Okazi is a traditional Nigerian soup made from the forest plant called Gentum Africanum, popularly known as Okazi by the Igbo people. The Igbo’s cherish okazi so much mainly because of its medicinal value which is very good for the human digestive system, it is used to prepare alot of recipes like okazi soup, okazi yam pottage, etc. Below is therefore steps to guide you on how to prepare a nice and tasty okazi soup.
A. INGREDIENTS
1 Pound of meat, cleaned and cut intobite-sized pieces
1 hot chille pepper,
1 onion, chopped into slices,Several periwinkles,
2 pieces dried fish
2 pounds okazi leaves,(cleaned) pounded in a mortar and pestle.
1 pound water leaf, (cleaned and torn into pieces).
1 cup dried prawn, (pounded)
1 cup red oil or palm oil, Stock fish.
B. METHOD
1. Get a clean pot, wash and clean your stock fish properly and boil, then add already seasoned and boiled meat and simmer for 5 minutes,
2. Add onion and chillies pepper, reduce heat and cover to simmer, In a separate pan bring a few cups of lightly salt ed water to a boil.
3. Place the periwinkle in the boiling water, then cover and cook for 5 minutes,
4. Remove snails from water, use a small fork to remove the snails from
the shells.
5. Rinse the snail meat in a cool water,
6. Drain and sprinkle with lime or lemon juice.
7. Add the properly cleaned periwinkles, dried fish, and water leaf
into the pot of stock fish.
8. Cover and simmer for several minutes.
9. Add pounded okazi leaves with crushed dried
prawn, add palm oil and simmer for 5 minutes till
greens are completely soft and tender.
10. It is best eaten with pounded yam or moulded garri (aka Eba).
