Nigeria is a country blessed with lots of great and delicious foods. While it might be tempting to make some of them at home or wherever you find yourself, some can be very difficult to cook especially for foreigners who want to have a go at some of the best African cuisines. Notwithstanding, there are still easy Nigerian Food Recipes to try out.
It does not have to be all perfect if this is your first time. However, you can always get better as you master them. There are several ethnic groups in Nigeria with their respective traditional dishes. Even at that, it can be learned provided you are able to get the correct ingredients.
If you are in places like the USA, UK, or any foreign country, it may not make an easy recipe as you are likely not to get your hands on the ingredients. Still, if you know a Nigerian with strong ties to the nation, then you are just on the way to having the indigenous sumptuous African meals.
Meanwhile, do not mistake the food recipes here for Niger food recipes, we are actually on some of the best foods from the Giant of Africa.
Recipes for Nigerian foods that are easier to cook
Below are the easy-to-make Nigerian foods. As long as you have the basic cooking skill, then you are already half done
1. Egusi Soup
Egusi soup is one of the most cooked soups in Nigeria, common among the southern people. It is best taken with pounded yam, but most solid foods like Fufu, Eba, and Starch can still go with it.
The dish when prepared has blended melon as its core ingredients. There are other ingredients including ugwu and crayfish that are normally used to give it a very great taste anyone will love.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 cups of peeled melon if possible. Alternatively, use blended melon.
- Pepper, medium-sized or big onion.
- 2 cups of clean water.
- Vegetable (bitter leaf, ugu leaf, or any vegetable leaf).
- 3 to 4 cooking spoons of palm oil.
- Beef and ponmo.
- Fish (depending on your favourite, any of Panla, stockfish, or dry fish will do)
- Salt to taste.
- locust beans.
- 2 to 3 cubes of Maggi.
Recipe for Nigerian made egusi
1. Wash the pepper, onions, and the peeled melon.
2. After washing, add the melon, fresh pepper, sliced onions, and a small amount of water into the blender jug for blending.
3. Blend using the Pulse mode on your blender until the ingredients foam.
4. Now, wash the fresh fish. Put in a pot with a small amount of salt and water and boil until it is desirable.
5. The next step is to boil the meat and ponmo, but first, you will need to wash them. After washing thoroughly, put in a pot, slice onions, and add a little salt and 2 Maggi cubes to leave a great taste.
6. Once done, you can chop the ponmo into it, bit by bit. Having small pieces of ponmo while taking your soup with any solid food tends to work magic in the mouth.
7. It is time to cook the egusi soup now that the basic preparations are ready. Get your pot and put it on fire. Pour the red oil into the pot and allow it to heat.
8. Now pour the blended ingredients into the pot and allow it to cook for about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir a few minutes later.
9. Now introduce the ugwu leaf or any other vegetable leaves you prepare to use. Still, Ugu leaf does well in any egusi soup. Wash the locust beans, separate them from the water, and pour them into the pot. Try to stir the soup.
10. Add the meat into the pot alongside the meat water. You can now pour the chopped ponmo into the egusi soup. Now sprinkle salt, then one Maggi, or leave as it is. You should be mindful of the amount of salt you use since you already had some salt from the meat water/stock. Now stir to leave deep penetration. Leave to cook for about 3 minutes.
11. Now carefully add the fish, stir again, cover and leave to simmer. Now your egusi soup should be ready for consumption with any swallow.
2. Oha Soup
Oha soup is not your regular soup, but that does not make it a very difficult soup to cook. The soup is popular among the southern people of Nigeria, however, it can still be prepared by anyone that loves great food.
Oha soup is otherwise known as Ora Soup and it is a very special soup because its core ingredient, “ora leaves” have its season, unlike bitter leaves that are available all through the year.
