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Oil Free Nigerian Soup – Efo Riro (Vegetable)

I often get questions on how to make oil- free Nigerian soups. Honestly, It’s really as simple as just skipping the oil; there is no magic trick to it.

One thing I always consider when preparing oil free soups is the purpose oil serve in the soup, let me explain. In the case of efo-riro for example, oil serves two purposes. It enhances the color of the prepared vegetable soup and it also adds to the taste. In the case of okro, egusi and ogbono soup, oil especially helps with color enhancement.

When you cook for yourself and your family , it’s advisable not to add lots oil into your stew and soups. Nigerian stew and soups often come with loads of protein (goat, beef, smoked turkey, fish etc), these proteins have natural oils that is added into whatever you are cooking, additional oil if often an overkill. Excess oil consumption will eventually lead to weight gain and other ailments.

Today I am sharing my oil-free efo riro recipe, it looks and taste like the traditional version. We already shared our oil free ogbono soup procedure in this post here. You can easily make oil free okro soup with this recipe we shared here, the main picture in the post is actually oil-free; simply skip the oil to achieve this.

 

Oil free Nigerian soup – efo (Vegetable)
Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: African
Author: 9jaFOODie
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • Part A
  • 4 red bell peppers (Tatashe)
  • 1 medium onion bulb
  • 2-3 scotch bonnet peppers (Ata Rodo)
  • Preparation: Chop all listed ingredients. Combine in a blender and pulse to a rough coarse consistency. Pour mixture into a strainer and rest to remove excess fluid

Part B

  • 2 Tablespoon blended crayfish
  • ½ cup red prawns (ede)
  • 2 cups shredded smoked fish
  • 8 pieces boiled meat (goat, beef, shaki and ponmo)
  • 2-4 tablespoons whole locust beans (Iru)
  • Salt- to taste
  • 2-3 cubes maggi

Part C

  • 15 Cups chopped fresh callaloo (Efo tete) ~4 bunches
  • OR 3 packs chopped frozen spinach (9oz packs) – Defrosted
  • Preparation: If using fresh spinach, place the spinach in a bowl, add ½ teaspoon of salt, cover with boiling water and place a lid over the bowl. Allow to rest for 5-6 minutes. Rinse out the spinach and squeeze to remove excess water.
Instructions
  1. Place a large pot over medium heat, add in the end result of part A and the left over ingredients in part B. Cover and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  2. Add in the spinach. Stir well to combine. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Simmer covered for another 3 – 5 more minutes.
  4. Serve on rice or with your choice on okele.