Ofada rice is a

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

dish. It is the name for an

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

rice from a small community called Ofada in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

. It is not exclusively grown in the community, but it is an

rice grown in southwest Nigeria but named after the Ofada community. It is used in making a variety of dishes. Ofada rice are mostly blends, and some of the rice varieties in the blends are not

to Africa; however, they usually also contain

African rice ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown in West Africa around 3,000 years ago. In agriculture, it has largely been replaced by higher-yielding Asian ri ...

. It is grown almost exclusively in

, a state in southwestern Nigeria. Ofada rice is grown on free-draining soil where the water table is permanently below the root of the plant.

Overview

Ofada rice are mostly blends, and usually contain ''

Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown in West Africa around 3,000 years ago. In agriculture, it has largely been replaced by higher-yielding Asian ri ...

'' (African rice) as well as the more common ''Oryza sativa''

Asian rice ''Oryza sativa'', commonly known as Asian rice or indica rice, is the plant species most commonly referred to in English as ''rice''. It is the type of farmed rice whose cultivars are most common globally, and was first domesticated in the Yan ...

, and may be categorized as either

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

Ofada or white Ofada on the basis of unmilled seed colour. Grain size, shape, and shade vary. Ofada rice is unpolished. As African rice is more difficult to mill and polish, some or all of the

rice bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, ...

is left on the grain, strengthening the flavour and making it more nutritious.

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

ofada rice is often very highly

aromatic In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic ( ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to satur ...

, whereas white ofada rice is typically

non-aromatic In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic compound, cyclic (ring (chemistry), ring-shaped), ''typically'' plane (geometry), planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in Resonance (chemistry), resonance (those containing ...

. They are also known for swelling in size when cooked. It is sometimes processed using

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

, which adds an aromatic quality to the product. Ofada rice is typically priced higher compared to other available rice, and it has been regarded as a sign of status symbolism by some people. In contemporary times, it is sometimes served at classy parties.

History

One of the major types of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

grown in Nigeria is called Ofada rice. This variety got its name from the fact that it was grown and processed in the South-West Nigerian villages of Ofada and other rice-producing villages. The crop was first grown in

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding are ...

, Ogun State, and introduced through

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

activities between the 1850s and 1970s. From there, it was spread to the

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

region in Epe and

Okitipupa Okitipupa is a Local Government Area in Nigeria and part of the Ikale-speaking nation in Ondo State. Okitipupa Local Government headquarters is located in Okitipupa township with a university, Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OS ...

; from there, it was moved to Ogoja and

Abakaliki Abakaliki is the capital city of Ebonyi State in southeastern Nigeria, located southeast of Enugu. The inhabitants are primarily members of the Igbo nation. It was the headquarters of the Ogoja province before the creation of the Southeastern ...

provinces after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; and finally, it was spread across the Sahara and to northern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

via the Trans-Saharan trade. Because of the unique taste and

aroma An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...

of the variety which makes it more popular than other local varieties with distinct taste when cooked.

Etymology

Ofada rice is named after the town Ofada, where its cultivation first occurred. Ofada is a town located in Ogun state.

Preparation

Ofada rice is traditionally served in an

uma Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

leaf (''

Thaumatococcus daniellii ''Thaumatococcus daniellii'' is a plant species from Africa, known for being the natural source of thaumatin, an intensely sweet protein which is of interest in the development of sweeteners. When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, this molec ...

''), with a sauce of atarodo (spicy) and tatase (sweet) pepper, onion, locust beans,

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

, and meat. It is a festive meal rather than an everyday type of food for most Nigerians but it is an everyday street food for the towns of Ikenne and Ilisan in Ogun state. PrOpCom Making Nigerian Agricultural Markets Work for the Poor Monograph Series # 26 DEFINITION OF OFADA RICE QUALITIES THROUGH VARIETAL IDENTIFICATION AND TESTING By National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) Badeggi P.M.B. 8, Bida, Niger State, Nigeria (J. C. Anounye, N. Danbaba, A.S. Gana and M. E. Abo) And Africa Rice Centre, (WARDA), c/o International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. PMB 5320, Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria (G. Gregorio, O.A. Oladimeji, B. Athanson, O. Ajayi, and F.E. Nwilene ) August, 200

/ref> It is also often served along with a vegetable stew that may contain locust beans as an ingredient. It is often served with ayamase stew or obe-ata-iru, both specially prepared for ofada rice consumption.

Ofada stew

Ofada stew is a local dish which originated from the Southern Africa, southern part of Nigeria. Ofada stew is otherwise known as ''ata dindin''. Ingredients for making ofada stew are unripe habanero peppers (''atarodo''), unripe ''tatashe'' peppers or green bell peppers,

locust bean The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and lands ...

seasoning (''iru'' or ''ogiri''), red palm oil, onions, crayfish, assorted meat and fish, beef, shaki (cow tripe), dry fish, and stock fish.

Ofada sauce

Ayamase, also known as ofada sauce, is a stew made with palm oil similar to ofada stew except it is made from green ball peppers which give the soup a unique taste.