Tag: Soup

Nsala Soup (Eastern Nigeria)

Ingredients:

  • Chicken / Fresh Fish – 1kg
  • Crayfish (Ground) – 2 tablespoons
  • Onion – 1 medium size
  • Yam – 2 slices
  • Uziza seeds (Ground) – 1 teaspoon
  • Dried Pepper (Ground) – 1 tablespoon
  • Maggi chicken x 1
  • Water – 8 cups
  • Salt – To taste

 

Method

Cut the dressed chicken into pieces. Season with few slices of onion, pepper and salt. Steam for 10 minutes. Add the water, fish, Maggi chicken, crayfish and the remaining pepper. Peel and cut the yam into small pieces and add to the boiling pot. After 5 minutes, remove the yam and pound thoroughly, then add to the soup as a thickener. Stir. Add the uziza powder. Simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve with pounded yam.

Oha Soup ( Eastern Nigeria)

Ingredients

  • Oha leaves –  (as required)
  • Cocoa yam –  (15 to 20 medium sizes)
  • Meat –  (chicken/assorted/beef/goat meat/turkey)
  • Dry fish/mangala –  (as desired)
  • Maggi cubes x 4
  • Crayfish – 2 cups
  • Uziza leaves (optional)
  • 1 big Stock fish head
  • Palm oil – 15 to 20cl
  • Achi/Ofo –  (200g)
  • Ogiri
  • Salt and Pepper – To taste

 

Method:

Pound cooked cocoa yam with a mortar and pestle into a smooth paste, the normal traditional way. Grind crayfish and fresh pepper. Using your fingers, cut the Ora (Oha) leaves into tiny pieces. Parboil meat with the necessary ingredients, allow to cook for ten to fifteen minutes – add washed dry fish and stock fish. Cook until it is tender.

Add more water then add red oil (palm oil), ground crayfish, maggi, salt and pepper to taste. Stir and allow boiling. Then add the pounded cocoa yam and the ground egusi if you choose to make oha soup with egusi, which is also a very tasty recipe. Also add the ogiri at this point. Stir; allow to dissolve before adding the sliced uziza leaves then uha leave should follow after a minute. Stir and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes and you just made a very delicious oha soup (ofe ora). Serve with swallow – eba, fufu or pounded yam.

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.

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.