Ingredients
- Oha leaves
- Grinded Black Pepper or Chilli Pepper
- Few Pounded or Blended Cocoyam
- Beef (assorted beef like Skaki, Abodi, Roundabout, and some meats)
- Fish (assorted fish like Dry Fish, Stock Fish, or Black Fish)
- Grained Crayfish
- Seasonings and salt
- Palm oil
- Water
How to prepare Oha or Ora Soup with the below easy recipe
1. Wash the cocoyam and boil until it tenders. Peel and pound the cocoyam using a pestle and mortar.
2. Next, you should carefully pick out the Ora (Oha) leaves and cut them into little pieces. You can also use a knife but might make the vegetable darker.
3. Boil the beef. Add onions, Maggi, and salt to taste. Also, add the fish once the beef is almost done and let it boil for a while.
4. Add the ground black pepper or chili pepper, grained crayfish, and then allow it to cook for about 8 minutes.
5. Dissolve the cocoyam into small water or add the cocoyam paste in small quantities directly along with palm oil, then leave to boil under high heat.
6. You will see the soup begins to thicken, you can add more water if it is too thick. Now add salt and about 2 cubes of Maggi and leave to cook for a few minutes.
7. Now your food should be ready.
3. Nigerian Jollof Rice
Social media platforms like Twitter tend to buzz more than usual when there is an argument as to which country has the best Jollof Rice in Africa. Ghana Jollof rice is also great, but you can’t help but ask for more after having a taste of Nigeria Jollof rice.
It is worth noting that Jollof Rice is not only peculiar to Nigeria and Ghana, but also among West Africa Regions. What separates them is the way they go on about their respective recipes.
Before we go into details on how to prepare Nigerian jollof rice, you should know that Jollof rice made in Nigeria can be very lovely and tasty.
Can’t wait? Follow our easy recipe on Nigerian made jollof rice
Ingredients
- Long grain parboiled rice
- Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Onions (brown and red onion), Tomato puree (canned tomato paste).
- White pepper, Dried Thyme, Curry powder, Bay leaves
- Vegetable oil and butter.
- Scotch bonnet
- Chicken
- Salad Tomatoes
- Maggi and salt to taste
Nigerian jollof rice recipe
Below are the step by step on how to prepare Nigerian Jollof Rice
1. The first thing you should do is to blend your Big tomatoes, Bell Pepper, brown onion, and scotch bonnet. The scotch bonnet should be the least of them while the Tomatoes get the most votes.
2. Chicken goes better with Jollof rice. However, a good alternative is to make use of meat. Wash your chicken/beef, put a small quantity of water in a pot, add salt and dissolve 2 cubes of MAGGI Chicken, then the pieced Chicken and put them on fire for some boiling.
3. Once done, set the Chicken apart and fry them. Alternatively, you can use an Air Fryer which is my favorite by the way. Keep the chicken water as it will be useful to get more from the Jellof rice.
4. Now, put a pot on the fire. Let it heat for a few seconds, then pour vegetable Oil into the Pot.
5. Slice some onions (1 medium size) into it. Let it heat for about 2 minutes. Add the tomato puree or paste. Let it heat for about 6 to 7 minutes. While this is going, cook the rice but ensure it does not get saturated. After cooking, drain the rice.
6. Add the blended pepper followed by curry, thyme, Maggi, cube, and salt. Leave it to fry till they are fully done and avoid making it too dark.
7. Add the water used to boil the meat or chicken. Then slice in some tomatoes and red onion. Also, some butter will do as well. Let it cook for about 3 minutes.
8. Finally, add the drained rice into the stew and cook for about 10 minutes. After that, you can now gently stir to reveal a sumptuous Nigerian jollof rice.
4. Moi Moi (beans pudding)
Wondering what it takes to get a Nigerian Moi Moi ready? Well, here is a simple recipe that anyone can follow and still get right.
Moimoi is one food that needs no introduction in the Southern region of Nigeria. Yorubas love it so are the Igbo people, but Yoruba love it more. The core ingredient used in making Nigerian Moi Moi is Beans. It can be taken alone or with white rice and stew, jollof rice, garri, pap, solid pap, custard, and more.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 cups of beans.
