Hello everyone, and welcome to another Hive Learners Creative Sunday Initiative with George Dee.
It's the first Creative Sunday in February, so I will use this opportunity to wish every member of this great community a happy new month.
I realized I had not posted a soup in a while, so for this Creative Sunday Initiative, I decided to make a soup popularly known as Ofe Nsala. It is a popular soup among the Igbos, and you will ask for more when you find someone who prepares this soup very well.
OFE NSALA is referred to as white soup, and it still baffles me why it was named white soup. Some weeks ago, I shared the BLACK SOUP recipe, and someone asked me why the soup is not black because it's green instead. It got me wondering why soups were named with colors that don't match them.
Anyway, that's not what I am here to talk about, and the purpose of this post is to share with you all how I prepared this delicious ***Ofe Nsala (White Soup).
Ofe Nsala can be prepared with numerous ingredients depending on your budget; the amount of money involved will determine what ingredients are to be used. Regardless, the soup is delicious and nutritious, and I love it when served hot.
Ingredients.
Fish
Cowskin
Yam
Uziza leaf
Crayfish
Pepper
Locust Beans
Onions
Seasoning cube
Salt
Pepper soup powder.
Palm oil
The ingredients can be more than this, but I have a small budget for the soup, so it's okay to call this a ***LOW BUDGET OFE NSALA.
Procedure
Ofe Nsala is quite easy to prepare, but the name always sounds like a big deal. Honestly, the first time I heard the name, I started imagining a lot of things until I saw how it was prepared.
I started by cleaning and processing all the recipes. Always remember that health is wealth, and it's important that we always make sure we cook healthy meals.
I peeled the backs of the yams I needed and cut them into smaller sizes.
I blended the pepper and onions together.
I blended the crayfish into powder with a small quantity of stockfish I found in my kitchen.
I blended the locust beans.
I washed the fish and cocks thoroughly.
I sliced the Uziza leaf and the remaining onions.
I started cooking properly by boiling the yam, but I didn't do it alone. I added the cowskin and fish as well. I added a little pepper, salt, onions, and seasoning. (If you are using beef, chicken, or anything else, the process still remains the same.)
I allowed everything to cook for 10 minutes before removing the yam from the pot. I turned off the cooker at that point to prevent the fish from completely overcooking and breaking apart.
I turned the yam into a blender, added some water, and blended it with onions.
After blending, I turned on the cooker again and added all the other ingredients except the Uziza leaf & blended yam.
Remember, I added salt and seasoning from the beginning, so you won't need much of it again. I added water in advance as well because the yam would serve as a thickener, so the soup doesn't have to be too thick before the yam gets in.
I allowed it to cook for about three minutes before adding the blended yam.
After adding the blended yam, I gently stirred the soup to prevent the fish from falling apart. I covered the pot and allowed it to cook again for three minutes.
Finally, I added the Uziza leaf and cooked for another two minutes.
I have been cooking different soups, but OFE NSALA always hits differently for me. The aroma of the soup is one of a kind, and it will definitely draw attention to your kitchen.
The soup is nutritious, like I mentioned earlier, and you will love it.
All images in the post belong to me.
▶️ 3Speak
