FOODY CORNERS

CHAPTER 11: OHA/ORA SOUP

• OHA/ORA SOUP
This is also a native soup popular in the eastern part of Nigeria. It is almost cooked in the same way as Bitter leaf soup, just that this soup is prepared with a different leaf.

Ingredients:
 Oha leaf
 Uziza (piper guineense)
 Cocoyam
 Palm oil or palm fruits
 Assorted beef and fish
 Pepper
 Onions
 Crayfish
 Seasoning cubes
 Salt
 Ogiri

Preparation tips:
The Oha soup is cooked with Oha leaves. It grows on Oha tree and is a seasonal plant. The leaves are cut and sold with the tiny branches. So, before cooking, you will have to remove the leaves from the tiny branches which takes a little time since the leaves are fragile. If you are using palm fruits, cook and wash out the fluid, then cook and pound the cocoyam. Prepare the other ingredients needed for cooking.

Preparation:

1. Wash the assorted beef and fish (dry fish, stock fish etc.) and add into your soup pot. Turn on the heat and add your cooking ingredients (pepper, onions, salt, seasoning cubes).
2. If you are using palm fruit and raw cocoyam. You should cook them before or same time with the meat. Once the palm fruit is done and the cocoyam is soft, pound or blend the cocoyam while it’s still hot and add it to the beef and fish stock, then pound the palm fruit and wash it into the stock till it reaches the quantity you want the soup to be (some like theirs watery or thick).
3. If you are using Palm oil and Cocoyam flour, then pour some spoonful of oil into the beef and fish stock. Add the powdered cocoyam into a bowl and scoop some of the stock into the bowl and mix together before adding it to the stock.
4. This is where you add more water to reach the quantity you want. Add crayfish and remaining ingredients like more salt, seasoning cubes, pepper and ogiri.
5. Close the pot and allow it to cook. 
6. Wash your picked Oha and Uziza leaves. In a separate tray, thinly cut the Uziza leaves, then in another tray, cut the Oha leaves once. Some don’t like to cut it at all because you will want to chew the leaves.
7. Add the vegetables, cover the pot and allow it to cook.
8. Taste your soup and add salt or any other ingredients, if necessary. And voila! Your soup is ready.

Serving:
Oha soup goes well with Fufu and Garri, Semolina, wheat etc.