat it with yam or fried plantain.
