food story

[Bogano]

Thinkers corner

Achicha ( echicha): the reason and science behind the food
Introduction
Achicha or Echicha also called in its full name Echicha Uya (in Nsukka and its environs) is a unique food. It has always been amazing what our forbearers went through to provide us with some of the things we are enjoying today. How they found a way to turn poisons into food, how they discovered some intricate qualities of plants that we deploy as food or medicines today without having laboratories. We are all aware of the lives that were lost in many discoveries which includes the search in developing the airplane and others. We read all these and pay homage to the lives involved but because we were not able to document our own findings, we are not able to appreciate the sacrifices our ancestors paid to get us here.
Achicha is a very unique food and I will be discussing it in twofold:
1. The reason behind the food
2. The science behind the cooking
PART ONE:The reason behind the food.
In our part of the world Nsukka senatorial zone, Enugu state, eastern Nigeria and Nigeria, we have two major weather conditions, the rainy and dry seasons. Though this varies throughout the country. In the southern part of Nigeria the rain starts early in the year say late March in some areas then stops around November although there may be late rains in some areas in December. In the northern part, the rainy season starts around May but it may extend to June and July in some arrears. It also stops around October although there may be exceptions in some places. The peak of rainfall in Nigeria is June – July.
With this weather pattern, and as an agrarian society, farmers plan their farming activities with this weather pattern in mind. So in Nsukka and the eastern part of Nigeria, farmers’ starts cultivation mainly in May. This period of “farming” is also a period of “famine” which we call “Uya” which also means scarcity. The reason we call Achicha , Echicha Uya.
So during cultivation our ancestors must have faced two challenges: they needed to feed, not only feed but feed well because they needed more energy now than before and secondly they faced the challenge of scarcity. This situation arose because they would have consumed what they farmed the previous farming season and are now only left with seedling for the current farming season. This is a double whammy.
To get out of this quagmire, our ancestors must have set up something like a think tank (as is done today by governments all over the world) to find solution to this problem. Let me tell you why our ancestors are geniuses. If you look at the basic food items in their disposal, they chose cocoyam not only that, they chose the spacie that was of little value then for producing Achicha. There are many species, (ugwuta, opkakara or beleku all in Nsukka dialect please) but this other species can be cooked and eaten as ther are without more processing or used to prepare mold ( Utara alone or with akpu). The specie for producing Achicha is no good for such and may even give you itchy mouth and throat if not cooked very well. So these guys turned a food crop that was hitherto useless into a well sort after crop. Of all the other crops cocoyam gives the highest return, so it was not economically smart to use yam which has high value in the production of Achicha because it will simply lead to the economic loss.
So the ideal crop was this specie of cocoyam which before now was used only as a thickener for soups like oha, onugbu, uziza, etc.
What a smart choice. Having made the choice of the crop to use in providing food for themselves, they now planned how to make use of natural weather conditions for achieving their goal. So after harvesting the cocoyam, they separate the seedlings they will use for planting next season, a hole is dug ( depending on the quantity of the seedlings) and the seedlings are buried in it. The site for this is usually close to a tree to forestall the seedlings from being scorched by the sun and ash is spayed on top before covering. This serves as anti-ant, anti-worms and anti-fungi.
See you in part 2

