Okro soup

Okro soup is one of the quickest Nigerian soup to prepare, and its really easy to prepare once all the veggies are ready you are good to go and its also pretty cheap to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. 250g okro

2. 3 table spoon palm oil

4. Beef

5. shaki

6. stock fish(okporoko)

7. Ponmo 

8. Essam

9 ugu (Nigerian pumpkin leaves of spinach)

10. Dried fish or frozen fish (optional)

11. Maggi

12. pepper (yellow, red or cameron pepper)

13 Salt to taste

Directions: Wash the beef, shaki,ponmo and stock fish and place them in a pot, add onions, maggi and water and allow to cook for 20mins because the shake can take time to get tender enough,

then slice the okro or you can use a grater(optional), put it in a plate and place it aside, 

then blend your pepper onions and crayfish and also place aside.

also slice the ugu(vegetable)and place them aside.

Preparation: Add the blended pepper mix and add to the beef,stock fish and ponmo and dried fish which was already boiling, allow to cook for 5 mins max and add some water.

then add the sliced/grated okro, warning: don't close the pot fully if not it won't draw the way you want it to be(words of my mother lol) then allow it to cook for 10 minutes, then add the periwinkle(essam) and the ugu (vegetable leaves) and add a few drops of oil.

 Allow to cook for another five minutes because you won't want the vegetable over dawn. And after mixing string the soup allow it to stay for 5seconds and okro is ready to be served.

Once the soup is ready, you can serve with pound yam, Gary(eba), semovita, wheat or amala.

Ekpang Nkukwo (Cocoyam and wateryam porridge)

ekpang Nkukwo is a native Nigerian Dish which originates from the south south of Nigeria e.g Akwa ibom and cross rivers state in Nigeria. Its been made with grated cocoyam and water yam, rolled in green leaves (efo leaves), ugu (pumpkin leaves or coco yam leaves, also mixed with assorted meat or fish, such as dried/smoked  fish, periwinkle, beef or chicken  etc, and also palm oil as base.

How To make Ekpang Nkukwo:

* prep Time : 20 mins.

*cook Time: over 1 hour.

Ingredients:

1. 1/3 Tuber of water yam

2. Abunch of green leaves(efo leaves) or cocoyam leaves

3.  3 tubers of coco yam

4. 2 cups of palm oil

5. A milk cup of shelled periwinkle

6. Dried fish/smoked fish

7. 500g chicken/ beef

8.  200g ponmo (cut into bits ) optional

9. 1 cup crayfish (grounded)

10. Habanero pepper (red pepper or yellow pepper optional)

11. Seasoning cubes

12. A handful of scented leaves (Nchawu chopped-optional)

Preparation/Directions:

For this recipe, i used Shelled periwinkles "Isam/mfi". To prepare,

Step 1: Wash the periwinkles severally to remove the dirt and sand. After washing, Chop off the sharp end of the periwinkles with a knife. This is to make sucking out the periwinkles easier - Set aside.

Step2: wash your chicken and ponmo and place them in a pot add Maggi, onions and salt, and allow to boil for 15 minutes. and also set aside.

Step 3: Blend your pepper, onions and cray fish and also place them aside.

Step 4: Wash the green leaves and Nchawu thoroughly because it always contains sand and place aside.

Step 5: grate the cocoyam and water yam together and mix them and add a cube of maggi.

Preparation:

* put some palm oil in the pot, and rub it all over inside the pot just to avoid the leaves sticking to the pot.

* Place the washed periwinkle down the pot.

* Wrap the mixed coco yam and water in your green leaves and also place it in the pot.

* Boil some water aside and put it in after you are done wrapping the cocoyam and water yam mix.

* add the blended pepper, onions and cray fish and also the chicken and ponmo stock.

* Add the chopped scented leaves and then add some more oil and salt to taste, then close the pot and allow to cook in medium heat for 20 mins or more.

* After the Ekpang Nkukwo would have cooked for 20 minutes use the wooden turning stick to mix it don't use a spoon it won't be able to do the mixing properly. Open the pot after 10 minutes and our Ekpang Nkukwo is all set and ready for conquering.lol

White Soup-Nsala Soup(Igbo)

Todays Recipe: White soup, Nsala (igbo's) soup or Afiefere (cross rivers)

Today we are cooking a soup called white soup from my mums place in cross rivers its called Afiefere and the Igbo's call it Nsala soup. quite easy to prepare and its spicy good for cold weather and also for anyone down with flu. 


Ingredients:

• catfish
• stock fish
• hot leaves (oziza)
• 1 handful crayfish
• 1 Bulb of onions
• Thickener (raw white yam,yam flour, flour)
• yellow pepper or habanero pepper or the cameron pepper
• ponmo
• periwinkles (essam) already
• dried fish if desired
• maggi and salt to taste.

How to prepare White soup:

Wash the catfish properly with hot water, place it in separate bowl, wash the stock fish, ponmo and dried fish, put it in a pot, and add  Maggi, onion and salt and boil for 15minutes, also add the yam if you are using a raw white yam,once the yam is soft put it in mortar and pound it till its whole and add to the boiling stock fish,dried fish and pony. But for yam flour(poundo yam flour), boil the amount of water of water you want put the yam flour in a bowl and mix it till its whole and then add to the boiling stock fish,dried fish and ponmo, add the catfish and the blended pepper and crayfish. reason you don't cook the catfish with theponmo and stockfish at the beginning is because it might get too soft. Allow all to cook together for 5-7 minutes then add desired amount of maggi of your choice and add the periwinkle and the hot leaves (oziza) leaves and allow to cook for another 10 seconds, add salt to taste and Tada! our White soup is ready.

Can be served with Eba (Garri), pound or pounded yam, fufu etc...