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Nigerian okra soup
NIGERIAN OKRA SOUP – NIGERIAN OKRO SOUP RECIPE
Nigerian Okra soup is simply a stewed okra soup recipe. It is a very popular delicacy among the Yoruba ethnic group of western Nigeria. It is also known as Ila Alasepo by the Yorubas.


This Nigerian Okra soup recipe can be replicated with or without Palm oil. I prefer it with palm oil as I’m not that much of a health freak, anything goes really….?

I never cook Nigerian Okra soup with Edible Potash (Kaun), in fact I don’t use it at all cos I’m not comfortable using it, so to ensure I get a considerable amount of elasticity in my okra soup while maintaining it’s crunchiness and freshness, I blend some of the okra and chop up the rest. Feel free to stick to your preferred consistency, whether crunchy or puréed.


Some Okra soup recipes call for vegetable leaves, I never use any but feel free to add at the end of the cooking process. Preferred vegetable leaves are Pumpkin leaves {Ugu), Spinach, Uziza Or Basil leaves.

Watch my latest Okra soup video here:



Ingredients
25-30 Pieces Fresh Okra

1 Cooking Spoon Palm Oil

800 grams Assorted Meats (Shaki, Ponmo, Cowfoot, Beef, Goat meat and offals are ideal)

2-3 Pieces Stock Fish

2 Medium Smoked Fish

Fresh prawns

Smoked Prawns

1 Cooking Spoon Crayfish

2-3 Chopped Scotch Bonnet (Atarodo)

1 Bell Pepper Chopped (Tatashe)

4 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1/2 Cooking Spoon Locust Beans (Iru)

1/2 Cooking Spoon Cayenne Pepper (Ata gungun)

1 Medium Onion

Knorr Chicken Cubes

Salt to taste

Preparation:
Firstly, blend 1/3 of the Okra and chop the rest. If you want it chunky with no elasticity, you can chop the, all or blend all if you don’t fancy any chunkiness. I prefer mine both ways. Clean the smoked fish and soak in hot water to remove all traces of dirt, shred and set aside.

Boil the meats on medium to high heat with the chopped onion, Knorr Cubes, garlic and salt to taste. Start with tougher meats like Shaki, Cow foot, Ponmo, add softer meats as you go. If you’re using stock fish, add with the softer meats…

You’ll need to season your meats really well as this will serve as the base of your Ila Alasepo. If your stock isn’t well seasoned, then your soup may end up tasting bland. Ensure you end up with very rich and tasty stock. You’ll need at least 5 cups of stock left in the pot after boiling the meats so, ensure you add enough water.

Ila Alasepo 2

When the meats are soft, transfer the meats into a bowl, leaving just the stock in the pot. Add the palm oil and leave to boil on medium heat for 6-8 minutes…

If you’re choosing not to use palm oil please skip this step.

Ila Alasepo 3
Now add the ground pepper, then the locust beans…

Ila Alasepo 5

Add the ground crayfish, then the chopped peppers….

Ila Alasepo 6

Leave to cook for 3 minutes. Now add the blended okra. Stir vigorously to combine…..

Ila Alasepo 8

Now add the shredded smoked fish, smoked prawns, cooked meats and smoked fish back into