So the sun has slowly been showing its face these sides, and it’s got me feeling like indulging in some soulfood,a dish that I usually savor when I’m back home or simply when I’m craving a nice treat from the motherland.

Okro soup on my platter

Okro soup

Garri and Okro soup

Lately, I’ve been experimenting a little with this dish, and I think I’ve mastered (fit for my taste buds of course and hopefully yours) a healthy and textured way of cooking and enjoying my ”Garri and Okro soup dish.

Okro, also known as Gumbo, Okra or lady-fingers, is a staple pod-like vegetable that is cultivated around western Africa and in other tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. In Cameroon, we typically serve Okra with ‘Garri’ (made from cassava) or corn ‘fufu’, which can make this dish not only very nutritional but also quite caloric 😛

Having tasted so many variations of this dish, I decided to fine-tune my mother’s traditional recipe to create a quick, healthy and scrumptious dish that is equally yummy (if not, yummier!) 😛

Be inspired and feel free to (re)create your very own 🙂

Ingredients:

• 1 handful chopped wild spinach
• 5 large okro pods
• 1 diced red onion
• 1 finely chopped garlic clove
• A handful of lightly blended Egusi seeds
• A handful of lightly blended ‘Njanga’ (local name for dried crayfish in Cameroon)
• 1 teaspoon each of Tumeric powder and chicken masala powder (Tanzanian)
• 1/2 teaspoon each of black pepper, chili powder and garlic powder
• 1 maggi cube
• 1 cup of water
• 1 small piece of skinless chickenbreast (optional)

njanga

chopped okro and wild spinach

Preparation:

• Lightly blend Egusi and Njanga (separately)
• Largely dice Okro pods and sparsely chop the wild spinach
• Add olive oil to a saucepan and heat. Add diced chicken (optional) and stir till brown. Add onion ,garlic clove and spinach to the pan on medium heat and keep stirring for 3 mins.
• Mix lightly blended Egusi seeds to 1/2 cup of water and stir mixture till smooth. Add to the saucepan and continue stirring on low heat. Add tumeric, garlic powder chicken masala powder, black pepper and chilipowder to the mix. Continue stirring the mix for about 4 mins. Add some water to keep the mix from drying up and continue stirring.
• As the Egusi is cooking, slightly clumping together, add the diced okra and Njanga. Also add the maggi cube and continue stiring the mix. Within 2 or 3 mins, the okro will start to get slightly sticky. Add a very small amount of water to allow the stew to cook without burning. Cook on medium heat for a few minutes till the okro starts boiling.
  • You may add water as desired, depending on the consistency you prefer, but I personally prefer the thicker and more textured consistency, so I try to add only very little water during the overall cooking time.
• Allow the soup to cook for 3 -4 mins then serve hot on you platter with Garri, or alternatively corn Fufu.

Here are a few additional snaps to tickle your appetite 😛

Okro soup

Bon appetit!! 🙂

*All pictures are my originals
*NikonD3300