Nigeria – Ayamase (Ofada Stew)

by Mimi Joseph

Nigeria is a country located on the western coast of Africa. In Nigeria there are kinds of tribes including Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa. It shares border with Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Ayamase is popular chill sauces in the Igbo and Yoruba cultures of Nigeria. The sauce is likely eaten with rice.

Although the cuisine is comprises of chills or peppers as the remarkable ingredient, it varies in preparation and other includes ingredients.

Others make it from beef fingers (meat chopped smaller and rolled with eggs to round shapes and then fried while others will prepare the soup , mix it with meat or fish and then includes hard boiled eggs when cooking.

Both are generally cooked with a soup of blended chills and peppers to finalize it the Ayamase cuisine.

To get it done, keep in touch with me in this cuisine from Igbo tribe in Nigeria.

Preparation

• 1/2 kg beef
• 1/4 kg green chilies
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 red onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 medium ginger
• 1 habanero
• 1 bay leaf
• olive oil

Cooking methods

• Clean spices and veggies, Chop the onion, ginger, green chilies, peel garlic. Put them in a food blender and blend.
• Piece meat into medium sizes and boil it ready.
• Remove from soup meat and mince it. Take a bowl and put the minced meat on it, break the egg in it followed with paprika powder, turmeric, thyme, salt and black pepper, mix them well.
• Make a round shapes using your hands from the mix, put on plate.
• Fry them preferably with olive oil until brown.
• In another pan, add oil and cook the blended mix with salt, bay leaf and curry powder for about 20 minutes under low heat.
• Add the fried balls into the sauce and stir, cook for 5 minutes.
• Our cuisine is ready.

Enjoy with family.