Okoho Soup
Also known as Okoho Soup (Idoma Draw Soup)
The Idoma soup of Benue: mucilage squeezed from okoho stems (Cissus populnea), cooked with bush meat or smoked fish, okpehe and often abahi (egusi balls), traditionally without palm oil. Eat it with pounded yam (onihi).
- 75 mintotal time
- 4 to 6serves
- Mediumdifficulty
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 fresh okoho stems
- 1 kg of bush meat, goat or smoked meat
- Dried fish
- Okpehe (pounded locust bean / Prosopis africana)
- ½ cup of ground egusi, for abahi balls
- Ground pepper, seasoning cubes and salt
- Ground crayfish, optional
Method
- 01
Scrape the okoho bark, beat the stem to loosen the fibres, bundle them like a sponge and soak in hot water 8 to 10 minutes. Squeeze until the water is thick and slippery. Lift out the fibres and keep the liquid.
- 02
Cook the meat with pepper, seasoning and salt until tender. Add pounded okpehe and dried fish.
- 03
Knead ground egusi with a little hot water until it sheds oil, mould small balls and cook them in the stock a few minutes. Lift meat and balls out.
- 04
Stir the okoho liquid into the hot stock off a rolling boil, 5 minutes, until it draws. Return the meat and egusi balls. Do not add palm oil unless you want a modern tint. Serve with pounded yam.
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