Oha (Ora) Soup Prepared with Complete Ingredients

achi soup with oha

This is the most complete Oha Soup (Ora Soup) recipe you will see on the internet. It is prepared just the way our ancestors prepared Oha Soup (Ora Soup). Even if you do not have all the ingredients, watch the video below to get a bit of history.

Oha Soup (Ora Soup) by Grandmas [Video]

Recipes Related to Oha Soup (Ora Soup):

Oha Soup (Ora Soup) Ingredients

  • A small bunch Ora leaves
  • A small bunch uziza leaves
  • 800g Palm fruits (akwu)
  • 500g Cocoyam
  • 1.2kg Beef (ribs)
  • 2 pieces dry fish
  • 3 pieces stockfish
  • 1-2 tablespoons ground crayfish
  • 1-2 teaspoons ogiri Igbo
  • 4 small seasoning cubes
  • Yellow habanero peppers or Ose Nsukka (to your taste)

Tools and utensils you’ll need

The following are the minimal tools you'll need to prepare Oha Soup (Ora Soup):

  • Mortar and pestle for pounding the palm fruits and cocoyam. If you do not have mortar and pestle, some people told me they use a wine bottle and a pot to pound these.
  • A sieve for processing the palm fruits.

Notes on the Oha Soup (Ora Soup) Ingredients

  1. See the video below for the quantities of oha and uziza that I used. The exact quantities of some ingredients cannot be adequately stated with numbers.
  2. If you do not have the yellow habanero pepper, use the red one or even fresh cayenne peppers. The yellow one has a unique flavour that works well with oha soup though.
  3. I used the seasoning cubes to season the meat. Our ancestors did not use seasoning cubes. lol

Before you prepare Oha Soup (Ora Soup)

  1. Soak the dry fish in water and set aside to soften. When soft, clean with a brush, debone and break into pieces.
  2. Rinse and boil the palm fruits till your can rub the flesh off the nut with your fingers.
  3. Pound in a mortar till the flesh forms a smooth pulp.
  4. Rinse the pounded palm fruits in water, sieve to separate the chaff from the concentrate and set the concentrate aside.
  5. Boil the cocoyam till soft then peel and pound in a mortar till smooth.
  6. Rinse and cut the ora leaves with your finger tips. Knife cuts turn the leaves dark.
  7. Rinse and slice the uziza leaves.

Directions for making the Oha Soup (Ora Soup)

  1. Clean the stockfish with water and a brush, rinse the meat, put these two in a pot, crush the seasoning cubes into the pot, pour water to just cover it and cook till done.
  2. When the meat and stockfish are done, take out the stockfish, debone and break into pieces and set aside.
  3. Slowly decant the palm fruit concentrate into the pot of meat taking care not the pour in the sediments at the bottom of the container.
  4. Add the dry fish, crayfish, yellow habanero pepper and stockfish. Cover and continue cooking.
  5. When it boils, add the ogiri Igbo and the cocoyam paste in small scoops.
  6. Cover and cook till the cocoyam dissolves. Stir the bottom of the pot often without disturbing the lumps of cocoyam.
  7. When all the cocoyam has dissolved, add the oha leaves and uziz leaves. Stir and add salt if necessary and take it off the stove. Transfer to a cool contain immediately so the oha leaves will not overcook and turn dark.

Serve with any Nigerian Fufu or the Low Carb Fufu Meals if you are watching your weight. Share this recipe with anyone that will find it helpful.