By Yinka Shokunbi
Travelling around Nigeria can be very interesting and delightful in term of the meals and delicacies of the various ethnic groups. One of such experiences is the one I relished from consuming tuwon shinkafa and miyan kuka that is native to the people of Kaduna State as well as many northerners.
Miyan kuka cooking and Miyan kuka recipe
Tabitha Abubakar, who was excited to serve the meal while I was a guest in Kaduna, took out time to explain how this great soup, Miyan Kuka is prepared, ensuring she did not leave out the basics for Yours Truly.
According to her, Miyan Kuka is also known as Luru soup and is made from the leaves of the Baobab tree. The Baobab is a very common tree in the North, one soon finds out, and it also gives shade to the people. It is a northern staple as the landscape is dotted with Baobab trees.
“There is a peculiar way this meal is eaten,” said Tabitha, natives “prefer to sit on the mat or floor to eat the soup with their preferred swallow.
“It goes well with tuwo of any kind and washed down too with main shanu,” she said.
INGREDIENTS:
•1/2 cup of Boabab leaf powder (Kuka)
•Bone-in beef (Nama da kashi)
•Dried catfish (Busheshen kifi)
•Medium-sized onion (Albasa)
•1 Stock cube
•Fresh locust beans (Dawadawa)
•1 Tablespoon fresh ginger (Cita)
•1-2 Scotch bonnets (Atarugu)
•1/4 Cup crayfish
•1 Cooking spoon palm oil (Main Ja)
• Salt to taste (Gishiri)
Note: The Kuka should be lump-free.
Miyan kuka is best prepared with dried catfish.
Method of cooking:
•Wash beef and boil in a cooking or sauce pan. Add some chopped onions, salt and stock cube. Do not add water at the beginning of the boiling process. Wait for the beef to cook in its own juices before adding water to it. Cook beef for about 30 minutes.
•While the beef is cooking, de-bone and shred the dried catfish. Soak it in some hot water for about 10 minutes. Drain the water and rinse with some cold water. Remove bones from fish and tear into large pieces. The head can be broken into large bits or left whole for some interesting crunch (Mum’s portion. Do not touch).
•Pound together the pepper, ginger, dawadawa and crayfish until you get a good paste.
•After the beef is done, add some more water to the pot. The amount of water you add will depend on how much soup you want to prepare and the quantity of meat. Add the dawadawa paste, dried fish and the palm oil. Adjust seasoning and allow boiling for some time to make the bone-in beef become tender and enmeshed in the flavour.
•Remove all the beef and fish from the soup into a large bowl. This is important to allow easy whisking of soup and get a smooth paste.
•You can bring the pot down and allow to rest for five minutes before adding the Kuka in the traditional way, but it is not compulsory.
•With a wooden spoon or ladle, add the Kuka a pinch at a time with one hand while you stir the soup with your other hand. Do not rush this step. If you add a lot at a time, your soup would be lumpy. Keep adding and stirring the soup until you get the consistency you want.
· Return the beef and dried fish to the pot and cook for 10 more minutes and your soup would be ready to be served.
The soup tastes a lot better the next day.
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