Ingredients for Ofada Rice and Ayamase (Green Pepper Sauce)
- For the Ofada Rice:
- 2 cups Ofada rice (unpolished Nigerian rice)
- Water (for cooking)
- Salt (optional)
- For the Ayamase (Green Pepper Sauce):
- 4 large green bell peppers
- 4-5 scotch bonnets (adjust to your spice tolerance)
- 1 cup palm oil
- Assorted meats (beef, goat meat, tripe, or cow skin)
- 1 tablespoon ground crayfish (optional)
- 2 onions (1 blended, 1 chopped)
- 1-2 tablespoons locust beans (iru or dawadawa)
- Salt (to taste)
- Seasoning cubes (Maggi or Knorr)
- Boiled eggs (optional)
Cooking Instructions for making Ofada Rice and Ayamase (Green Pepper Sauce)
Cooking the Ofada Rice:
Rinse the Rice:
Ofada rice can contain a lot of dirt and husk because it’s unpolished, so rinse it thoroughly in cold water multiple times to remove debris.
Pre-boil the Rice:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the rinsed Ofada rice and cook for about 10 minutes, then drain the water to remove some of the starchy residue.
Cook the Rice:
Add fresh water to the pot, enough to cover the rice, and cook the rice on medium heat for 25-30 minutes or until soft. Ofada rice usually takes a little longer to cook than regular white rice. Drain any excess water and fluff the rice. Add salt to taste, if desired.
Preparing the Ayamase (Green Pepper Sauce):
Blend the Peppers:
Roughly chop the green bell peppers, scotch bonnets, and one onion. Blend them together, but do not add water; the mixture should be coarse, not smooth. You can blend in batches if needed
Gather all necessary ingredients: assorted meats or protein of your choice, pepper mix (a blend of red and green bell peppers, cayenne peppers, scotch bonnet peppers, and onions), palm oil, locust beans, crayfish, salt, seasoning powder, boiled eggs, and fried mackerel fish
Wash the assorted meats thoroughly and put them in a clean pot. Season with salt, seasoning powder, pepper and onions. Add water, cover, and cook until tender.
Once the meat is cooked, cut into small pieces.
In a separate pot, add palm oil. Cover the pot and let it bleach on low heat for about 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow the bleached oil to cool down completely before opening the pot.
Transfer the cooked meat into the bleached oil and fry lightly. Remove and set aside
Using the same oil, add diced onions and fry.
Pour in the blended pepper mix (red and green bell peppers, cayenne peppers, scotch bonnet peppers, and onions) into the oil.
Add salt, seasoning powder, locust beans, and crayfish powder. Stir to combine, cover the pot, and let the mixture fry on low heat until the oil begins to separate from the sauce.
Once the sauce has fried, add a little broth or water to loosen it up slightly.
Add the fried meats, boiled eggs, and fried fish into the sauce. Cover the pot and let everything steam together for a few minutes to absorb the flavors.
Your Ofada sauce is ready! Serve hot with rice and enjoy
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