How to make Ofada Rice and stew (Ayamase)

Ofada rice and stew is a Nigerian dish from the Yoruba people, but in recent times, everyone, especially those in Lagos and around, have eaten Ofada bugs.

Please note that ofada stew is the best when it comes to hot and spicy Nigerian food. It tastes like Vindaloo (Indian curry) and is for those who have a cooler in their mouth to quench the heat of the stew brought to the mouth. You will find that you need 40 habanero peppers to make a small pot of ofada stew (see ingredients below).

 Ofada rice is not very attractive. It’s not a good idea to cook long grain rice. It smells so strong when it is cooked that everyone wants to eat it! I think it is because Nigerians have a passion for anything cultural and national. We are proud of everything that is ours in Nigeria.

Or maybe it’s the stew because I’d say the stew adds a lot of flavor to the rice. 

Ingredients for Ofada Stew

•  40 unripe habanero peppers (atarodo, ose oyibo, atarugu) 

•  2 green tatashe peppers or green bell
  

• 1 locust bean seasoning (Iru, ogiri okpei or dawadawa) .

• 20 cl red palm oil (at least)

•  1 large onion

•  1 handful of crayfish

•  800g of meat and fish.(I use: beef, shaki, dry fish, stock fish)
  

Before cooking Ofada stew

•  Wash and mix pepper and onion. Remember to remove the seeds from the tatashe or green bell peppers.

•  Grind the crayfish and the locust bean seasoning with a dry mill.

Cooking Directions:

Wath video here:

•  Cook all meat and fish with stock cube until well done.

• Pour the pepper mixture into a separate bowl and cook it over high heat until all the liquid dries up.

•  Pour the red palm oil into a clean, dry pot and bleach until it runs clear. It should be like vegetable oil after cooking.

•  Let the oil cool a little and add the boiled pepper puree, fry until all the water has dried up in the pepper.

• Add crayfish and locust bean seasoning, meat and fish and mix well.

• Add salt to taste, leave to simmer and it is ready to be served.

 Cook with Ofada rice. To get the full effect, sline the plate with uma leaves. You can also use banana leaves. 

Tips for bleaching red palm oil

•  Bleach the palm oil in a clean stainless steel pan. Aluminum pot also work well. Do not use a non stick or enameled pot when bleaching red palm oil.

• If possible, use pure red palm oil.The congealed almost yellow ones contain little water.

• Use low heat when bleaching the oil. This ensures that the oil does not darken after cooking.

• Do this in a well-ventilated area. Turn on your kitchen extractor to remove smoke as much as possible. Turn off the smoke alarm if applicable, you don’t want anyone to know you’re cooking the stew. 

• Do not leave the pot unattended as the oil will burn if it is hot. Check it regularly and turn off the heat once blanching is complete.

•  Allow the oil to cool slightly before adding the ingredients. This will prevent hot splashes of oil and prevent your food from burning due to excessive heat.