- Titus fish/Canned Sardine/Any fish type/minced meats/Corned beef
- 5 boiled eggs
- Vegetable Oil
- 2 to 5 pieces of Tatashe (red bell pepper) or shobo
- 5 to 7 Atarodo (scotch bonnet pepper). Use the big ones if you do not want your moimoi to be spicy.
- 3 to 5 Tablespoonful of ground Crayfish
- Onions, 3 cubes of Maggi, and salt to taste
Preparing a Nigerian moimoi using an easy recipe
1. Soak the beans in water for a few minutes and then wash them by scrubbing off the coat on the beans.
2. Remove the coat off the beans by scraping off the coats on the water over and over until they disappear or almost.
3. The next step is to grind the beans alongside peppers and onions. Most heavy-duty blenders can easily grind them to paste. Alternatively, take them out for grinding.
4. Wash your meat or fish and put it on fire. If you are using canned sardine, you won’t be needing this step. Once the meat is done, you can use your blender to dice the meat.
5. If you want your moi moi to have eggs, you will need to have boiled them by now. Remove the shell and put the peeled eggs in a bowl or plate for use later.
6. Back to the ground beans. Put the minced meat into it. If you are using fish, you will need to gently break it into smaller parts with your clean hands, and ensure there are no traces of bones. Add the ground crayfish also.
7. Pour oil into the ground beans, add 2 to 3 cubes of Maggi and also salt to taste. Add the fish or meat stock if you used any of them. If you are using the meat stock, you should use 1 Maggi or none at all.
8. Stir until there is no concentration of any of the moimoi ingredients in one place.
9. Use a knife or spoon to halve the eggs or cut them into several pieces depending on how richly you want them.
10. Pour the mixture into a container, moimoi leaves, or in a doubled nylon. After each distribution, you can drop the egg into it.
11. Now, take out your pot and put it on the fire. Pour water into a pot and let it boil. Place the sealed and raw moi moi mixture into the water and leave them to steam.
12. Always check your moimoi from time to time to avoid it burning. When it looks like the water has begun to evaporate, pour more to keep the natural heat needed to give you the Nigerian Moin Moin you want to try.
13. The whole cooking should not take more than 40 minutes depending on your cooker.
5. Nigerian Tomato Stew
Here are things about Made in Nigeria tomato stew, it can be a little spicy or just smooth depending on how you want it served.
The stew normally has that rich look donned in red and could be very tempting. It can be taken with most foods including white rice, yam, spaghetti or add on your Jollof. Call it multipurpose stew, you are simply not far from the truth.
However, do you need a recipe for this Nigerian food? We could help with that.
Ingredients
- Half cup of vegetable oil
- Big fresh tomatoes
- Scotch bonnets
- Red bell pepper
- Onions
- Canned tomatoes
- Chicken/Beef
- Dried thyme
- Curry
- Maggi
- Bay leaf
- Water
- Salt to taste
How to make Nigerian Tomato Stew easily
1. The first thing to do is to cook the chicken or beef if it has not been done. Wash the cut chicken and put it inside a pot. Add 2 cubes of Maggi, sprinkle curry, thyme, and salt. Slice some onions into it as well.
2. Place the pot in your cooker and cook for about 10 minutes.
3. Blend the tomatoes, Scotch bonnets, Red bell pepper, and Onions in a blender, or take it to a nearby grinding store. Ensure you blend until it is pureed. Oh, avoid making use of too many scotch bonnets unless you need them spicy.
4. Now, get your best pot because something beautiful is about to be made. Put the pot on the fire and turn your vegetable oil into it. Allow it to heat for a few seconds and then slice in some onions. Let the onions fry until it gets browny. While this is going on, you can fry the chicken or beef if you want.
