Nsala is the only soup in Nigeria that is made without palm oil. It is just like pepper soup and ewedu soup so, the use of palm oil is not very necessary. You can use plain beef or assorted.
According to the allnigerianfoods.com, it is very popular in the south and eastern part of Nigeria, the Efiks and Igbos are the top makers and consumers of this delicious soup. It would take about sixty to eighty minutes to prepare a delicious pot of nsala soup; although, sometimes it goes a little above that… depending on your speed and proficiency.
You might want to start by peeling and boiling the yam, this should be pounded with a mortar and pestle. Pounded yam serve as the thickener but can also be eaten with other Nigerian soups.
Grind the crayfish, uziza seeds, wash and slice the uziza seeds. You should also go ahead and wash the snail in case you are using them. Snails are quite expensive in Nigeria so if you can’t purchase them it is better you forget about them.
You can wash snails with alum to remove the slimy fluid, although, you would be amazed to learn that there are people in Nigeria who cook snails with the slimy fluids, sometimes without even removing the shell.
Parboil the goat meat with all the necessary ingredients, use two cubes of knorr, a pinch of salt, half cup of onions and half sachet of kitchen glory (beef seasoning). You can make the soup with afo anu (goat belle), it’s usually a combination of goat’s intestine, tripe, liver etc.
Parboil the meat for about twenty to forty minutes… until it is soft enough for consumption then you can go ahead and add the hot-water-washed dry fish. This could be added earlier if you are using a strong dry fish like mangala. Add about 3 cups of cold or boiled water.
The amount of water for nsala soup depends on the ingredients/thickener available and the number of people that you are trying to feed.
Boil the combination for another ten to twenty minutes until they are both soft for consumption then go ahead and add the ground crayfish, uziza seed and ground red pepper (pls taste before adding red pepper, the uziza seeds are also very pepperish).
Taste your soup at this time and add the remaining half of kitchen glory or a cube of knorr/salt to improve the taste if it doesn’t taste nice yet.
You can go ahead and add the pounded yam, you can add half and watch the soup for the next five minutes, if it is not thick enough, you can add a little more.
You can now go ahead and add the sliced uziza and utazi leaves. The utazi should be used sparingly for white soup; the reason is just to add a faint bitter taste.
Allow to boil for the next few minutes then go ahead and serve your delicious ofe nsala with pounded yam, fufu or eba.
Ingredients For Nsala Soup
Yam (six to eight slices…baby fist size)
Ground crayfish (1 cup)
knorr cubes (3 cubes)
Ground uziza seeds (2 Teaspoons)
Uziza Leaves
Dried fish (two medium sizes)
Snails (Optional)
Meat of choice {I prefer Goat Meat} (2KG)
Utazi leaves (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Red Ground Pepper to taste.
and then