Onunu is a traditional swallow of the Ijaw, the Kalabari, Degema, Okrika and Opobo people of Rivers and Bayelsa States. It is prepared by pounding yam and overripe plantain together and mixing it with salt and palm oil. The best plantain for making this dish is overripe plantain (see?this is another way to use that overripe plantain in your pantry). It is what gives Onunu its taste and texture. Onunu is typically eaten with light soup like pepper soup, fresh fish stew, fisherman’s soup. But if you prefer, you can make it and eat with any soup of your choice.
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Onunu is easy to prepare; anyone who can make pounded yam can prepare onunu with ease. I like this Swallow because it’s not as heavy as pounded yam. When making it, I prefer to use pestle and mortar for it. I haven’t used food processor or yam pounder for it before but I’m pretty sure that it will work well.
Ingredients
3 Slices of Yam
2 Overripe Plantain
A Tablespoon of Palm Oil
A Teaspoon of Salt
How to Prepare
Peel the skin off the yam slices. Cut each slice of yam into four parts. Put the yams in a bowl, rinse them well then transfer them into a clean pot. Add some water to the pot; it should be just enough to cover the content of the pot. Cover the pot with its lid and cook on medium heat.
When the yam has cooked halfway, add salt to it. Afterwards, quickly rinse the plantain. Don’t peel it. Just divide each one into three and put them in the pot. Cover it and allow the food to cook properly. When the yam is ready, take it off the heat and drain the water.
Rinse pestle and mortar. Transfer the yams from the pot to the mortar. Pound till smooth. Now, peel the skin off the plantain and add it to the pounded yam. Mash them together. When you have achieved a smooth blend, add palm oil to make it look glossy. Use the pestle to mix the oil into the pounded food. When you’ve achieved that sleek look, the onunu is ready. Scoop it out of the mortar into a cling film and place it on a plate. Your Onunu is ready. Scoop your soup of choice into a soup bowl then serve and
enjoy.
That’s all on today’s episode of food recipes. If you have not prepared this food before, please do and let me know what you think of it.
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