5. Add the blended tomatoes and fry until it turns deep red. While frying, continue to stir to avoid burning. After 20 minutes, add the tomato paste and fry for a few minutes.
6. Add seasonings such as Curry, Thyme, Maggi, and Salt. Also, add Bay Leaf and the water used in cooking your Chicken or Beef. If you are not a Maggi type, you can skip adding more Maggi since the stock already has water.
7. It is that time you get your chicken in. By now, your fried chicken should be ready. You can put in or serve separately depending on how you love to have it.
8. Serve with any food of your choice.
6. Ikokore (Ijebu water yam porridge)
Ikokore is known to the Ijebus just like you would say Fufu is to Igbo. It is one of the best foods in Nigeria, unfortunately, not easily accessible like most foods. For example, it is easier to order or buy most of the foods from local canteens or big-shot restaurants, but not the Ijebu ikokore.
Despite the challenge, it is not difficult to cook and have such a good meal at home. The Nigerian Pottage dish is mostly made up of Water Yam along with other ingredients to sweeten it.
This section is set to guide you on how to make Ikokore.
Ingredients
- Water yam
- Palm Oil
- Scotch Bonnet (Ata Rodo)
- Shombo/Tatashe or Ground Pepper
- Chicken or Beef Boiled Water
- Shombo/Tatashe or dry ground pepper
- Smoked Fish (Eja Kika)
- Shawa (Bonga fish)
- Shredded Meats, Ponmo and Ground Crayfish
- Locust beans
- 2 to 3 cubes of Maggi and salt to taste
- Water
How to make Ijebu Ikokore
1. To prepare Ikokore, the first thing you need to do is to slice the water yam into smaller pieces. Peel each piece to make it ready for grating.
2. Grate each of the yams using the tiniest space of the grater. Alternatively, use a commercial blender to blend the yam for better results.
3. Once done with the grating, add salt, and crayfish and stir. Put aside for now.
4. It is time to blend your Scotch Bonnet (Ata Rodo), and Shombo/Tatashe until they become smooth. Set aside once done. Meanwhile, if you are only making use of Ata Rodo, you can choose to blend alone.
5. The next steps are easier if you have been doing some cooking. It is just as you would cook most stew. Now, get your pot on the fire/cooker and pour palm oil into it.
7. Add the locust beans and let them fry for about 40 to 60 seconds, turn in the blended pepper; add Maggi, and salt to taste. If you are using chicken or beef stock/water, do not add salt as it is already seasoned. If you are not using stock, you can add salt. Leave to cook for 10 minutes and stir occasionally to avoid burning.
8. Add both shredded and whole cooked meat, ponmo and fish. Stir again. After 7 minutes, remove the beef and fish from the soup and set them aside. Also, add the ground crayfish as well.
9. Reduce the heat and gently scoop the grated yam in small and big lumps into the stew. The small one will gradually dissolve while the big one will create a thick Ikokore that is usually known to this special Nigerian traditional meal.
10. Do not stir the food, but let it cook for about 10 minutes, after the time allotted, you can now stir the ikokore. If you find it too lumpy, you can use the spoon to break them.
11. Add back the beef, fish, and chicken if any, and let it simmer for 4 minutes. Your Ijebu Ikokore is now ready to be eaten alone or with cold eba as the Ijebus normally enjoy it.
7. Ogbono Soup
Ogbono soup is one of the best and easiest soups to make. It is a soup that tends to go well with any solid food including fufu, eba, iyan, and starch.
Ogbono soup has a decent viscosity for any swallow you might be interested in taking. It is otherwise referred to as Draw Soup. The main ingredient of the soup is Ogbono seeds.
Ingredients
- Ogbono seed
- Palm Oil
- Ogiri okpei
- Fresh Pepper or Dry Pepper
- Onions
- Ugu (Pumpkin Leaves)
- Crayfish
- Stockfish head
- Beef, Ponmo, and Shaki
- Seasoning cubes
- Salt
Ogbono Recipe (Made in Nigeria Soup)
1. Pour the Ogbono seeds and Ogiri into the dry mill of your blender and blend until smooth. Once ready, set aside for use later.
