• Afia Efere – Ofe Nsala Soup

    One of our fans on Facebook requested a recipe for Afia Efere and I searched my blog thoroughly and realized I did not have it. Shame on me. This is actually one of my favourite soups and my mum used to make it on some special sundays especially when we requested it. Sometimes she made it with female goat meat because apparently that tastes better. Sometimes she made it with bendel chicken which outside Nigeria is called stewing hen. It takes longer to cook but it is totally worth the wait. This soup is known By the efiks as Afia efere which literarily means white soup. The ibos call it Ofe Nsala. I preferred having this soup with Chicken because it just seemed right to tear the chicken with all the Catarrh dripping down your nose from the pepper. Great memories those were. I happened to have goat meat at home so I made some and had it with pounded Yam. It was such a great reminder of home for me. Hope you enjoy this dish.

    Recipe for Afia Efere

    Ingredients (Serves 2)

    4 medium pieces of goat meat

    1 yellow scotch bonnet pepper

    1 taBlespoon of crayfish powder

    2 pieces of deseeded Uda

    1 teaspoon of grounded ehuru

    2 small pieces of burnt uyayak

    Seasoning cubes

    Salt to taste

    Pounded yam (3 teaspoon scoops)

    Method

    Wash and season the goat meat with the seasoning cubes, salt and pepper and bring to boil.

    Add more water as needed till the goat meat is almost cooked.

    Add the crayfish, uda, ehuru and burnt uyayak and allow to simmer. (You have to roast the uyayak on an open fire to have a somewhat burnt flavour)

    Drop the scoops of pounded yam into the pot without mashing them into the mixture. Be sure there is sufficient water in the pot as the pounded yam will thicken the soup you have in there.

    Once its thick, serve hot with pounded yam or any carbohydrate of your choice.

    grounded ehuru

    Grounded Ehuru

    uyayak _ aiden fruit

    Uyayak

     

    uda peppersoup spice

    Uda Seeds

     

    peppersoup

    pounded yam and peppersoup

    afia efere afrolems

    ofe nsala

    nigerian white soup

     

     

    8 comments on “Afia Efere – Ofe Nsala Soup”

    1. ccc Reply

      Did you get the ude seeds, uyayak and other African herbs and spices in Toronto?

      • afrolems Reply

        I moved to san francisco so i got it from here but they have it in many african stores in toronto. not all

    2. Toyin Reply

      Hi. Can this soup be made without the uda seeds? Also,how is the uyayak used? Many thanks.

      • afrolems Reply

        Hello Toyin,
        If you dont have uda seeds, you can still make the soup. The uda adds a different level of dimension to the taste but if you are going for authenticity, then add the uda. The uyayak needs to be cut into small pieces and roasted on an open fire till it starts to burn.

    3. idara Obong Reply

      thank you ma but Wat de meaning of ehuru & uda in calabar or akwa ibom dialect Couz dat igbo

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