Foodies corner: Ofe Ugba on the menu

INGREDIENTS

For 4 servings, you will need:

• 20 okra fingers

• 1 cup of ugba (milk cup)

• 2 pieces dry fish (dry cat fish or mangala fish)

• 2 pieces stockfish (dry cod fish)

• 1 smoked mackerel (smoked titus fish)

• 2 cooking spoons palm oil

• Habanero pepper (atarodo, ose oyibo, atarugu: to taste)

• 1 handful crayfish

• 1 piece of ogiri okpei (dawa dawa, iru)

• 1 onion

• Garden egg leaves

• Salt (to taste)

METHOD

Place the stockfish in a pot, add some water and start cooking. Add water in small amounts and top up when necessary because you want as little water as possible in the pot when done. I use a pressure pot to cook stockfish, softens in no time.

When the stockfish is soft, use the cooking spoon to break it into small pieces.

Add the dry fish, ugba, crayfish and ogiri okpei, pepper, onions, smoked fish, salt and palm oil. Cover the pot and continue cooking on high heat. Stir often so it does not burn.

After about 5 minutes, add the leafy vegetable and okra, stir and add salt if necessary. You want a small quantity of water as possible in the soup before adding the vegetable. 

Take the pot off the stove and transfer to another container immediately so that the green vegetables stay green.

Source: all nigerian recipies