2. Get the stockfish ready by soaking them in hot water. Shred after some time and keep aside too.
3. Boil the beef, ponmo, and shaki in a pot and add Maggi, onion, and salt to taste. Leave them to cook for 7 minutes. You can separate the water which could be used later for making the Ogbono Soup.
4. Chop the ugu. Few ugu would do as you do not need much. You can also choose to leave it out, but we recommend it.
5. Set another Pot on the fire and pour the Palm Oil and let it heat for about 40 seconds. Add the Pepper depending on how you want to enjoy your Ogbono Soup. Most people normally use small to avoid making it too spicy.
6. Low the heat and add the Blended Ogbono and stir. The kept meat stock or meat boiled water as you would rather call it can now be added to the ongoing stew preparation. Stir after adding.
7. Add a little water if you want your Ogbono Soup thick. Since you just added ths Beef Stock, be mindful of the water.
8. Once the ogbono thickens, add salt and 2 to 3 cubes of Maggi to the soup and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
9. Add the crayfish, cooked beef, ponmo, and shredded stockfish into the pot. Now add your chopped ugu leaves and mix using your long spoon.
10. Low the heat and leave to cook for 3 minutes. Now, your soup is ready to be taken with solid foods.
8. Tuwo shinkafa
Tuwo shinkafa belongs to the Northern part of Nigeria, still food that can easily be prepared by anyone. This is just like any other food known to the Southern Nigerians. The main ingredient of the food is Rice and usually taken with soups.
If you are not from the North, you will probably think it is very difficult to prepare which is not. On a scale, maybe it is not as straightforward as when making Eba, however, still not stressful.
Tuwo shinkafa can be made from scratch, but the easiest way is to make use of rice flour. This will also save time.
Ingredients
- Short grain rice or local rice
- Water
How to make Tuwo shinkafa (Rice Meal)
1. Wash the rice thoroughly.
2. Place your pot on your cooker and add water. Let the water boil first before turning in the rice.
3. Let the rice boil until it becomes soft and sticky. If there is a need to make it softer, you can always add more water.
4. Get a strong wooden spoon or a potato masher, and mash the rice thoroughly to form a soft dough
5. Wash and wet your hands, mold the rice into balls. You can now say you have successfully made a Tuwo shinkafa.
6. To prepare with rice flour, place a pot in your cooker and turn in the water to boil. Keep a little hot water aside. Gradually pour the rice flour into the pot and stir as you pour to avoid lumps. If the mixture is not thick enough, you can continue to add more rice flour until it is good enough for you. After 2 minutes, add the hot water you set aside and cover the pot for 1 minute. You can now mix for the last time to get your Tuwo shinkafa ready using rice flour.
9. Eba (Garri)
Eba is arguably one of the easiest foods to prepare in Nigeria provided your soup is ready. Eba goes well with most soups including egusi, ogbono soup, efo riro, and ugu soup.
Eba is popular in the Southern part of Nigeria. In Igbo lands, it is known as Garri.
Ingredients
- White or yellow garri
- Water
How to prepare Eba
1. Boil some water. Once done, turn the boiled water into a bowl.
2. Gradually pour the garri into the water until it solid overall. Depending on how you want it, you can add more water to make it softer or more garri to make it harder.
3. Cover for 4 minutes. Get your turning stick once the time elapses and stir well to achieve fine consistency,
10. Amala
Amala is one of the fastest foods to cook in Nigeria. The food is popular in the South-Western region and is a food made out of cassava flour or yam flour.
If you have visited or live in any part of the southwest locations, you will realize it is one of the most loved foods there and normally taken with ewedu, okro, egusi, ogbono, gbegiri, and many more.
