Ora soup is known among the south eastern part of nigeria ( the igbos) The rich and nutritious soup is usually prepared with leaves of African Pterocarpus Soyauxil tree, known traditionally as Ora leaves.Ora soup is prepared just same way bitterleaf soup is prepared but the vegetable is what makes them different , and its suprising how just one ingredient makes a difference in the taste and aroma.
Ingredients
- Vegetable: Ora leaves
- cocoyam ( 9 corms ) or corn flour if you can't get cocoyam where you are.
- Assorted Beef: Includes Beef, stockfish, goat meat, Cow leg, shaki (cow tripe)etc
- 3 cooking spoons Red Palm Oil
- ️Assorted Fish: Dry Fish and Stock Fish
- Chilli pepper, salt and crayfish (to taste)
- seasoning cubes
- 1 teaspoon Ogiri Igbo
- Uziza seed or leaf( just to add a playful aroma to the soup)
Directions
- 1• Wash and boil the cocoyam corms till soft. Remove the peels and use a mortar and pestle to pound the corms to a smooth paste. You can also blend with your blender.
- 2Using your fingers, Pick and cut the Ora (Oha) leaves into tiny pieces. This is to prevent the vegetable from becoming darker in colour and giving the soup a bitter taste. This usually happens when you cut the ora leaves with a knife. Also pick and cut your uziza leaves into tiny pieces, this you can do with knife.
- 3Grind the crayfish and pepper and set aside.
- 4Boil the shaki (cow tripe), Tripod from the cow leg, stock fish and dry fish in water just a little bit above the content of the pot, till they are tender.
- 5Wash the beef and add to the pot of shaki etc. and continue cooking. When the meat is properly boiled add your seasoning cubes and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- 6Add the pepper, ogiri and ground crayfish and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cocoyam paste in small lumps and then the palm oil.
- 7Cover the pot and leave to cook on high heat till all the cocoyam lumps have blended with the soup. You can add more water if you feel that the soup is too thick.
- 8Add the ora leaves and and uziza leaves, leave to cook for about 5 minutes.Add salt to taste, stir and the soup is ready!
- 9You can serve with pounded yam, semolina, fufu or any compliant swallow.
