Ogbono Soup (Eastern Nigeria)

Ingredients;

  • Ogbono (ground -500gms)
  • Meat – boiled (1 kg)
  • Smoked fish (1 medium size)
  • Bitter /Ugu leaves (medium bunch)
  • Palm Oil (3 cooking spoons)
  • Crayfish (2 tablespoons)
  • Dried pepper 91 tablespoon)
  • Maggi Cubes x 2
  • Water (8-10 cups)
  • Salt (discretional)

 

Method:

Heat the palm oil in a pot for few minutes. Stir in the grounded ogbono till it is thoroughly dissolved. Add water and allow to boil. Add the boiled meat, washed smoked fish, crayfish, pepper and Maggi /knor cubes. Stir. Reduce the heat and steam for a while. Add washed and shredded ugu/ bitter leaves. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir and add salt to taste. Serve with pounded yam/eba/fufu. ( Dont cover pot when cooking ogbono to maintain viscosity and thickening of the soup).

Fresh Fish Pepper Soup

Ingredients;

  • Fresh fish (medium size)
  • Crayfish (ground) – 1 teaspoon
  • Onion (1 small size)
  • Uziza (ground) – 1 teaspoon
  • Uda (ground) – half teaspon
  • Dried Pepper – 1 teaspoon
  • Peppersoup Mix – 1 teaspoon
  • Maggi Crayfish x 1
  • Water (8-10 cups)
  • Salt – (discretional)

 

Method:

Clean the fish and cut into 3 pieces. Chop the onion. Season the fish with salt and the onion and steam for 5 minutes. Add the ground spices and Maggi crayfish. Simmer for 5 minutes and add the ground crayfish and water. Stir gently and boil for about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve hot.

Afang Soup (South Eastern Nigeria)

Ingredients:

  • Afang /Okazi leave (shredded) –  medium size
  • Meat (1kg)
  • Smoked fish – medium size
  • Water leaves (already picked) – 2 medium heaps
  • Stock fish (cooked) – 4 medium pieces.
  • Snails (washed) – 4 large size
  • Periwinkle (shelled/unshelled) – 1 cup
  • Fresh pepper (ground) – 4 medium size
  • Crayfish (ground) – 1 cup
  • Maggi crayfish x 1
  • Palm oil – 5 cups
  • Water/stock – 3 cups
  • Salt – (discretional)

 

Method:

Wash, season and boil the meat till cooked. Pound the shredded Okazi/Afang leaves in a mortar or grind till the strands are fine. Bone and wash the fish and set aside. Wash the water leaves thoroughly and cut into small pieces. Pour into the meat pot, add the snails, fish and stockfish and steam for about 5 minutes. Add crayfish, the ground Okazi/Afang leaves, pepper, Maggi crayfish and oil, stir thoroughly. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock or water. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring at intervals. Taste and add salt if necessary. Remove from heat after 15 minutes. Serve with fufu/eba/semo/pounded yam.

Ata Sauce (Western Nigeria)

Ingredients:

  • Tatashe (Ground ) – 4 medium size
  • Pepper (Ground) – 4 medium size
  • Tomatoes ( Ground) -4 medium size
  • Onion (Ground)  x 1
  • Fried Meat /Fish – 6 pieces or more
  • Palm oil – 3 cooking spoons
  • Maggi cubes x 2
  • Water – 2 cups
  • Salt – (discretional)

 

Method

Heat the oil for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, add the ground ingredients and fry about 10 minutes. Stir and add the Maggi cubes and water. Continue cooking for another 20 minutes till the water dries up a bit and the sourness of the tomatoes is off. Add salt to taste. Add the meat. Serve wiith Egbo and Ewa ibeji.

