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Igbo Delicacy · Whole Goat Head

Isi Ewu (Spicy Goat Head)

Isi Ewu (Spicy Goat Head) — street food from Enugu, Nigeria
Photo: Gino Williams / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

The goat's brain is scooped out and mashed into the palm-oil sauce, which is part of what makes the dish so rich.

Isi ewu is a whole goat head, skin singed and boiled until tender, then chopped and returned to a thick palm-oil sauce spiced with calabash nutmeg, utazi, and ground pepper. It's one of the more premium Igbo bar dishes, often ordered for celebrations.

Why it's made this way: Preparing a whole goat head as a shared dish reflects the Igbo custom of using the animal's most prized parts for special occasions and honored guests.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.