Nigerian Nkwobi Recipe (Spicy Cow Foot Delicacy)

No Nigerian feast is complete without Nkwobi! This traditional dish is made with cow foot, and it’s famous for its spicy sauce and tender cow foot pieces. If you want to add a little excitement to your dinner table, this recipe is for you.

For many people in Nigeria, no meal food is complete without meaty treats!

In fact, Nigerians feel that meat makes the food taste better, which is why various types of meat are usually used to garnish their soup.

My Congolese friends were surprised by the “assortment” of meat I add to stews and soups. They typically cook each dish with one type of meat or seafood.

Haha! Any local street joint has pricing for “assorted meat,” which means a variety of meat in the food.

Other than garnishing the soup, meats are also enjoyed alone. Peppered snails and stewed goat meat are two obvious examples that come to mind.

One other tantalizing meaty delicacy in Nigeria is Nkwobi. This spicy sauce with cow meat is an irresistible treat that the taste buds never forget.

What Is Nkwobi?

Nkwobi is a special Nigerian delicacy made with soft, spicy cow leg mixed with a thick sauce made from palm oil and other simple ingredients.

This delicious cow foot dish originates from South Eastern Nigeria, among the Igbo tribe where it is mostly cooked and served on the evenings of special occasions and is enjoyed with friends, alongside sweet palm wine, and over loud music.

This special Nigerian dish has the heart of many Nigerians because of its delicious taste and beautiful dressing of garnished vegetables and round-cut onions when served in the popular deep wooden bowl.

Nowadays, it is not unusual to see Nwkobi on the menu of many classy restaurants, average restaurants, and beer parlors.

Even bukas (roadside restaurants) don’t want to be left out of the competition.

What does Nkwobi Mean (in English)?

Nkwobi means “Spicy Cow Foot Delicacy” in English.

What Does Nkwobi Taste Like?

Nkwobi has a slightly bitter taste balanced with the meat’s delicious umami taste and other flavorful condiments.

This bitter taste is caused by the sliced utazi leaves added during the cooking and dressing process.

What Is The Difference Between Nkwobi And Isi Ewu?

There are salient differences between nkwobi and isi ewu even though they are prepared almost the same way.

Firstly, isi ewu is made of a goat head. Other types of meat cannot be used to prepare it, unlike nkwobi.

Another thing is that isi ewu can be prepared without the ugba, whereas ugba is mandatory for nkwobi.

Ingredients for Nkwobi

• Cow Leg – This is the primary constituent of nkwobi. The bonny meat is cut into medium chunks so that it gets tender on time while boiling.
• Palm Oil – A good quality palm oil is the sauce of the nkwobi recipe. It is cooked on medium heat while other ingredients are added to it to form the delicious meal’s thick spicy palm oil paste.
• Edible Potash – Potash is the ingredient that gives the palm oil sauce its unique color. It makes the palm oil curdle and gives nkwobi a richer taste.
• Calabash Nutmeg – Calabash nutmeg, known as ehuru in Igbo, is different and cannot the substituted with the normal nutmeg. The powdered form of this nutmeg is added during the cooking process to give nkwobi the authentic local flavor.
• Seasoning Cube – Add seasoning cubes to taste.
• Salt – Add salt to taste.
• Ground Crayfish – Crayfish slightly enhances the taste and aroma of nkwobi.
• Cameroon Pepper – This ingredient gives your nkwobi its spicy hot taste. You should add the exact quantity your taste buds can take.
• Ugba – Ugba (African breadfruit) is an oil bean seed that makes your nkwobi more delicious with its additional flavor. It should be washed thoroughly in water to remove every dirt on it before it is poured into the palm oil mixture.
• Onions – Onions are cut into rings to garnish the nkwobi. It is usually eaten raw with other garnishing ingredients.
• Scotch Bonnet – Scotch bonnet is also sliced with onions to garnish nkwobi.
• Utazi Leaves – Slices of utazi (gongronema latifolium) are also used to garnish nkwobi. They are added sparingly so as not to make the delicious meal more bitter than normal.
• Water – Water is needed to boil, clean, and dissolve some of the raw ingredients.

Tools Needed For This Nkwobi Recipe

• Cooking Pot
• Small Bowl to dissolve the powdered potash in water
• Cooking Spoon or Spatula
• Teaspoon to measure some of the ingredients
• Knife to slice the onions, scotch bonnet, and utazi leaves
• Pressure cooker
• Wooden bowl or ceramic bowl to serve your tasty meal.

Ingredient Additions & Substitutions For Nkwobi

Cow Leg

Different kinds of meats can be used to make nkwobi. If you do not have cow feet, you can use other animal feet like goat leg or chicken feet.

Although the classic dish calls for cooked cow foot, you can also use other edible parts of the animals like the cow head, cow meat (the body part), chicken insides, and goat head (which is called isi ewu).

Edible Potash

Baking soda can be used as an alternative to potash. It gives the same taste and basically does the same work as potash in the delicacy.

The same idea applies to Urhobo banga soup. Even my mom, who cooks with potash, could not tell the difference when I used baking soda.

Utazi Leaf

You can replace the utazi leaf with bitter leaf or uzazi leaf. The three leaves are bitter but have different levels of bitterness.

