Igbo Kwenu! Get in here for your Ofe Oha!

I've always thought soups from other tribes were complicated and confusing... I never even tried to leave my comfort zone of Yoruba soups as per a comfam Yoruba babe. I have even argued in the past with my friends from the east on the topic of how good these soups taste. Well, I see clearly now.

I have tried to Google which tribe has the best soup but it seems that this topic has been an age-long controversial one (like that of the Jollof). I however think the Igbos and the Akwa Ibom/Calabar people are leading in this argument.

 
This post is about my Igbo people’s Ofe Oha or better still, Oha Soup
 
Ofe oha is an Igbo cuisine made with Oha leaves and coco-yam as thickener. The cocoyam can be substituted with ofor/achi 

Ofe Oha is similar to the bitter leaf soup, the difference is that we use different vegetables (bitter leaf/ Oha leaf) and the taste. I have made bitter leaf soup before, so it was a walk over.

The ingredients are:

 

Oha (Ora) Leaves

                                                                        

Uziza leaves (about half a hand full)



                                                  

Cocoyam (boiled, pounded/mashed) *I used a food processor

                                                                              

 Ogiri 

                                                                         

Tatase

                                                                               

   Rodo

                                                                            

Palm oil

                                                                           

Goatmeat 

                                                                          

Assorted meat

                                                    

                                                                      

 Beef

                                                                                                                 

Pomo

                                                                           

Smoked fish

                                                                     

  Red crayfish 

                                                                     

Grounded crayfish

                                                               

Seasoning cube

                                                                                                                                     

   Salt

                                                                            

Ginger/garlic

                                                                       

I prepped for about 30-40mins

 While that was going on I cooked the already seasoned Goat meat, beef and assorted meat. Then I added pomo, smoked fish and red crayfish.

When the stock was reduced to about half its initial size, I added the already smoothly blended pepper and allowed to boil for few minutes and then I added palm oil (this time the content would be kinda orange in color) 

After the palm oil must have been cooked enough, I added the ogiri and covered for it to dissolve well (the aroma was muah!). Then I added my cocoyam paste to thicken the soup.

 

After it simmered for a little bit, I added the Oha leaves, a half handful of Uziza leaves and allowed to cook for 3-5 mins. My Ofe Oha was ready for consumption.

 P.S: It is believed that chopping the Oha leaves with a Knife will kill the leaves because they are delicate. Therefore, Shred the leaves with your hands.

 

My Igbo brothers and sisters, are there better ways of cooking Ofe Oha? Please let us know in the comment section.