Jayne Whyte's Portfolio

Ukwa achina’ka ona’gba! Ukwa Bournvita! Ukwa Milk!

If you lived along St. John Street, in Awka Anambra state between 2001 and 2006, you must have heard the loud voice of a woman who carries the tray of fresh Ukwa on her head walking from one street to another calling on customers to buy her Ukwa. It has been so many years since I left school but her voice has not left my head.

Ukwa also known as breadfruit is a meal rich in essential vitamins, healthy carbohydrate and proteins. It is very expensive and also very scarce. It is predominantly found in the south east and eaten  majorly by the Ibos.

The cooking time for Ukwa is really long (as in the case of beans) and so, to cut cut short the cooking time, it is safe to add potash ‘akanwu’ or use a pressure cooker (my ideal deal).

I advice diabetic patients, weight watchers and elderly persons to add this meal to their meal plan because of the health benefits.

It can be prepared as a porridge as I have done here. Wash fresh Ukwa thoroughly using a lot of clean water. Put in a pressure cooker, add clean water, some chopped onions and leave to cook. Once cooked, sieve the water and set aside (some people love to have the water as a side drink) have the cooked ukwa transferred into a clean pot, add little water, some grounded crayfish, palm oil, dry fish (optional), washed bitter leaves (optional), stir and allow to cook.

Serve warm.