How to make Iwuk Edesi – Native Jollof Rice

Iwuk Edesi or palm oil rice is the way our grandmothers cooked one pot rice dishes back in the day. Jollof rice which the more ‘modern’ rice  dish came to Nigeria in the seventies. Before then it was rice and stew. But guess what, our grandmothers or mothers had always cooked one pot rice dishes using ingredients that were available to them then. This was the time of stony rice and the washing of rice with calabash. No wonder rice was not a daily meal. Iwuk edesi remain a favourite dinner recipe in our household as mum found it convenient to cook.

Children returning home from church or mosque will jubilate when mum said it was rice for lunch or it was rice on special holidays only.
My visits to my grandmother’s home in Calabar was usually greeted with several local dishes but as I was a town girl , a rice dish had to feature. Iwuk edesi was one of such dishes.

Ikong ubong(ugwu) was at the back garden, smoked fish, crayfish and palm oil was always in the kitchen. So the ‘town girl’ had something to eat. “iwuk” in Efik is pottage that is a one pot meal.
On my recent trip to the village,  it looks like not much has changed in the village kitchen. You will find the odd old kettle, pots, corn and other grains left at the top of the fireplace to dry. And of course it is firewood  that is used in cooking. To think that you have to first go get fire wood, make the fire before you start preparing the ingredients. This was what my grandmother did to get Iwuk Edesi on the table. It must be hard cooking in the villages.

With the memory of this village one pot rice dish, I have since resorted to this dish when ingredients are limited in the fridge and am looking for a simple but tasty rice dish. This is one dish which tastes even better when warmed the next day. The slightly burnt rice at the base of the pot just adds something to the flavor. Indeed I always scrape the ‘bottom pot’ for that soft and crunchy texture of the rice. So if you are looking for something to jam together after a hard day’s work  you have it here.

Recipe for Iwuk Edesi

Ingredients
2cups rice
I medium bunch Ikong or Ugwu (chopped)
6 pieces of Beef
1/2 cup smoked Shrimp
1 cup dried Fish
2 cooking spoons Tomatoes/Pepper( ground)
1/2 teaspoon dried Pepper
A cooking spoon Palm oil
1 tbsp ground Crayfish
One crayfish seasoning tablet
1  beef seasoning cube
A litre Water
Salt to taste

 

Method

• Season and boil the meat with beef seasoning, 1/2 onion, salt and 1/2 tsp dry pepper

• Wash the rice and set aside

• Heat the oil, fry the remaining onion

• Add the ground tomatoes/pepper, shrimps, fish, beef,ground crayfish, remaining seasoning and salt to taste

• Pour the water and available meat stock and boil for 10 minutes

• Add the washed rice and cook until almost soft and dry

• Finally add the chopped vegetable and cook for about 5 minutes

• Serve hot