Friday Foodies with @trendyevents by @maryfavour and @redfishpillar. I present to you ofe nsala special (white soup) and pounded yam

It's another Friday and today, I present to you ofe nsala and pounded yam.

Hehehe it's yam all the way!

Yam soup, yam swallow...

Ingredients

Ice Fish cut into pieces
Fresh Utazi Leaves (Gongronema latifolium)
Thickener is Raw White Yam
Chilli peppers (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
handful of crayfish
stock cube (Mr. Chef / Knorr)
Ogiri (Nigerian traditional seasoning)

Nsala soup or White Soup is a tasty, fast and easy soup recipe that has its origins in the riverine areas of Nigeria.

It is perfect for a cold rainy day due to its spicy taste. Because it is so easy to prepare, you can count on it to save the day when you run out on soup a few days before preparing your big pot of soup. It is also very good for lactating mothers.

Alternative Ingredients for Nsala Soup

You can use Conger Eel (Congrio in Spanish) or Cat fish. Use the part towards the tail. When using yam powder as thickener, mix the powder with hot water first to make a thick smooth paste (as if you are making pounded yam) before adding it to the soup. Adding the powder directly into the soup will make the soup mushy and you may end up with lumps. Use habanero pepper or chilli pepper. Utazi leaves do not have any good alternative. If you don't have it, no worries because it only adds a slightly bitter flavour to the soup.

Before you cook Nsala Soup

Cut the fish into pieces and clean it up. Boil a few cubes of raw white yam. When soft, pound with a mortar and pestle till a smooth paste is formed, then set aside. You can substitute white yam with yam powder or potato puree for the thickening. Wash and pound or blend the utazi leaves, the chilli pepper and the crayfish and set aside. Utazi is bitter in taste and only used for flavouring so one or two leaves should be enough especially when using the fresh leaves.

Cooking Directions

Place the fish in a pot and pour enough water to cover the fish. Add the seasoning and cook till done. Feel free to add beef and dry fish to this soup recipe if you want. When the fish is almost done, add the blended crayfish, pepper and utazi leaves. Also add the yam paste in small lumps and salt to taste.

Note: Catfish is what makes Nsala soup what it is, giving it the unique taste that it has so it is essential if you can afford it .
You can use Conger Eel (Congrio in Spanish) or ice fish and dry fish too.

Cover the pot and allow the contents to cook at high heat till all the yam paste have dissolved. While cooking, if you think that the yam paste will make the soup too thick, you can remove some that are yet to dissolve.

nsala soup on fire
Nsala Soup is ready to be served with Eba (Garri), Semolina, Amala, Pounded Yam and any other swallow.
Source: Ofe nsala

Please note that my recipe is slightly different from that in the link above

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Chop as e dey hot

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