This
blog package contains the following blog posts:
1. How
to cook Bitterleaf soup
2.
Bitterleaf
is the numerous delicious food of the Igbo’s. It is cooked in almost all the
homes in Eastern part of Nigeria. It is also usually serve when doing
ceremonies like weddings, traditional weddings, naming ceremonies, thanksgivings
etc. It is also good for diabetic patients because of the bitterness, although
thee bitterness will not be much else you will be termed “A Bad Cook”
You can
start by washing and squeezing the bitter leaves (and changing the water at
intervals) till all traces of bitterness has been washed off.
Ingredients ( For 3 People)
- Washed and squeezed bitterleaf
- A handful
- 14 small corms Cocoyam
- 3 cooking spoons Red Palm Oil
- Assorted Beef: Includes best
cut, shaki and cow tail)
- Assorted Fish: Dry Fish and
Stock Fish
- Pepper, salt and ground crayfish (to taste)
- 3 stock cubes
- 1 teaspoon Ogiri Igbo
(traditional seasoning)
Notes about the ingredients:
- If you are outside Nigeria, you
can use dried, washed and squeezed bitter leaves but you need to first of
all make the
bitter leaves soft and fresh again by soaking it in water for about 1-30minutes
before adding them to the soup.
- If you cannot buy cocoyam corms
where you live, you can use cocoyam flour. An alternative to cocoyam flour
is potato flour.
- The Ogiri Igbo gives the Bitterleaf Soup
a traditional taste.
- Onions is not used in cooking
bitterleaf soup.
Before you cook Bitterleaf Soup
- Make sure that the bitter
leaves are well washed, such that there is no trace of bitterness left. If
the bitterness cannot be properly washed off (which is usually the case
with most washed bitter leaves sold in the market), parboil it for about
15 minutes and wash in cold water.
Cook the cocoyam till
soft. Remove the peels and use a mortar and pestle to pound the corms to a
smooth paste or you can grind it.
Cooking Directions
- Boil the shaki and cow tail,
stock fish in a little water till they are well done.
- Wash the beef meat, dried fish
and add to the pot of cow tail, shaki etc. and continue cooking. When the
meat is done, add 3 cubes of Maggi/Knorr and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add pepper, ground crayfish,
bitter leaves (if they have not been parboiled) and cook for 10 minutes.
Then add the cocoyam paste (in small lumps) and the palm oil.
Note: If the bitter leaves were parboiled to remove the bitterness, then for step 3; add pepper, ground crayfish, the cocoyam paste (in small lumps), the bitter leaves and the palm oil. In other words, add all the ingredients at this stage.
- 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.
- Add salt to taste and the soup
is ready
Serve with Garri
(Eba), Semolina Fufu, Amala, Cassava
Fufu or Pounded
Yam.
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