Pocho

In Nigeria, white rice and stew is a very common meal. In fact, I would say it is one of those meals that almost everybody can relate to. It is relatively easy to prepare, and depending on how you make your stew, it can be quite a feast.

You can have fish in your stew, goat meat, beef, chicken or any combination of these. Sometimes, people go all out and put almost every available protein in one pot. I recently made one of these. There is even a running joke that if you have that kind of assorted-protein stew, you should probably be investigated by the EFCC (The Economic and Financial Crimes commission) because of the current economic situation. 

Anyway, I digress.

I, on the other hand, have a rather different relationship with my white rice.

I enjoy mine with pocho.

What is pocho, you ask?

Pocho is a traditional stew in Tiv land. It is one of those things we traditionally eat with our swallows. You know, pounded yam (which is boiled yam pounded in a mortar and pestle), semo, amala, wheat and the other varieties of flour meals that are prepared into a soft, mouldable swallow to accompany soup.

Tiv people have quite a variety of soups… story for another day, and pocho is one of those accompaniments that goes beautifully with many of them.

But here is where my own story gets interesting.

I can have a big pot of assorted-meat stew prepared for the entire family. Beautifully cooked, well-seasoned, with all the right ingredients. Everybody can be enjoying their rice and stew, but if there is pocho somewhere in the house, I am most likely going to warm it up and have it with my white rice.

Yes, you read that correctly.

I will choose pocho over the perfectly prepared pot of stew sitting right in front of me.

I don’t know if this makes me unusual, but that is simply how I enjoy my rice. And I am not particularly interested in changing that arrangement.

It got me thinking about how different we are, even in the simplest things.

We can have the same food in front of us and enjoy it differently. We can listen to the same song and have completely different opinions about it. We can watch the same movie, read the same book, visit the same place and come away with entirely different experiences.

I think it is perfectly fine.

Must everybody enjoy their rice with assorted-meat stew? Must everybody like the same music, wear the same clothes, enjoy the same things or approach life in exactly the same way?

I don’t think so.

There is room for different tastes, different preferences and different ways of enjoying the little things that make life interesting.

So, the next time you see me warming up my pocho while a perfectly good pot of assorted-meat stew is available, please, walk on by…

I am simply enjoying my rice.

And I hope you are enjoying yours too.

Author: Emaistace

wife, mom, sister, daughter, aunty, friend. writing my everyday thoughts as they pop up. View all posts by Emaistace