Nkwobi: Spicy Cow Foot

Nkwobi is a delicious Nigerian dish which originates from the Eastern part of Nigeria. It isn’t your average home-cooked meal, as it is mostly sold in exclusive restaurants or bars as a special delicacy.
Nkwobi is often mistaken for Isiewu but they are not the same. It is simply cooked cow foot mixed in spicy palm oil sauce. If you love spicy food then you are in the right company, although you can reduce the pepper to your taste. You could substitute for goat leg or calf leg if you don’t have cow leg. Before cooking the cow leg, you have to take note that it takes a very long time to cook. If you have a pressure cooker, you could use it to save time and gas.

Ingredients
• 2.5 kg cow foot (cut into sizeable pieces) 

• ½ cup palm oil 

• Bouillon cube to taste

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp baking soda/ground potash 

• 2 tbsp ground Cameroon pepper/chilli pepper 

• 1 tsp ground ehuru (calabash nutmeg)

• 1 cup Ugba (Optional)

• 3 tbsp coarsely ground crayfish

• 1 large onion divided (½ chopped up, the other ½ sliced in circles)

• Utazi leaves sliced (For garnishing)

What makes this dish unique is the sauce with which the meats are mixed. Same mix is used for isiewu. The sauce is simply a mix of palm oil and potash which cuddles the palmoil. A great substitute to potash is baking soda which is what I used in this recipe. The ground ehuru seeds (Monodora myristica) enhances the taste of Nkwobi. Incase you’re looking for a low carb delicacy, Nkwobi is on the list of low carb friendly Nigerian dishes. Win-Win in my opinion.