OHA SOUP...

It is just not possible for you to be putting together a list of top Ibo soups without mentioning Oha Soup. In a lot of Ibo homes, Oha is THE soup and it basically the lighter twin of bitterleaf soup, the only difference being the vegetable added in the end. 

500grms Beef

500grms Goat Meat

500grms Assorted Meat (Offals)

3/4 Cup Ground Crayfish

1 Teaspoon Ground Uziza Seeds

Dried Fish

Stock Fish

Kpomo

2 or 3 Small Cocoyams

1/2 Teaspoon Ogiri

11/2 Cup of Palm Oil

1 Onion (Chopped)

Oha Leaves

Salt & Pepper

2 Seasoning Cubes

Season all of your meats and stock fish with salt, pepper, onions and one seasoning cube. Add water up to the level of your meat and cook until tender, adding a little bit more water if needed.

On the side, wash cocoyam and boil until tender. Peel and pound in a mortar to a smooth paste using a little bit of the cooking water to help lubricate. You can also do this in a food processor, just cut up the cocoyam into little pieces and add a little of the cooking liquid. Set aside.

When your meat is cooked add crayfish, ground seeds, dried fish and kpomo and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.

Now its time for some smelly business also known as "ogiri time". It is a smelly paste made from fermented locust beans that (surprisingly) adds a nice flavour to the soup WHEN USED IN MODERATION! I use a little less than half a teaspoon. See that little missing portion? Yeah, that's all i used.

Add to the soup, add palm oil and add cocoyam in tiny little balls and allow to cook for about 10 minutes. By this time the cocoyam should have dissolved completely into the soup and started thickening the soup up. If your soup is too thick, add a little extra water.

As it cooks, rinse off your oha leaves and just using your hands just tear off some leaves and tear into little pieces. The leaf is very tender so if you try chopping it with a knife you will end up killing it completely and the colour will change from a pretty light green to dark green.

When your soup is at the right consistency, taste for seasoning, add extra seasoning cube if needed and then your oha leaves. Stir and take off the heat.

Voila!