Skip to main content

Ikokore : An Ijebu Food

Ifokore, is a Yam Pottage dish made with Water Yam  not White Yam. It is a pottage recipe from the Ijebu people of Ogun state and ijebu from Lagos state , Nigeria. I’m yet to come across an Ijebu person who doesn’t love Ikokore,  Ikokore remains a staple in an ijebu household. To really enjoy Ikokore, you’ll need to incorporate as much proteins as you possibly can to enrich it. Your best bets are Shaki, ( intestine ) Ponmo, Chicken, Goat meat, Gizzard, Smoked Turkey, Smoked Fish, Panla, Eja Kika, the more the merrier.

The authentic Ikokore recipe requires no blended pepper, it calls for just Scotch Bonnet (Ata rodo) and in some cases, dry ground pepper but I’m not too keen on hot and spicy dishes so I settle for Shombo.

Ingredients:
A Tuber of Water yam
3 Cooking spoons Palm Oil
4 Cups Chicken or Beef Stock/ Water
#100 Shombo/Tatashe or 4Tablespoons dry ground pepper
#50 Scotch Bonnet (ata Rodo)
Smoked Fish (Eja Kika) or Shawa (Bonga fish)Shredded  (Optional)
Dried Fish (Panla) Shredded (Optional)
Shredded cooked Meats
#100  Crayfish
1/2 Cup Smoked Prawns (Optional)
Ogiri Ijebu (Fermented Locust Beans)
2 Knorr Chicken Cubes
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Slice your water yam into small pieces. Peel each piece then grate using the smallest part of your grater.

Blend the Shombo/Tatashe and Scotch Bonnet till smooth and set aside. If you’re using just Scotch Bonnet, just blend it on it’s own…
Get a medium size pot and place on a hob on medium heat. When it’s hot, add the palm oil, then the Locust Beans, I forgot to add my Locust Beans at this stage. Sauté the Locust Beans for a minute, then add the blended Pepper, then the Knorr Cubes and Salt to taste. If you’re using Stock, do not add salt as your stock is already seasoned…
Leave to fry till oil floats to the top. This should take 10 minutes thereabouts, stir every now and then to prevent burning…
If you’re using just Dry Ground Pepper or Scotch Bonnet (Ata Rodo), add the Ground pepper or Blended Scotch Bonnet into the palm oil and continue with the other steps, skip the pepper frying process.
Now, add the Chicken /Beef Stock if you’re using any, if you haven’t got Stock, just add water, continue to cook for 5minutes.
Add the Shredded Cooked Meats, Fish and Smoked Prawns, any other proteins you’re using, then the Ogiri, leave to cook for 10 minutes.
after 10 minutes, remove all the meat and fish from the stew, leaving just the stew in the pot.
Turn the heat down to low, now scoop the grated yam into the stew, do this in both big and small lumps. The small lumps will dissolve in the stew, forming a mushy type consistency while the bigger lumps will create the lumpy Ikokore consistency. Do not stir, leave the contents to boil for 8-10 minutes on low heat…
Then you can stir a bit you can use a wooden spoon. Stir and break up clumps if you find it too clumpy or leave as it is if you don’t mind. Now, taste for salt and seasoning.
Transfer the cooked meats and fish back into the pot, add the rest of the crayfish and combine gently, be careful when doing this so you don’t break the clumps.
Leave to simmer for 3 – 5 minutes and it’s ready.

Comments

most read

MY FACT ABOUT BIAFRA.

This is a part some people will not like to hear, but we will say it here for historical purposes. When the great Biafran leader, Col. Dim Emeka Odimegwu Ojukwu was granted a state pardon by President Shehu Shagari in 1982, the Ikemba soon contested for Senate under the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN), but did his people vote for him? Lest we also forget, he contested for the presidency, how many votes did he got even in Anambra? Let us bring in Chief Alex Ekweme. We recall, despite being founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),he contested for the party nomination for president in 2002. We all remember how the South-East governors then did all they could to outdo themselves to be seen to be more loyal to President Olusegun Obasanjo than even his own ministers. There was nothing wrong in all these for these people as long as it all guarantees fat bank accounts and unmerited rewards. No one talks about Biafra when contract figures are inflated; Biafra makes no sense ...

My advice for you

Guy, if truly,the woman u want to get married to is stil going out wth guys out there,u should knw dat she's not good enough to be a wife,cos she will also do dat wen u're married to her.I can't fight over a girl or even confront any man or guy over a woman because they do not put a gun on her head before she follows them to their houses or even sleep there for days,she went there willingly on her own wthout any threat or force.so u should stnd up to be a real man and not to marry a woman dat does not value u,cos if she did,she will not follow any man.please dnt kill urself over woman issue my brother

See Amaechi

Wike cannot mobilize any grassroot outside his Ikwerre ethnic nationality. GEJ and PDP know this; they will not give him the party ticket. How can Ikwerre rule for over 8 years then they want to continue? Wike can be likened to Goliath so big and so formidable but its a small stone that will end it all.

Whitney Daughter found Unconscious

The daughter of late singer Whitney Houstonwas pulled unconscious from her bathtub Saturday at her Georgiahome, in an eerie echo of her mother's tragic death three years ago. Bobbi Kristina Brown, 21, was found by her husband and a friend at her home in Roswell, Roswell Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Holland said. Emergency services were called to assist before Brown was whisked to North Fulton Hospital for treatment. "She is still alive and breathing and other than that I do not know her condition at this time," Holland told a news conference. "Investigators are on the scene at the hospital and the house."Bobbi Kristina Brown 's family will take her off life support on Wednesday so that Brown can die on the same day as her mother Whitney Houston. Brown, 21, has been in a coma since she was found unresponsive in a bathtub at her home in Georgia on Jan. 31. Police are investigating the incident, focusing on Brown's romantic partner Nick Gord...

Nollywood Actress Dior Adiele

It is true my nudes are everywhere, but it is also not my intention dat they are, cus those pictures were meant to be private. Pregnancy stage is the only time in a woman’s life that God lets her experience different hormonal changes and every woman has the right to keep record of it and it is sad mine ended up dis way, but SHIIT HAPPENS!!! Most of u bitches condemning me do even the worst things, go stack naked for worthless reasons and cheap shit. As much people are talking, some also wish to be like me#FACT………let the bloggers keep posting and talking, I understand dats what they feed on. NUDITY is NATURE, and there is absolutely nothing new on the face of earth. I am not the first to have my pictures leaked neither will I be the last. Meanwhile, LADIES & GENTLEMEN as I don cast so, I will just get me some COLDSTONE and DOUGHNUTS, while I seat back and watch yesterday’s fresh gist become tomorrow’s old story……...