Even though it is very easy to make, you still need to take great care to avoid getting lumps in your food.
Ingredients
- Cassava flour/Yam Flour
- Water
How to make Amala
1. Pour water into a Pot and place on fire or cooker to boil.
2. Once it has reached a boiling point, reduce the heat and scoop out some hot water and keep it aside for use later.
3. Slowly turn in the flour and stir as you do so to avoid having lumps. You can also remove it from the fire/cooker first and then gradually add the yam or cassava flour.
4. Turn very well using your wooden stick. Pour back the hot water, return to the fire and let it cook for a few 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Use your hand to feel it, if it is too soft for you, add more flour. Too hard, you can add more water. Stir again if you made any changes. This is to ensure consistency.
11. Efo Riro (Spinach Stew)
Efo riro is remarkable, it is no surprise that it is one of the most sought after in most bukkas in the South West regions. Go to places like Lagos, Ibadan, or Ekiti, it is almost impossible to see any amala or eba joint without this fineness.
The soup is multipurpose, it can be taken with most foods such as fufu, pounded yam, solid pap, rice, yams, and many more. If you are serious about knowing some Nigerian foods with easy recipes, then should make part of the list.
Ingredients
- Efo Shoko
- Red Palm Oil
- Scotch Bonnet peppers
- Red bell peppers
- Chilli pepper
- Ground crayfish
- Locust beans (iru)
- Beef, Cowskin (Ponmo), Cow tripe (Shaki), and Dry fish
- Onions
- Seasoning cubes
- Salt
How to prepare Efo Riro
1. First, wash the raw Efo Shoko with hot water. Never leave it for too long so you won’t lose the nutrients. Slice the leaves and set them aside.
2. Wash your beef, cowskin, and cow tripe. Put in a pot, season, and slice onions. Boil for about 10 minutes. Then wash and soak the dry fish in hot water, remove bones, and set them aside along with the meats and beef stock.
3. The next step is to blend your Scotch Bonnet peppers, Red bell peppers, and onions using your blender. Set aside once done. The greater the Scotch Bonnet peppers used, the spicy it is.
3. Get your pot on the cooker, and add palm oil to it. Leave to heat for about 1 to 2 minutes before adding some sliced onions. Fry till they deform a bit. Add the locust beans and leave for just 1 minute.
4. Add the blended pepper and 2 cubes of Maggi and leave for about 10 to 15 minutes. While on, stir to avoid burning. Add the Beef stock to it and stir.
5. Let it cook for 3 minutes and then add the assorted meats, fish, crayfish, and ponmo to the ongoing preparation.
6. You can now add seasonings if required. Still, be mindful of how much you put as the beef stock already has. Leave to cook for 8 minutes.
7. Now add the washed vegetables and mix them. Cover the pot and allow it to cook for 5 minutes.
8. Your efo riro is now ready to be taken!
12. Eka Soup (Beni seed soup)
Eka is a Popular Treat known to the people of Benue State, but that does not mean anyone can’t prepare the meal and enjoy it from anywhere.
The soup is made from sesame seeds, palm kernel puree, and roasted groundnut and can be taken with most solid foods like fufu, eba, pounded yam, etc. Sesame seed is known to aid digestion, reduce cholesterol, and act as a shield against oxidative stress.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of sesame seed (Beniseed)
- 2 cups of roasted groundnut
- Palm Kernel Puree
- Uziza Leaves
- Bitter Leaves
- Onion
- Beef, Ponmo, Assorted Beef (Tripe), Dry fish
- Ground Crayfish
- Dry Pepper
- Maggi
- Salt To Taste
How to make Eka Soup
1. Wash the beef, and beef tripe, and put them in the pot. Add 2 cubes of Maggi, and salt to taste and slice some onions. Put on the fire/heater.
2. Wash the ponmo thoroughly and cut it into small pieces. Add to the meat and leave to boil for 2 minutes.
3. Roast the beniseed which is otherwise known as Sesame seeds using a pan. Do so till it turns golden brown. The heat should be in minimum mode.