Bitter leaf is more bitter than utazi leaf, and utazi leaf is more bitter than uzazi leaf. If you are looking to reduce the bitter taste of your nkwobi, use uzazi leaf.

Cameroon Pepper

You can also use grinded scotch bonnets instead of Cameroon pepper to get the spicy hot taste of your nkwobi sauce.

How To Make Nkwobi With Cow Leg (Step-by-Step)

Ingredients

• 4 lbs Cow leg
• 120 ml Palm oil
• 1 tsp ground Calabash nutmeg (ehuru)
• 2 tbsp ground Crayfish
• 2 Seasoning cubes or bouillon powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp ground Cameroon pepper
• 250 g Ugba (oil bean seed)
• 1 large onion
• 5 g Potash (optional)
• 4 cups Water (as needed)
• 5 Utazi leaves (for garnishing)

Instructions

STEP 1: Cut the cow feet into small, bite-sized chunks.

STEP 2: Boil the cow legs with onions, seasoning cubes (or powder), and salt until it is soft. Check often to make sure you have enough water in the cooking pot.

Alternatively, use a pressure cooker to make the process faster. This can take 45-120 minutes, depending on the cooking process.

STEP 3: Mix the potash in water and set aside (~ 1 minute).

STEP 4: Slice your utazi leaves for garnishing. Set aside.

STEP 5: Add the palm oil to a clean, dry pot and set heat to low-medium.

STEP 6: Gently add the diluted potash to the pot containing the palm oil and mix until the color turns orange. Turn off heat (3-5 minutes).

STEP 7: Next, add the crayfish, seasoning cube, salt, Cameroon pepper, ugba, and calabash nutmeg to the pot and mix (2-3 minutes).

STEP 8: Add your tender chunks of boiled cow leg and mix.

STEP 9: Garnish with utazi leaves, round slices of onions, and chopped peppers.

STEP 10: Serve in a wooden bowl with or without your preferred side and a cold drink.

What to Serve With Nkwobi

• Drinks: The number one thing to enjoy your this meal with is a chilled drink! Palm wine is perfect if you can get it, and you can also go for other drinks like a cold beer, fruit juice, malt drink, wine, or any soft drink.
• Rice: You can also serve this dish as a side dish to your sweet Nigerian white rice or jollof rice, just like the big daddies of Nigerian parties do.
• Yam: Yam is another perfect match for nkwobi. Serve your boiled yam on a separate plate from your nkwobi and enjoy this dish with a drink of choice while watching your movie.
• Swallow: You can pair this food with hot swallow food like amala, semovita, pounded yam, eba, etc.

Tips About Making This Nkwobi Recipe

• Your powdered potash or baking soda should be dissolved in water before mixing it with the palm oil.
• Make sure you have ready all the ingredients, especially the dissolved potash or baking soda, before putting your palm oil on the heat. This prevents you from getting an oily sauce instead of a creamy one. The potash is what makes the oil creamy.
• The size of the utazi leaf, bitter leaf, or uzazi leaf determines the number you need to slice for your nkwobi. The point is that the bigger the leaf, the bitter the taste. So, if you have wider leaves, make sure only to slice small pieces in your meal.
• You should use a pressure cooker instead of a gas cooker to boil your cow leg. This is because a pressure cooker accelerates the process of making the meat tender.
• You should consider using a smaller animal leg like calf feet if you don’t have access to a pressure cooker. This is because the animal leg, such as a calf foot, gets tender faster than a cow leg.

How To Store Nkwobi

If you have leftover, you can store it in a fridge or freezer till you are ready to eat it again. It can last up to one week in the freezer.

When you are ready to eat again, use a pot to reheat the dish on very low heat for 3 – 5 minutes to revive the creamy sauce and warm the meat.

You can also do the heating in a microwave after putting the nkwobi inside a plate that has been sealed.

Is Nkwobi Good For Pregnant Women?

No, nkwobi should not be eaten by pregnant women. This is because it is made of potash which has been linked to miscarriages and pregnancy loss.

Alternatively, baking soda might not be too harmful to use. However, you still have to be careful with the amount you add.

How To Make Nkwobi With Chicken

The process of cooking nkwobi with chicken is the same thing as cooking it with cow legs. All you have to do is;

• Wash the raw chicken thoroughly
• Cut it into bite-sized chunks
• Put the chunks in a pot and add sliced onions, seasoning cube, and salt
• Boil till it is tender
• Continue with the same steps as you would when cooking cow foot.

How To Make Nkwobi With Kponmo

Cooking nkwobi with kponmo is the same as cooking it with cow legs. All you have to do is;

• Wash your kponmo thoroughly
• Put it in a pot and add sliced onions, seasoning cube, and salt
• Add water to the mixture
• Cook till it is tender
• Continue with the same steps as you would when cooking cow foot.

FAQs About This Spicy Cow Foot Delicacy

Conclusion

Hands down to this fantabulous Igbo delicacy. It is a great one to serve to your visitors on special occasions.

Also, you can make and preserve it on a Thursday night to enjoy it on Friday while enjoying your Netflix movie…Chill!

This recipe is for you if you want to add a little excitement to your dinner table. Trust me! Once you try this Nkwobi recipe, it’d be the only one you’ll use time and time again.

Your turn! Have you tried this Spicy Cow Foot Delicacy? Sound off in the comment section below.