Uda (Grains of Selim / Negro Pepper) – Whole Dried Pods

Uda

Twisted black pods with a smoky, warming heat. Uda in Igbo, eeru alamo in Yoruba, kimba in Hausa, and grains of Selim or Negro pepper on an English label.

If you have ever had proper pepper soup and wondered what that dark, smoky, almost tarry note was underneath the heat, it was this.

How to use it

1. Rinse the pods.
2. Toast them briefly in a dry pan until they smell fragrant. Two minutes. This wakes up the oils and is worth the trouble.
3. Either crack the pods and add them whole to the pot, or grind them into your pepper soup mix.
4. If you added them whole, fish them out before serving.

What it goes into

• Pepper soup, where it is one of the core three alongside uziza and ehuru
• Nkwobi and isi ewu
• Ofe nsala, white soup
• The traditional hot drink made for women after childbirth
• Steeped with prekese as a warm infusion

Taste

Smoky and resinous with a musky heat that builds slowly. Nothing like chilli. Closer to a cross between black pepper and woodsmoke. Use a light hand until you know it.

Product details

• Also known as: uda, eeru alamo, kimba, grains of Selim, Negro pepper, Xylopia aethiopica
• Form: Whole dried pods
• Size: 2oz
• Storage: Sealed jar, cool and dark. Keeps well.

Shipped from Nexxtmart to anywhere in the United States.

A traditional culinary spice. If you are pregnant or nursing, speak with your doctor before adding new ingredients to your diet.