OFE nsala—white Soup is a delicacy peculiar to the Igbo tribe of Nigeria, especially the people of Anambra. Nsala soup is one of the most delicious of all Nigerians soups and very easy to prepare.
It is the only soup in Nigeria that is made without palm oil, just like pepper soup and draw soups.
It is very popular in the south and eastern part of Nigeria, the Efiks and Igbo are the top makers and consumer of this delicious soup. So if you are dating or married to a man from the south or eastern part of Nigeria, you can try giving him a meal of pounded yam and ofe nsala (as the Igbo call it).
Below are the ingredients for making this delicious Nigerian soup.
Ingredients
Yam (six to eight slices ….baby fist size)
Ground Cray fish
Stock cubes
Ground uziza seeds
Uziza leaves
Stock fish head
Dried or smoked fish
Snail (optional)
Assorted meat
Utazi leaves (optional )
Salt and pepper to taste
Seasoning
Red ground pepper to taste
How it is made…
It would take about sixty 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 which would be pounded with a mortar and pestle. Pounded yam serves as a thickener but can also be eaten with other Nigerians soups.
Grind the crayfish, uziza seeds; wash and slice the uziza leaves. You should also go ahead and wash the snail, in case you are including them. Snails are quite expensive in Nigeria so you can totally omit them.
You can wash snails with alum to remove the slimy fluid.
Parboil the assorted meat with all necessary ingredients. This soup is made with assorted beef; it’s usually a combination of different parts of cow meat-intestine, tripe, liver etc. You can also add few slices of goat meat.
Parboil the meat for twenty to forty minutes until it is soft enough for consumption then you can go ahead to 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 ingredient /thickener available and the number of people that you are making soup for.
Boil 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 (please taste before adding red pepper, the uziza seeds are also very peppery ).
Taste your soup at this time and add stock cubes/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 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 and you can go ahead to serve your delicious ofe nsala with pounded yam, fufu or eba.
Health Benefits
WHITE soup is a delicious and easy to prepare dish. It is prepared by thickening your stock with mashed yam. It is enjoyed by many tribes in the country. White soup spices have many health benefits and can improve the absorption of other nutrient foods.
White soup is shown to increase circulation and reduce the risk of heart problems.
The foods we eat contribute to either a healthy living or lead to ill health. Nutritious and good food helps one look good and healthy. Today’s recipe, Ofe nsala soup also known as white soup, is rich in protein, vitamins C, E, potassium and omega-3 fatty acid.
Nsala soup is prefect for a cold rainy day due to its spicy taste. Because it is so easy to prepare, you can count on it to serve the day when you run out of soup. It is only Nigerian soup that doesn’t require the use of red oil. It is commonly prepared for the mothers who have just given birth.
The capsaicin in pepper adds more to the medicinal properties of ofe nsala. The presence of capsaicin in pepper and vitamin C makes the soup an ideal food for prevention and treatment of cold, cough and flu which are upper respiratory tract infection. Capsaicin helps to protect the heart by reducing cholesterol, triglycerides and latest aggregation, which when in excess could result to heart disease. Capsaicin also helps to burn fat. Consuming this nutritious food helps to boost the immune system to fight against infectious disease and promote general body well-being.
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