Abacha Food: How to Make Abacha (African Salad)

Photo of Abacha Food: How to Make Abacha (African Salad)

Abacha is a very rich Africa salad made with dried shredded cassava; it is popularly called African salad. Abacha food is one of thepopular salad recipess in Nigerian originally from the South Eastern parts of Nigeria (Igbos to be precise). Abacha is prepared with so many vegetables and fish and it is garnished with enough spices, however, the more ingredients you add to it, the tastier it becomes. There are more than two ways of making abacha and one of the easiest ways is the steps below which you are about to read. Abacha is commonly prepared with Ugba; your African salad is not yet complete if you have not added ugba to it. Other important ingredients in abacha are the utazi, garden eggs, garden egg leaves; you can use fresh lettuce in place of garden egg leaves. See how to make garden egg stew here.

Abacha can be enjoyed as a side dish, appetizer or main meal, any how you choose to serve it, you will still be right. This African salad is the simplest salad recipes so far; you can adjust the ingredients to suit your taste and can also decide to reduce the garnishes if you dont have all of these at once. Fried fish, smoked fish or dried fish and stockfish can be used in abacha food. Feel free to add your own ingredients.Also watch the above abacha video.

Table of Contents

Abacha Ingredients

  • 1 cup palm oil
  • 3 handful abacha or as needed
  • 1 cup of ugba/Ukpaka (oil bean seeds)
  • 1 medium sized smoked fish/stockfish/dried fish
  • 1 medium sized pkomo (cow skin)
  • 5 pieces of fresh garden eggs
  • 2 medium onions, sliced/chopped
  • 1-teaspoon of edible potash (kaunwa)
  • 3-tablespoons of ground crayfish
  • 1-teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 2 stock cubes, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon ground African nutmeg (Ehuru)
  • 1 handful utazi
  • 1 handful garden egg leaves or lettuce
  • Small Iru or Ogiri (locust beans), optional
  • A pinch of salt
Abacha/African salad ingredients
Abacha/African salad ingredients

 

Steps on How to Make Abacha

  1. Rinse and season kpomo and cook until tender, cut into smaller sizes and set aside.
  2. Wash and shred utazi and garden egg leaves and set aside, chop onion into nice rings and the other into tiny pieces.
  3. Add water to the potash to dissolve it, strain to get rid of sand and the last particles.
  4. Bring abacha into a bowl and add cold water to soak it for 5 minutes, rinse from the water into a bowl, add hot water into it and drain immediately in a colander and set aside.
  5. Add palm oil into a wide pot, add the potash water a little at a time and stir until the oil curdles and changes to bright yellow colour.
  6. Once you have achieved a very nice creamy texture of oil, season it oil with ground crayfish, pepper, stock cubes, Ehuru (nutmeg) and stir well.
  7. Add the chopped onions, Ukpaka (oil bean seeds) and diced garden eggs and stir to incorporate.
  8. Bring the drained abacha and stir in, add the cooked kpomo, dried fish if using that and stir well.
  9. Garnish abacha with Utazi and stir. If you like it warm, place it on heat for 30 seconds.
  10. Garnish abacha with garden egg leaves, few rings of onion and enjoy as a side dish. Bon Apptit.

Steps on How to Make Abacha with Pictures

1. Rinse and season kpomo and cook until tender, cut into smaller sizes and set aside.

2. Wash and shred utazi and garden egg leaves and set aside, chop onion into nice rings and the other into tiny pieces.

3. Add water to the potash to dissolve it, strain to get rid of sand and the last particles.

4. Bring abacha into a bowl and add cold water to soak it for 5 minutes, rinse from the water into a bowl, add hot water into it and drain immediately in a colander and set aside

Soaking of Abacha in water
Soaking of Abacha in water

 

After soaking abacha in in hot water, strain with a colander and leave to rest
After soaking abacha in in hot water, strain with a colander and leave to rest

 

5. Add palm oil into a wide pot, add the potash water a little at a time and stir until the oil curdles and changes to bright yellow colour.

This is how the palm oil should look like after it has been curdled
This is how the palm oil should look like after it has been curdled

 

6. Once you have achieved a very nice creamy texture of oil, season it oil with ground crayfish, pepper, stock cubes, Ehuru (nutmeg) and stir well.

Season the palm oil with all the listed ingredients one at a time and stir well to incorporate
Season the palm oil with all the listed ingredients one at a time and stir well to incorporate

 

At this stage, everything has been added and well stirred
At this stage, everything has been added and well stirred

 

7. Add the chopped onions, Ukpaka (oil bean seeds) and diced garden eggs and stir to incorporate.

8. Bring the drained abacha and stir in, add the cooked kpomo, dried fish if using that and stir well.

Abacha is added to the sauce
Abacha is added to the sauce

 

9. Garnish abacha with Utazi and stir. If you like it warm, place it on heat for 30 seconds.

Heat abacha back on the stove for 30 seconds if you like it warm, and then garnish with onion rings, and garden egg leaves
Heat abacha back on the stove for 30 seconds if you like it warm, and then garnish with onion rings, and garden egg leaves

 

10. Garnish abacha with garden egg leaves, few rings of onion and enjoy as a side dish. Bon Apptit

Abacha is best served warm
Abacha is best served warm

 

Abach food is ready
Abach food is ready

 

Serving abacha with extra veggies and smoked mackerel
Serving abacha with extra veggies and smoked mackerel