Oha Soup

How to Cook Oha Soup aka Ora Soup

2021-10-29T13:32:37+00:00

By Virtue Digest

Oha soup is another great soup recipe eaten by the people in the eastern part of Nigeria. It is one of those irresistible native Igbo soups. It is commonly known as Oha soup by Abia and Imo indigenes and Ora soup by Anambra and Enugu indigenes.This delicious and nutritious soup is prepared with the leaves of the African Pterocarpus mildbraedi or Pterocarpus soyauxii tree, traditionally referred to as Oha leaves.Due to the nature of the soup, it is usually thickened with any of the following; Achi, Ofor, cocoyam paste or Egusi.

Ingredients for Oha Soup

3 Cocoyam pieces2 handfuls of Oha leaves2 wraps of Ogiri2 pieces of habanero pepper100ml palm oilAssorted meat1 medium sized Stock fish1 medium sized Smoked fishUziza leavesBeef stockMaggiSalt

Preparation Steps

Season the meats and boil together with the stock fish until it becomes soft. When you have a substantial amount of stock that you consider enough to cook the soup, then add the blended habanero pepper.Carefully place the cocoyam in enough water and boil without adding salt. Thoroughly wash and cut the smoked fish into bitable sizes.Leave it to boil with the meats until the pepper simmers thoroughly. As the stock turns orange, pour the palm oil. Then put in the Ogiri paste from wraps. Begin with a wrap and allow to dissolve. As soon as the cocoyam becomes sufficiently soft, remove it from the heat, peel off the skin and transfer into a mortar.

Pound the cocoyam till it becomes soft, smooth as well as creamy. Pour the cocoyam paste into the stock and allow it to dissolve so as to thicken the soup.To the stock, add crayfish, which will further help to thicken it and also give it special flavour. Next is to add the Oha leaves. Stir for a while and add the shredded smoked fish, reduce the heat and allow it to cook for a few minutes. Ensure it’s not cooked for too long so as to keep its colour.Serve hot with any swallow of your choice. Ensure you get a chilled drink as well to balance the equation.Onuoha Adanma