Egbo and Ewa Ibeji (Western Nigeria)

Ingredients:

  • 3 Cups Dried Corn White or Yellow (shelled)
  • 2 Cups Black-eyed Bean / Ewa Ibeji
  • 3 Cooking Spoons Palm Oil
  • 8 Pieces Fresh Pepper (chopped)
  • 2 Medium Bulb Onions (chopped)
  • 30 Cups of Water
  • Seasoning and Salt to taste
  • Dried Fish

 

Although this type of recipe takes time to cook. But when you finish preparing the food, you will know its delicious and good

 

Method:

Wash and boil the corn with 15 cups of water till soft and set aside

Wash and boil the black eyed beans with the remaining water till soft and add salt to taste and set aside. Add the boiled corn to the beans. Fry pepper, Onions in palm oil for 5 minutes and add to the beans corn. Add the dried fish for satisfaction. Add magi cubes

Stir, add salt to taste. Serve warm with the cooked soft corn and soft cooked beans, then pour the sauce (Ata Sauce) and ready to eat.

Banga Soup (Mid Western Nigeria)

Ingredients:

  • Palm fruits Cream – (1kg or 800g tinned Palm Fruit Concentrate)
  • Beef
  • Dry fish
  • Stock – (fish cooked)
  • Scent leave / Dried Bitter leaves
  • Beletete/Atama leave.
  • Onions x 2
  • Crayfish (Ground) – table spoons.
  • Salt and Chilli pepper – (Discretional)
  • Ogiri Okpei (Iru) (seasoning mix)
  • Maggi cubes x 2
  • Banga spice x 3
  • Oburunbebe stick(optional)
  • Water -(400-500g or meat stock)

 

 Methods:

Extract the palm fruit concentrate from the palm fruits.Cook the beef and the dry fish with 1 bulb of diced onion and the stock cubes till done.Wash and cut the scent leaves into tiny pieces. The scent leaves give the Banga Stew (Ofe Akwu) its unique aroma and taste (dried crushed bitter leaves could be an alternative). Cut the remaining bulb of onion. Pound the crayfish, ogiri okpei and pepper in a mortar and set aside.

Set the pot of palm fruit extract on the stove and start cooking at high heat. Leave to boil till you notice red oil at the surface of the Banga Stew. If you think that the Banga Soup is watery, cook till the soup has thickened to the consistency you like for your stews. Add the beef, dry fish and stock, the onions, crayfish and pepper and leave to boil very well.

Add the scent leaves or other vegetable and salt to taste. Leave to simmer for about 2 mins. The Banga Soup is done. Serve with swallow of your choice-  Starch, Garri, Semo, Rice, Amala or Pounded Yam.

Edikang-Ikong Soup ( South Eastern Nigeria)

Ingredients:

  • 3 bunches of chopped pumpkin leaves (ugu)
  • 1 bunch of water leaves (1kg)
  • Assorted meat (Beef, oxtail, tripe, bokoto, bush meat)
  • Snails (washed with lemon and lime)
  • Stockfish (cooked)
  • dry fish.
  • Periwinkles (500g)
  • 2 tablespoons crayfish
  • 1/2 cup palm oil
  • 2 medium onions
  • Crayfish (ground 300g)
  • Maggi cubes x 2
  • Salt – (discretional)

 

Method

Wash the meat thoroughly and place in a large pot. Add some sliced onions, ground chillies and some meat stock. Place on heat and cook for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the snail from the shells and wash thoroughly with lime or lemon juice to remove slime. Wash the smoked dry fish with salt and soak in slightly salted water for 5 minutes in order to kill any insect and loosen any sand or dirt.

Rinse thoroughly with lots of cold water. Top and tail the periwinkles and wash thoroughly. Add the snails, stockfish, dry fish, dry prawns and periwinkles to the pot of meat and cook for another 10 minutes and add more stock fish if required. Finally add the shredded Ikong Ubong (pumpkin leaves) and waterleaf, mix in properly. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes and then add the crayfish and palm oil. Give it a good stir and gentle simmer for another 10 minutes until well blended and the aroma fills the kitchen. Remove from heat and serve hot with fufu or pounded yam.