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Whenever, I think of Agidi Jollof, I remember the song, akara di uso, mmanu n’eme iba, agidi nke na enwero okpukpu n’uso adiro ya which literally translates to akara is delicious, palm oil causes illness, there is no sweetness in boneless agidi. I learnt how to sing this song from my Dad’s cousin who lived with us. In those days, we ate white agidi in my house with draw soup. But agidi jollof was one of the snacks sold in the secondary school that she attended. She never brought some for us to taste oh! But she would always come home singing the song. Chai! So, long after I learnt to sing the Agidi song, I longed for a taste of Agidi jollof.

As luck would have it, I had my first taste of agidi jollof in J.S.S 1. We had this woman that supplies it with okpa to our canteen on a regular basis. In those days, it was a struggle to buy this delicious snack. Break time lasted for just 30 minutes. The canteen was small and students were many. So, if you wanted to enjoy okpa or agidi jollof, you prepared yourself for all the pushing and shoving that came with it.

I loved agidi jollof and the biscuit bone that’s a necessary ingredient for it. By the way, biscuit bones are soft chewable bones from beef.  Well, you have heard my agidi story, now let me tell you how to prepare the food.

Ingredients for Agidi Jollof

Soft chewable bones a.k.a. biscuit bones

200g Corn flour or akamu/ogi

250ml tomato stew

1 big stock cube

1 onion

½ teaspoon curry powder; thyme and nutmeg, optional

Pepper & salt to taste

200ml cold water

Hot water

Uma leaves

How to Cook

Rinse the uma leaves thoroughly to eliminate sand.

Rinse the bones a couple of times before putting them in a pot. Season with onions, maggi and salt. Cook on medium heat till it’s tender.

Rinse the tomatoes, onions and pepper before blending. Pour the blended puree in a pot and cook till the water in the tomato puree is dry. Add vegetable oil to the pot. Add chopped onions to the pot and the tin tomato puree. Fry at very low heat and stir at short intervals till the oil has completely separated from the tomato puree.

Add the meat, or should we say the bone stock. Add curry, thyme, nutmeg, seasoning cube and salt to taste. Cover the pot to allow your stew to simmer for about twenty minutes before turning off the heat.

Put water to boil in a kettle. Mix the Pap with about 200ml of cold water in a pot. Please note that if you want to get a mixture without lumps, the water should be added gradually and not at once. Mixing the pap and water should be done off the stove.

When the hot water is ready, Pour it into the paste while stirring at the same time. When it starts to thicken, transfer the pot to a stove and set the heating to low. Keep stirring till the pap becomes a solid agidi.

Add a generous quantity of stew to the pot. Bear in mind that it is the stew that transforms ordinary agidi to agidi jollof. Thus, it should be enough to give the agidi a rich red colour.

Stir the agidi thoroughly to ensure that the stew is well incorporated into it. Do not add the bones at this time. Add drops of water to the mix, cover and leave to simmer. Finally, add the bones then mix again to combine the water and the agidi jollof.

Wrap the Agidi in uma leaves. If it’s too hot, you can allow it to cool to a comfortable temperature. Serve with a chilled soft drink.

Reference

All Nigerian Recipes

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This article was first published on 14th July 2019

udevi-obiamaka-angela

Udevi, Obiamaka Angela holds a Master of Arts degree in History & International Studies. She's a freelance writer with a passion for food and healthy living. She can be contacted through her email address, obiudevi@yahoo.com

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