4. Slice some onions and pound along with the beniseed and roasted groundnut.
5. If you had set aside cooked beef, beef tripe, and ponmo, you can put them back on fire. Most people would rather reduce the heat while doing other stuff.
6. Wash the dry catfish and carefully put it into the pot.
7. Add the palm kernel puree and dry pepper.
8. The next step is to get all the pounded ingredients, roll them into small balls, and put them into the pot.
9. Wash the bitter leaf and Uziza leaves and add them to the pot. Allow cooking for 3 minutes. After, your oka soup is ready.
13. Edikang Ikong soup
No one can go wrong with Edikang Ikong soup, it is a soup that is not just about lovely taste and aroma, but also one of the soups with the most nutrients, thanks to its rich leaves plus other ingredients.
The soup is from the wonderful people of Ibibio and Efik.
Ingredients
- Ugwu (Pumpkin leaves)
- Water leaves
- Palm oil
- Assorted meats (cow tripe, snails, cow skin)
- Smoked fish,
- 1 cup of Periwinkles and stockfish (optional)
- Ground crayfish
- 2 cubes of Maggi
- Salt to taste
- Onions
- Scotch bonnet Pepper (Ata Rodo)
Edikang Ikong soup recipe
1. Wash the vegetables mildly to avoid losing the nutrients and slice them into little bits. Set aside once done.
2. Also wash the periwinkles, stockfish, and dry fish and set them aside for use later. Do the same for the assorted meats well.
3. Get your pot and place it on the cooker or fire. Put the stock fish and assorted meats into it. Slice in a few onions and also put 1 to 2 Maggi in the pot.
4. Let it cook until the assorted meat looks okay to eat. Add the Periwinkles and the smoked fish. Turn in the palm oil, and ground pepper and leave to cook for 7 minutes. Continue by adding the ground crayfish and leave for 3 minutes.
5. Put in the water leaves and leave for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the Ugwu leaves and salt. Stir and leave to simmer for 5 to 7 minutes on low to medium heat. After, your Edikang Ikong is ready, waiting to be accompanied by any of the solid foods you prefer.
14. White Soup
Do not let anyone tell you differently, White Soup truly lives up to its hype. If you have not yet tasted it, this easy recipe in this section provides you an opportunity to eat the special delicacy from the Igbo Tribe of Nigeria.
White soup is also known as Ofe Nsala. The major reason why it is called Ofe Nsala is that Palm oil is not used in the preparation of the soup, unlike many other soups you have come across in Nigeria.
Without beating around the bush, let’s quickly get you up to speed on how to cook this awesome soup.
Ingredients
- Small-sized yam or yam flour
- 1 handful of Chopped Utazi Leaves/uziza
- Dry pepper/red pepper/Yellow pepper (habanero)
- 2 tablespoons of ground Crayfish
- One medium onion
- Chicken
- Dry fish or fresh fish
- Smoked fish (optional)
- Seasoning cubes
- Salt to taste
White Soup Recipe – How to make white soup
1. Wash the chicken and fresh fish/dry fish. Put in a pot, add 2 seasoning cubes, slice some onions and also sprinkle salt to taste. Leave until it looks good to consume.
2. Peel the yam. 2 to 3 slices of yam will do. Boil until they become soft. Pound the yams using a pestle and mortar, you can also make use of a blender by adding little hot water and blend until smooth.
3. Return the pot that contains the fish and chicken to the cooker. After 2 minutes, add the yam paste little by little to the pot. Leave until there is almost no trace of the yam paste.
4. Add the pepper, ground crayfish, and smoked fish if there are any. Let it cook for 5 minutes before adding the utazi/uziza leaves.
5. Add salt to taste and leave it for 1 minute and get the pot from the cooker. Your soup is now set to be consumed the African way.
