Enugu Abacha is a very popular native meal that visitors enjoy in all parts of Nigeria’s Southeast Region, home to the Igbo ethnic group. Many visitors and citizens who live outside the South East region widely copy the recipe. This uniquely branded native meals is prepared differently in all four cultural groups of Enugu, namely Agbaja (Udi and Ezeagu), Ogwu (Aninri, Awgu and Oji River), Nkanu (Nkanu and Nike), and Nsukka. As there are dialectical differences among these clans, so are the recipes for making Abacha a bit different.
If you visit Enugu and fail to sample Abacha Enugu, your trip is incomplete! You have to return to have a taste! They are really nice meals, as one popular Youtube blogger, Tolu Nazzal (in the cover), found out.
Check out her video on Abacha here.
Abacha is by far the most widely enjoyed delicacy in Enugu State. It is a basic meal on the family menu. Female children are taught to prepare the meal, although men are also trying their hands at it.
From starter to main course
In the past, it served as a starter meal in a typical 2-course family dinner. Today, however, the menu is so enriched with garnishing that it has become a standalone meal. However, in local social gatherings, such as weddings and funerals, it continues to be served as a starter meal.
Abacha is made from cassava tubers. It is prepared as flakes before the actual conversion begins to take place. The tubers are harvested, peeled, boiled, and grated into flakes. The flakes gathered into a raffia bag and soaked overnight. They are then washed thoroughly and thereafter dried in the sun.
Preparation
To make abacha, the flakes are soaked in warm water, emptied into a pan and mixed with the ingredients. All use palm oil, salt, and ukpaka. The Nsukka and agbaja versions (also favoured by Achi people), add potash into the mix. Most visitors however prefer the Awgu version that does not come with the addition. Thus, the standard abacha is the one prepared by people from in the northern part of Awgu, and it is this version that visitors are most likely to find in restaurants and roadside eateries in Enugu. The basic abacha is cassava and served with dried fish. The modern abacha is much richer – through experimentation, it is now served with onions, veggies, and stock fish, making it look appetizing and taste even better.
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