Oil-less Okro Uziza Soup

Healthy meal means different things to different people. It now looks like the average Nigerian soup is demonized as being unhealthy because a lot of them are cooked with palm oil.  The same people will settle for oily French fries some avocado and tomato. The ‘health factor’ here being the avocado and tomato. My health philosophy is to adopt an eating style that is sustainable. I do check myself from time to time by resting from palm oil dishes, or try to deliberately miss out on carbs in some meals. Oil-less Okro Uziza Soup is one of the dishes I cook to reduce my oil intake

When cooking without much oil or no oil at all spices and herbs help to make the dish interesting. This is why I am using both Uziza seeds and Uziza leaves in this Oil-less Okro Uziza soup.

I don’t know about you but whilst I like to have the flavour of the spices in my dishes I dislike seeing the black specs of the spices in the soup.Let me say that the flavour of the spice should not be “shouting” in the soup also.

In the case of Uziza seeds in this soup, I crushed it then tie up in a muslin cloth and drop in the chicken to boil. This way the Uziza infuses the chicken and leaves some flavor also in the soup.

To increase the resilience or make the okro “draw well well”, I take out a handful of the Okro, chop up and pound and set aside. You can pound your fresh pepper with the okro. I chop up the rest of the Okro into tiny bits and set aside.You may wish to make the chunks bigger. Enjoy!

 

Recipe for Oil-less Okro Uziza soup

2 Chicken laps cut into small pieces

8-10 pieces fresh Prawn

1/2 cup ngolo

Pieces of Calamai

4 cups chopped Okro (1 cup pounded or blended)

1 table spoon Uziza seeds

1/2 cup sliced Uziza leaves

1 table spoon ground Crayfish

Scotch Bonnet Pepper to taste

Chicken seasoning to taste

Method

1. Crush Uziza seeds and tie up in a parcel as shown in pictures.
2. Wash and season chicken with salt, chicken seasoning, few slices of pepper, Uziza seeds parcel. Steam in the little water in the pot till almost dry, add more water and cook till chicken is soft. When chicken is ready, press the Uziza parcel against the side of the pot to squeeze out the meat stock and some more Uziza flavour. You may wish to preserve the parcel in a zip lock bag in the freezer for future use.
3. When Chicken is cooked add about 2 cups of water, ground crayfish, prawns, calamari and ngolo and bring stock to boil for about 5 minutes. You may wish to remove the calamari so it does not overcook. Return to soup when okro is cooked.
4. Correct seasoning of meat stock, add the Uziza leaves cook for about a one minute and add the Okro. The pounded version first and then the chopped ones. Stir Okro into the stock properly and allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes.
5. Serve with swallow of choice. I served mine with oat meal.

 

 

 

Please watch the Step by step video below: