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.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

most read

Tricycle Agreement form/Higher purchase

BETWEEN NAME HERE…………………………………………….OWNER of Aba North L. G. A. Abia State. AND NAME HERE…………………...……………………….HIRER of Osisioma L. G. A. Abia State. IN RE: CARTER MOTORCYCLE WITH REGISTRATION NUMBER KGE822 VALUED AT FOUR HUNDRED AND TEN  THOUSAND NAIRA (N410,000.00) DOCUMENTED BY: CHIKE EZE DANIEL ESQ., OF CAR HIRE & CO.,  IHDULE CHAMBERS, 8 AFIKPO ROAD, ABAKALIKI, HIRE PURCHASE AGREEMENT made this …………………………. day of …………………2014 BETWEEN NAME HERE of Chukwudi Umoh, of Aba north L. G. A. Abia State.  Nigeria (herein referred to as the “OWNER”) of the one part. AND NAME HERE of Azuiyiokwu Inyimagu,  Osisioma L. G. A. Abia State. State of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Obama won’t give the Ferguson speech his supporters want

President Obama's statement, delivered moments after St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch rendered the grand jury's verdict , was a plea for calm. It was steady and evenhanded. Obama recognized the fear and anger of both sides. He called for calm. He argued that the two sides here were, in a sense, one. "Nobody needs good policing more than poor communities with high crime rates," he said. And, in doing, he disappointed many who had hoped to hear something more impassioned, more outraged, from the president:
Post a Comment
Read more
"LIFE" This life is a lesson for those who understand it. To climb the ladder of this life and to get to the top is not an easy tax,when you get there,to retained that top position is not as easy as you climb to that top. It can take 2 to 3yrs for somebody to overcome his predicament, downfall of a man is not the end of his life. Life is up and down.no permanent place for human beings on this earth,that's why we see young boy of yesterday speed over the older ones. there was a time money was coming into my hand,they gave me the respect and the honour that I deserved,once u lack,they will rant,shout at you talk back at you look u down nearly ask u to come and clean their sheet even ask you to go to hell, to the extend of asking you to life their home. They will remind you what they did for you at the past,if at all you never ask them to flashback. If at all from nothing you still find means to make them happy. In did life is a teacher.
Post a Comment
Read more

GIRL FRIEND IS BETTER THAN BOY FRIEND

   SHARE CLOTHES There are so many things you can only do with your girl friends that your boyfriend will never understand, having a boyfriend can be a lot of fun, but sometimes you just can't beat a girl friend! For instance, you can share clothes, shoes and other accessories with your girl friend -- double the wardrobe options and style advice all in one. If you did that with your boyfriend, things would start to get a little weird.      GOSSIP Your boyfriend doesn't really care about all of the intricate details of the lives of people he doesn't know, especially celebrities, but your girl friend will always be there to listen to any juicy details you have just found out. Girl friends are especially good for gushing about how hot your favorite male celeb is, something your boyfriend definitely doesn't want to hear about!   THEY WONT CHEAT Of course not all boyfriends cheat, but since you aren't in a commited relationship with the...
Post a Comment
Read more