Glorious Abacha! a.k.a. African Salad…That’s what we found on our way to Awhum Waterfall, Enugu

 

Standing along the dusty road leading down towards Awhum Monastery, northwest of Enugu, eastern Nigeria, where the charming Awhum limestone Caves and Waterfalls are located; is a young lady who had a big bowl filled with whitish shreds of edible stuff in front of her. Numerous pilgrims stop by to buy the stuff from her as they trekked down to the monastery. A pilgrim who had just bought the stuff began to open the polythene wrap as she walked away, picking three strips at a time and munching at them eagerly.

“That is Abacha!”, my tour guide said as he laughed at my confusion. I had never seen or heard of such food in Nigeria before. “Abacha?” I repeated; “and what is it made of?” I asked. “It is made of cassava… soaked in water for sometime and boiled”, He added. He further explained that the whitish stuff I was seeing is just the basic/main ingredient of a special delicacy the Igbo people call ‘African Salad’ and it is one of the most popular street foods in Igbo land.

As he began to tell me how insanely tantalizing and tasty the final Abacha meal looks and tastes, my mouth began to water. I needed to have a taste of it, so we walked to the Abacha seller and bought two scoops. The heap of cassava food was adorned at the top with pieces of coconut fruit, all soaked inside a fill of crystal clear spring water which the seller had gotten from the waterfall earlier in the morning. The cool spring water kept the food chilled, fresh and clean. I dipped my hand into the polythene bag in which the Abacha was sold and picked a strip to eat. It was almost tasteless, yet I hungered for more. I started chewing, strip upon strip; then I increased it to two strips at a time, then three. I enjoyed the simple and almost bland, but subtly milky taste.

 

  – The Abacha seller.

 

As we trekked down the narrow footpath leading down to the waterfalls, it seemed to quench my increasing thirst and its chilled milky fluid snaked down my parched throat. My tour guide and I finished the whole pack before we got to the valley floor beneath of the massive ridge, where the Awhum Waterfalls lay. As we explored the waterfalls, I anxiously looked forward to buying another pack when returning home, but unfortunately, a heavy rain descended upon the area that evening, driving every hawker home before we got back to the hilltop.

In other parts of the world, Abacha is popularly known as Tapioca and it is believed to be native to Northern Brazil but spread throughout the South American continent. Historians believe that Cassava plant was carried by Portuguese and Spanish explorers to most parts of the world, including West Africa. Researchers also noted that tapioca was eaten in the regions of Nigeria and Ghana since pre-colonial times.

 

For those who desire to make African Salad (the main delicacy made with Abacha) in their kitchens, you can find the full recipe at AllNigerianFoods.com.

– African Salad (Photo Credit: Travelstart Ng)

Abacha, Cassava, Cassava food, Enugu, Igbo people, Igbo Street food, Street food, Tapioca