When I was younger, there was this particular restaurant in our area, my family frequented. According to my mom, there was a particular attendant who made it her duty to attend to us particularly because of me. I don't particularly remember this incident so I'm going to narrate it just the way I was told.
You see, the first day we went to the restaurant, I requested for peppered kpomo (cow skin) sauce. For the non-nigerians, this particular sauce I requested for isn't something people particularly go to restaurants to eat because you could easily get it on the roadside, or even prepare it at home. So, that particular evening, we went to the restaurant and my parents stood, deciding what it was we were going to order. Suddenly, I spoke up and asked if they had (kpomo) cow skin?
According to my mom, no one paid much attention to my presence there initially because I was very little and couldn't even see who stood across the counter. But my voice and my odd request, made people turn their heads to me. This story, has been a source of humour to I and my family, for decades because of my love for cow skin.
I don't actually have a favourite main dish. I love so many meals at the same time but when it comes to side dishes, this tops the list. I don't think I even have a particular reason why I love this. I've loved it as a child and I still do. It's not something my mom makes very frequently but anytime she does, I'm always sold. I prepare it sometimes when I crave for it but I'm still nowhere as good as my mom. Eating it, always transports me back to life as a little girl, when all I had to do, was ask for it to be prepared and then it was. It reminds me of rare occasions where my mom will prepare it and we'll all sit at table, bottles of soft drinks larger than I and my brother's palms, in hand, and discussing whatever happened that day. It transports me back to when all it took to make me happy, was the promise of this meal.
There are times where I'd refuse to eat the sauce because the cow skin used wasn't as firm and fluffy as I liked it to be. Times when I'd happily choose ice cream over my favourite sauce. Times when I'd reject it just because the person that prepared it, added some tomato, rather than just pepper. But it's remained my favourite side dish over the years.
It would interest you to know that if I attend a party and it is served, I rarely ever opt for it. That's because whoever prepared it, most times, always attempts at making it suitable for everyone, by adding tomatoes to it and that's just something I can't stand. Why add tomato to something that's already iconic for it's spicy nature, in a bid to reduce the spice? That's one of the reasons why I don't eat it just anywhere. A major reason why I love it, is thanks to the spice and if I can't get that in it, there isn't much for me to relish anymore.
In one of the prompts for the week, posed by the #hive-Ghana community, there's a question relating to comfort foods. I'm a huge lover of peppered sauce prepared using cow skin and that's my comfort side dish. It's not something I get the opportunity to eat often but everytime I do, when it is prepared to my taste, it's usually a relief.
Thanks for reading.
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