Nkwobi Served With Chilled Drink

HAVE you ever tasted Nkwobi, a popular appetiser in the eastern part of Nigeria? If you have not, please take this today and you will have many stories to tell about the pleasant taste and the health benefits of this delicacy.

Nkwobi is the Igbo name for spicy goat legs cooked and served in rich chilly gravy. It is a real favourite amongst Nigerians, who as a rule, are known to consume peppery foods, flavoured with chillies and various spices.

The main ingredient of this dish is goat meat, which is food one of the healthiest meats. Even the Bible, the holy Book, considers goat as a clean animal, which means that goat meat is good, clean and healthy.

                    

This nutritious meat is rich in many essential nutrients like vitamin B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B12 (cobalamin), iron, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and selenium. All these nutrients work together to help promote good health.

Goat meat also provides a leaner protein source than beef, lamb, chicken or pork. This means that it is low in saturated fat and high in unsaturated fats, the type that helps increase the High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL), or good cholesterol that promotes healthy heart.

The American Heart Association recommends leaner meats such as goat to help decrease the risk of heart disease, stroke and other serious medical conditions.

Consumption of nkwobi is ideal for people that want to maintain strong bone, prevent bone loss due to menopause or rheumatoid arthritis (pain in the joint).

Adolescent girls and women within the childbearing age can benefit from regular consumption of meat to help replenish blood lost during menstruation and child delivery.

Children can also benefit from this nutritious treat to help attain maximum growth and development. People that are sick can quickly recover by taking a plate of nkwobi.

There are many other health benefits derived from eating nkwobi. Take a plate of it today and enjoy.

Ingredients                        Quantities

Goat limbs                       1
Palm oil                           2 cooking spoons
Edible ground                   1 small piece
potash (akannwu)
Ground hot peppers           1 table spoon
Onion                              1 medium size
Salt                                To taste
Blended crayfish                1 cooking spoon
Seasoning (maggi)             2 cubes
A native bitter leaf            1 small bunch
or utazi

Method of preparation

De-hoof goat leg and wash thoroughly with sponge and lukewarm water.

Chop the meat into small pieces, preferably cubes, and rinse once more.

Put the meat into a large pot, season lightly and cook on moderate heat for about 45 minutes.

When the meat is tender, pour out into a bowl with some of the stock.

In a separate bowl, combine the pepper, chopped onions, crayfish, salt and seasoning. Add warm water and thoroughly mix.

Place a clean pot on the cooker and add the palm oil.

Warm it slightly, then add the edible potash and cover for a minutes.

Stir the oil and the potash vigorously until a thick mash is formed.

Add some water to dilute.

Stir in the mixture of peppers, onions, crayfish and seasoning. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about three minutes.

Allow the entire mixture to simmer for five more minutes.

Put the goat legs into serving mortars or traditional earthenware bowls and pour in the hot mixture.

Garnish with fresh utazi leaves and sliced onion and serve hot with chilled palm wine or any other drink.

Palm wine

Palm wine is a traditional wine extracted from palm tree. This wine is always used to quench thirst when taking some foods like nkwobi, snail salad, bush meat pepper, goat meat pepper soup and all kinds of pepper soups.

Intake of palm wine is beneficial to the body, especially the eyes, to help enhance the sight for good vision.

It is better to take fresh palm wine than the fermented palm wine. Fermented palm wine is injurious to organs of the body like liver, kidney and eyes because of its high alcohol content.