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Ayaraya Oka Recipe

Looking for a way to incorporate more fiber into your diet? then Ayaraya Oka is for you. Pigeon peas, fresh corn, vegetables, and yummy Ugba make this highly nutritious food taste really good. It’s a balanced diet indeed! and who says healthy can’t be tasty?

The first time I laid my eyes on this dish, the vibrant colors of the corn and the vegetables attracted me and with one bite, the bitterness of the bitter leaves and scent leaves combined with the slight sweetness of the corn kept me going back for more. Ayaraya Oka is a popular dish among the people of Nsukka in Enugu state and it’s usually eaten with extra fried onions and ugba. If you haven’t eaten this dish before then you are missing oooo! Just give this recipe a try and you will be happy to experience something new.

Ayaraya Oka is:

  • Moist and flavourful
  • Rich in fiber
  • Highly nutritious
ayaraya oka

I love eating Ayaraya Oka with lots of fried onions and ugba (oil bean). it is very nutritious and a great meal for anyone looking to incorporate more legumes into their diet. The two major ingredients for preparing this dish are pigeon pea (fiofio) and maize (corn). It will take a bit of time and patience to prepare but trust me the results will be worth the effort.

To cook Ayaraya Oka, you will need:

  1. Fiofio (Pigeon pea): This will have to be soaked for at least 12 hours or overnight. Soaking helps soften the peas and reduces cooking time, it also reduces the antinutrients present in the peas. Take note that the peas double in size after soaking and cooking
  2. Corn (Maize): Fresh or dry corn can be used for this recipe. For dry corn, either soak overnight in hot water or boil for 10-15 minutes then grind when ready to cook. For fresh corn just grind when ready to cook
  3. Palmoil: Necessary for taste and color
  4. Ugba (Oil bean): Adds great flavor, you can save some to use as a topping when serving
  5. Crayfish: it’s optional but I enjoy its taste in the dish
  6. Red Onions: Very important component of the dish. It adds flavor and slight sweetness
  7. Bitterleaf and Scent leaf: Adds a hint of bitterness and elevates the overall flavor of the dish
  8. Salt and pepper: Add to taste

Directions::

  1. A day before you cook, sort the Fiofio and pick out stones and debris
  2. Wash Fiofio and soak in water overnight
  3. After 12 hours or the next day, rinse the Fiofio well and place it in a pot of water. Boil for 1 hour with a pressure pot or 1 hour 30 minutes with an ordinary pot. Make sure to add salt to the fiofio when boiling. Adding salt makes the peas softer and gives it a better flavor. I have tried cooking it without salt and I must tell you the difference is clear. Cooking with salt is way better.
  4. While the peas are cooking, prepare maize. If you are using fresh corn lightly mill till it resembles bread crumbs. if you are using dry corn, place into a pot of boiling water and boil for 10-15 minutes.
  5. Grind the maize seeds till you get a coarse-textured cornmeal
  6. When the cooking time for the peas is up and peas are soft but not split, make sure the water level is about 1/2 inch above the level of the peas then add salt. The peas would absorb all the water
  7. Pour the ground maize into a stainless steel strainer and place on top of the pot containing the peas
  8. Make sure that the water in the pot is not too much because the corn needs steam to cook not water
  9. Cover with a lid and allow to steam for 20 minutes with dry corn or 30 minutes with fresh corn
  10. Wash bitterleaf and place in a different pot to boil for about 10 minutes, remove from heat, sieve out water
  11. Wash and slice the bitteleaf and scent leaves
  12. When the maize is done remove the sieve and check to make sure the peas are done, Fiofo is ready when it splits in the middle
  13. In a different saucepan add palm oil and fry onions, pepper, crayfish, and ugba
  14. Add maize stir well
  15. Add fiofio, bitterleaf and scent leaf
  16. Stir well, adjust seasoning
  17. Serve hot

Step by step::

Ingredients
ayaraya oka

Ayaraya Oka

Precious

Steamed ground maize cooked with pigeon pea, oil bean, bitter-leaf and scent leaf. It’s really a treat!

PREP TIME12 hrs

COOK TIME2 hrs

COURSELunch, Main Course

CUISINEAfrican

SERVINGS5

EQUIPMENT

  • Pressure cooker

INGREDIENTS  

  • 1 cup Fiofio (Pigeon pea)
  • 3 cups Maize Fresh or Dry
  • Bittereaf Handful
  • 2 cups Palm oil
  • 1 large Onions
  • 5 Fresh pepper
  • 1 cup Crayfish
  • 1 cup Oil bean (Ugba/Ukpaka)
  • Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Wash and soak fiofio (pigeon pea) in water for 12 hours before cooking
  • Wash the soaked peas and put into a pot to boil. Add some water and salt.With a pressure cooker, boil for 1 hour and allow the pressure to release naturally.With an ordinary pot boil for 1 hour 30 minutes
  • While the peas are cooking, prepare maize.Lightly mill fresh maize till it resembles bread crumbsBoil dry maize for 10-15 minutes, then mill
  • When the cooking time for the peas is up and peas are soft but not split, make sure the water level is about 1/2 inch above the level of the peas then add salt. The peas would absorb all the water
  • Pour the ground maize into a stainless steel sieve and place on top of the pot of peas so that the steam cooks the maize.With fresh maize cook for 30 minutesWith dry maize cook for 20 minutes
  • While the peas and maize cook together, wash bitterleaf and boil in water for 10 minutes
  • When bitterleaf is soft and has lost most of its bitterness, remove from heat and sieve out the water.
  • Slice bitterleaf and scent leaves
  • In a different pot fry onions, ugba in palmoil for about 3 minutes, add crayfish and pepper and fry for additional 3 minutes. Add seasoning cubes and mix well
  • Add the steamed maize to the fried pepper mixture, stir well then mix in cooked peas, bitterleaf and scent leaf
  • Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary

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