1. PART TWO: The science behind the cooking

Welcome back.
So after the harvesting the cocoyam which is done late December, at this point the hamarttan ( uguru) weather condition has arrived. It’s a weather condition that is weird. In the morning you experience low temperatures, high winds and dry weather. This conditions are so intense that you dress up just like dressing in winter. This is the worst time for my elder sister. She doesn’t come out of her bed till it’s about 1pm during this period because she is always affected by this weather. These conditions eases as the day go by and by mind day you start experiencing hot weather so in the night the weather is humid, late in the night the temperature starts dropping and the cycle continues.
The cocoyam are pruned then put in large pots we call drums, and cooked overnight. You have to make sure there is enough firewood and of course at this time of the year there is no shortage of firewood. , many take advantage of this situation and add acacia (ukpaka or akpaka) to the cocoyam to be cooked also because they are also hard to cook as well.
In the morning, the drum is emptied and the cocoyam is spread to cool for a while before peeling. In the process of peeling the cocoyam, there is delicacy, ukwuta nkashi ( nkashi is cocoyam in my dialect, ede in central igbo). Ukwuta nkashi is the only sauce that you can eat a boiled cocoyam (the specie for making achicha) with. Okpeye (locust bean)+ enough pepper + salt + little water (some add maggi or knorr). Mash it and eat with the cocoyam. I will say that this is just an emergency food because it’s only eating during this period. I have never seen someone cooking and making ukwuta nkashi in June, July, august or any other time except when achicha is being produced.
It is important this process is done at this time of the year with these weather conditions. The first stage of drying the cocoyam is very important. The aim is to get the cocoyam dried fast by the harmarttan wind and dry conditions. So the cocoyam is left in the open once these conditions persists. It’s cheaper and less stressful. It must be pointed out that sometimes these conditions are interrupted by rain and this spells bad news, if this happens it may lead to the cocoyam forming mould if urgent action is not taken. If the cocoyam get infected with mould, they will lose their tatse and weight. The remedy is that the cocoyam must be taken under a roof where an alternative means of drying the cocoyam have to be provided. I have withnessed my mother do this on several occasions. It’s nights of keeping vigil by the fireplace to make sure her echicha is not lost to mould.
If there is no interruption by the rain, the cocoyam will be taken into the kitchen, and put over the fireplace on a rafter made out of palm fronds. With this, the cocoyam will be dried over time by the fire and smoke anytime any cooking is done. It can be there for up to 2-4 months until it is certified that the cocoyam is dried up to the core. They are now removed and store in a basket or any other container.
The process of producing the achicha is a wonder, but wait until you understand the science behind cooking the achicha.
So during the farming season, there is scarcity of food because there is no more yam, no corn and others, here comes achicha. Although it is a choice food now especially for those who are away from home, achicha was made to be a necessity a life saver.
Cooking achicha
Ingredients:
1. Achicha – nutrients (fiber, vitamins and minerals)
2. Agbubgu ( also call fio fio)( pigeon pea or congo pea) cajanus cajan ( botanical name) or akidi ( cow pea) nutrients – ( iron, magnesium and vitamins)
3. Akpaka ( ukpaka or ugba) ( oil bean) nutrients – (energy, calories , fat, protiens, carb and fiber)
4. Palm oil –(nutrients fat, carb, protein and vitamin)
5. Salt
6. Onions
7. Pepper
8. Scent leaves ( optional)

To prepare achicha

Measure out the quantity of the achicha you want. Use mortar and pestle to mash the achich. The aim is to make sure it is not turned into dust sizes. You do it carefully to break into little sizes like the size of a bean seed. After put inside a bowl and pure water (ordinary water) to cover it.

Then measure out agbugbu (the ratio to the achicha should be agbugbu 3:2 achicha. Pick it for stones and chaff, wash and pot inside pot, put enough water to cook. Agbugbu takes time to cook. On the average it takes an average of 2 hours to get it cooked so you should plan ahead if you must use agbugbu.

The soaked achicha should be washed and sieved. Put it in a small basket that can enter the pot which you are using to cook the agbugbu. When the agbugbu is soft, make sure the water in the pot is not covering the agbugbu, then put the achicha. It’s important the agbugbu is soft before putting the agbugbu, the agbugbu is never over cooked. There is a reason the water should not touch the achicha. The achicha is supposed to be cooked by the steam. If the water touches the achicha, the achicha will be soaked which will make affect its taste and it will not cook evenly. How our ancestors discovered this is amazing. If you are using scent leaves, ad it on top of the achicha.

On the other hand, you can also use akidi (either fresh or dried ones). There is special cowpea called “orarudi. Orarudi literally mean (husband snatcher). The name comes from its sweetness, that a man that eats it in another womans house may be tempted to come back again and this may lead to something else. I don’t know if it’s a fact or fiction but I like it so much. If you are using akidi, the implication is that you put the achicha with the cowpea on fire at the same time. To avoid soaking the achicha, you can put a plate or any object in the pot that will elevate the achicha and not allow water to touch it. It’s very important. Whether you are using agbugbu or cowpea, once the achicha is cooked, bring everything down.

Next is to make the stew or sauce. Put little palm oil in a pot, you must have your salt, pepper, onions and ukpaka ready. Once you put the palm oil, don’t bleach, add onions, pepper, ukpaka and salt at once. Bleaching the oil doesn’t give achicha a good taste. I also learnt that bleaching oils destroys the vitamins in the oil and makes them not good for the heart. I wonder if our ancestors knew this also. Its also important you add salt when cooking, is not healthy to add salt after cooking. Cook for like 2-3 minutes. Then bring down.

Pour the achicha, agbugbu or cowpea (and scent leaves if you added it) into the pot with the sauce and turn until the sauce covers the whole food evenly.

Bon appetite!

Food is part of culture. Our culture which includes food, dressing, music, language etc are facing existential threat. We have to do all we can to preserve our culture. The opportunity our ancestors didn’t have, we have it now. If there is any aspect of our culture you know about, please digitalize it so that it will be available even after we are gone. My dream is to have the resources to document lifestyle the much I can so that our future generations will have access to them in the future.

If I have my way, I will have modern eateries in major cities where you can walk in and eat okpa instead of burga, ukwa instead of pizza, nkwu enu instead of vodka.

A channel that showcases our mmanwu festival, traditional dances, farming practices, communal living system, research on our civilization, etc.

We depend on your support to achieve all these. Than you.

Picture gallery
Ede lant beleku
agbugbu
cooked achicha dried achicha with agbugbu
ugwuta cooked and sliced ukpaka ugwuta ukpaka seeds