HOW TO PREPARE NIGERIAN BITTERLEAF SOUP

The first time I heard about bitter leaf soup, it sounded weird. Because I’m like who on earth wants to have bitterleaf in a soup? Well, guys! Bitterleaf soup is one of the best vegetable soups you would love to always have considering that it has some vital health benefits. So guys! Let’s learn how to prepare bitter leaf soup.

Bitterleaf soup is a native or traditional soup, eaten in most parts of Nigeria, especially in the east. The Bitterleaf is a shrub known as Vernonia amygdalina that grows in parts of Africa, Cameroon and zimbabwe. The leaf offers health benefits like balancing hormones, boosting the reproductive system, and fighting against cancer. The leaf is usually washed thoroughly to remove some of the bitter taste, after sieving out the leave the water residue is usually drunk.

INGREDIENTS

• Bitterleaf – A Bunch
• 10 small pieces of Cocoyam
•  Palm Oil
• Beef
• ”shaki” (cow tripe).
• Fish, Dry Fish and Stock Fish.
• Pepper, salt and ground crayfish.
• Stock cubes.
• Ogiri (Igbo)

MAKING YOUR NIGERIAN BITTERLEAF SOUP

• Wash and cook the cocoyam till soft. Remove the skin and use a mortar and pestle to pound the white cocoyam until there are no lumps in it.
• In a pot, boil the stock fish, shaki (cow tripe), beef, and dry fish; add water,  add 3 cubes of Maggi/Knorr, and cook till they are well done. The first sign of a done shaki is that the cuts will start curling on themselves. 
• When the meat is done, Add pepper, ground crayfish, and salt to taste and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the pounded cocoyam paste and palm oil, and bitter leaves.
• Cover the pot and leave to cook on high heat till all the cocoyam lumps have dissolved. You can add more water if you feel that the soup is too thick

When your soup is ready, it can be eaten with Fufu or Eba(Garri). Other traditional soups and dishes you can try out include Ogbono soup, Banga soup, Edikang Ikong Soup, Nsala Soup (Ofe Nsala), Afang Soup, Efo Riro, Pounded yam, and Semo.