I was cleaning out my freezer to make way for new stock when I found some beautiful gems – cow foot. It was just enough to make some small chops.

I searched my cupboard and freezer to make sure I had all the ingredients for Nkwobi but alas I had run out of ground crayfish. Not one to give up easily, I decided to use smoked fish instead.

Ingredients:

1kg of cow foot with bone, boiled with spices until very soft

4 tablespoons of ground smoked fish

1 large red

1 purple onion

2 cloves of garlic

a small piece of ginger

4 scotch bonnet (ata rodo)

4 table spoons of palm oil

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

2 tables spoon of dry Ukazi leaves, soaked in water

2 African Nutmeg (ehuru seeds), pounded to a powder form

1 knorr cube

Method:

1. remove the bones from the meat and cut into bite size
2. roughly blend or pound the ginger, garlic, peppers and one onion together, drain to remove excess water
3. in a medium pot, heat the oil for a few minutes, add the blended peppers, smoked fish, nutmeg and Knorr cube. Drain the leaves and add to the pot. 
4. add the baking soda and combine thoroughly, you will notice that the mixture thickens.
5. add the bite size meat and combine thoroughly, simmer for 3 minutes. Garnish with fresh spinach
6. If you want to make Isi Ewu, substitute the cow foot with bite size of cow head and mash the brain to make a paste to thicken the sauce instead of using baking soda