Preparing Oha Soup in 8 Simple Steps

Oha (sometimes pronounced “Ora” soup) soup is a very traditional soup with origins traced down to the South-Eastern part of Nigeria. It has a rich texture and is very delicious and spicy. It is mostly served with Fufu or Eba. It is a similar to the Bitter-leaf soup but cooked with Oha leaves.

Because of how rich the vegetable is, it comes with a lot of health benefits. The fiber in the ingredients helps with constipation, unlike the fiber in some vegetables like pumpkin leaves which have strong and difficult-to-digest strands, the fiber present in oha leaves are very soft and easily digested. It also helps to improve the digestive function and helps maintain the normal contraction of the heart. It will help the heart contract well and blood effectively pumped to other parts of the body.

Ingredients

Oha Leaves
Oziza Leaves
Palm Oil or Palm Kernel Nuts
Cocoyam
Crayfish
Snails
Stock Fish
Seasonings
Igbo Ogiri (locust beans)
Assorted Meat
Cow Skin (kpomo)
Periwinkle
Yellow Peppers

Method

Step 1

Boil the palm nut and cocoyam. Allow to soften for 25 minutes.

Step 2

Extract the palm nut oil before adding to a thick pan. Allow to heat for 2 minutes with a few slices of onion.

Step 3

Peel the back of the cocoyam with your hands. Quickly add in the palm oil to melt, then a small amount of water and pounded yellow pepper.

Step 4

Add the crayfish, stock fish, snail, ogiri (locust beans), cow skin (kpomo), periwinkle and seasoning. Allow to cook for 15 minutes.

Step 5

Stir and then allow the coco-yam to melt in the soup. Coco-yam serves as a thickener in the soup but if too thick, add some water.

Step 6

Add the Oha leaves. Do not chop/slice with a knife but use your hands to tear it into the soup.

Step 7

Add the Oziza leaf (you can chop/slice the Oziza with a knife). Leave all to cook for 5 mins then stir. Taste the seasoning (adjust according to taste).