Vegetable soup is paired with any of the swallows in Nigeria and served as either lunch or dinner. This recipe shows you how to cook a healthy soup with vegetables (ugu and water leaves) the Nigerian way.
I love this soup for many reasons:
For starters, I made it with vegetables, and those are synonymous with health.
In Nigeria, we combine different vegetables to make different soups.
Okra soup, Afang soup and even edikaikong are different combinations of different veggies.
Veggies are good for the heart and body cells.
That is just why we are making this soup.
I have written a lot in the last few months about Healthy Nigerian foods, check out the article just to learn why this soup should appear more often on your menu.
Ingredients for Vegetable Soup
Big bowl Waterleaves
Big bowl ugu leaves (fluted pumpkin)
Roasted mackerel
1KG or 35 Ounces of Goat meat
1 cup crayfish
6 scotch bonnet peppers
400ml Palm oil
2 seasoning cubes
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons Ground Ofor
Preaparation
Step 1
Slice the water leaves and fluted pumpkin leaves with a kitchen knife, you want them thinly sliced as you can see below.
What you find below is a bowl of fluted pumpkin leaves – vegetables.
This is the equivalent of 12 cups. You should wash ugu (fluted pumpkin) properly before slicing them.
This is a bowl of sliced water leaves – the equivalent of 15 cups.
You can wash the water leaves after slicing them. Wash the leaves properly and transfer into a sieve to strain excess water.
You don’t want too much water in your vegetable soup.
Step 3
Wash the roasted fish, remove center bone and break to smaller bits as you can see below.
Season the goat meat with a teaspoon of salt, sliced onions and two seasoning cubes. Allow the meat to boil, add two cups of water and let the meat cook until it becomes tender and easy to chew.
Pound the scotch bonnet (peppers) and 1 cup of crayfish together. You could blend them if you like. Set aside on a small plate.
How to Cook Vegetable Soup
Step 4
To the boiling meat, add the washed, roasted fish. Allow them to cook until the water dries. Don’t allow it to burn.
Most people don’t like too much water in their vegetable soup, to achieve that, use some tricks – like boiling the meat/fish till the water is almost dried.
Step 5
When the meat cooked and the water is almost completely dried, add the palm oil, 400ml. You need lots of palm oil when you cook vegetable soup.
Step 6
Now you add the vegetables, the water leaves should come first. It should fill the pot, it will go down in 3 minutes as you continue to stir.
You can add the leaves little by little, so it doesn’t fill the pot and become difficult to stir.
After adding all the water leaves, allow it to simmer for 2-4 minutes while you stir occasionally.
Step 7
Add the pounded crayfish and peppers.
Stir all together and taste for salt, add salt to your taste. You don’t want too much salt.
Step 8
Add the ugu leaves (fluted pumpkin) at this point.
Stir in 2 tablespoons of ofor (used as a thickener). Turn properly so it doesn’t form crumbs.
Stir all together and allow the vegetable soup to simmer for three minutes.
That is how to make vegetable soup the Nigerian way. I serve all soups in Nigeria with swallow. There are 4 major types in Nigeria.
Fufu
Eba
Semo
Anyone could be paired with this soup and served as dinner or lunch in a Nigerian home.
Below you find a simpler recipe for vegetable soup and a video I shot while making this soup. David did a great job with the video.
Vegetable Soup | How to Cook Vegetable soup
Equipment
- Pots
Ingredients
- Big bowl Waterleaves
- 1 KG or 35 Ounce of Goat meat
- 1 cup crayfish
- 6 scotch bonnet peppers
- 400 ml Palm oil
- Big bowl ugu leaves fluted pumpkin
- Roasted mackerel
- 2 seasoning cubes
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons Ground Ofor
Instructions
- Thinly the slice the waterleaves and fluted pumpkin (ugu leaves)
- Wash the ugu leaves before slicing it.
- Slice the water leaves then wash it.
- Allow them to strain seperatrly using a sieve to remove excess water
- Clean and wash the roasted fish, pound your crayfish/peppers.
- Season the meat and let it cook till it becomes tender.
- Add the washed roasted fish to the boiling meat, let them boil together till the water dries.
- To the meat/fish on heat, add palm oil (400ml)
- The vegetables should be added, the water leaves should come first.
- After adding all the water leaves, allow it to simmer for 2-4 minutes while you stir occasionally.
- Keep stirring.
- Add the pounded crayfish and peppers.
- Add salt to your taste.
- Ugu leaves should follow at this point (fluted pumpkin)
- Stir in 2 tablespoons of ofor (used as a thickener). Stir properly so it doesn’t form crumbs.
- Stir and allow the soup to simmer for 2 minutes, stir and serve.
Video
36 Comments
Nice recipe but I make my own using ugu and green leaves and water leave, to reduce too much water in it I per boil d water leaves drain in a sieve wash d ugu and green leaves thoroughly, I fry my sauce as tho making stew but wit palm oil, I den add all d meat and little stock den allow to cook add d ugu cos it’s harded den d green I heard it makes d soup rise ie more in qty, wen both is well cooked I slice d alrdy cooked water leaves den add it leave for 2mon and drop. My mother tot me dis recipe and dts wat I have bin using, just tried ur recipe not bad at all. Thks
This is the best vegetable soup I have ever made ,it was actually my first time and it turns out wonderfully made ❤️. Thanks for the recipes and directions
Thanks a lot………. I’m inside the kitchen already arranging my ingredients for the vegetable soup 😂
Thanks to u I’ve done my project successfully lol
Thank you for sharing this, I’m going to give it a try today.
Am actually cooking it with this recipe now🥰🥰
Thanks for this I really appreciate. But in the absence of ofor what can you use?
Wow
Your method for vegetable soup it really great
Thanks to you for this process.
It really helped.
Wow that was very helpful👍
I just followed the steps and arrived at a delicious vegetable soup this evening. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much sir😻 this really helped
Pls Mr Chidi, at ur convenience, I will like you to add other recipes and procedures for other local soups in Nigeria.
I followed your step and I captured it immediately
It was very very helpful
Thank you so much ❤️
I really appreciate🙏
This was very helpful. I prepared my first ever African veg soup, thanks to you. Thank you! 🙏🏽
Thanks so so much…….but if I don’t add water at all and put ofor……won’t it be too thick
It would. That’s actually how I prefer it.
Nice one…..a quick one:
Can I use kpomo and beef instead of goat meat?
If yes, when do I introduce the kpomo?
If the kpomo is not cooked you, you should cook it before you di the meat(beaf&assorted meat). Or if it was already cooked you add it a minute before the palm oil.
Can chicken or turkey meat be used instead of goat/ beaf in the preparation process of vegetable soup? And also hope using spices like curry and thyme wont distort the taste of the soup?
Great work keep it up
I don’t use ofor. Enough vegetables does the magic
Can I use kinda instead of goat meat
Yeah
Nice jobs.
Quick question…. Can I store vegetable soup in the freezer?
Thanks for this recipe, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love vegetables. I am a typical vegetarian and just looking for recipes that would allow me eat lots of them
I am definitely making this version of vegetable soup. While growing up we made this soup with just ugu leaves. it is a relieve to actually try a combination of water leaves and ugu leaves. I suppose it would be softer and yummier.
Well explained. Thanks for sharing with us
U are exceptionally good..I am really learning a lot. Pls what is ofor
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Thanks for this recipe. My vegetable soup is usually with water, how do I make so that it will have less water?
Can I use achi in place of offor?