Among the popular Igbo soups is the famous Nsala Soup. The soup is usually cooked without palm oil and a favourite soup nursing mothers, pregnant women and indeed most Igbo men because the tasteful nature of the soup and ingredients in the soups also aids digestion. It is one of the quickest Igbo soups to prepare and it requires very few ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 5 pieces of medium cat fish
- 4 habanero peppers or ata-rodo
- 4pieces of boiled yam(You may substitute with Irish potatoes or garri)
- 4tbsps of crayfish
- 2tbsp fulls of Ogiri Okpei
- 11/2 tbsps. of Utazi(add more if needed)
- 2-3tbsps of Uziza leaves or seeds(if using the seeds, 1tsp should suffice; as it is spicy)
- 1tbsp dry pepper or red chili flakes
- ehuru seeds and uda are optional in this recipe
- 1 maggi crayfish
- salt to taste
Preparation:
- Cut the catfish, remove the intestines and wash carefully with hot and then cold water. Don’t forget to gently scrape the slime off the fish with a butter knife or a blunt knife and to drain it for about 5 minutes before finally rinsing
- Cut and boil a few cubes of raw white yam until it is soft. Pound with mortar and pestle until a smooth paste is formed, and then set aside.
- Blend chilli pepper and crayfish and set aside.
- Pick, wash and pound/blend a few utazi leaves, a bitter taste leave used for flavouring
Cooking:
- Place the catfish in a pot and add enough water to cover the fish. Add the seasoning and simmer for about 10 minutes and/or it is done. You can also add meat and dry fish to be cooked together with the catfish if you choose
- When the catfish is almost done, add the crayfish, pepper and utazi leaves blend and simmer for about 5 minutes
- Also add the yam paste in small lumps and salt to taste.
- Simmer for 10 minutes and the soup is ready
