Nigeria – Efo Riro

by Verdzekov Bernard

A cuisine is a traditional cooking habit, practiced by different cultures in different areas around the world. Each culture or rather tradition has a unique cooking style that is so important to them. In Cameroon they are so many tribes like that. This cooking habit helps to differentiate tribes from each other. Though meals of certain tribes in Cameroon are same, the cooking procedure to arrive at that particular meal may be different. Most of the soups in Africa are made from leaves. This leaf’s are rich in different nutrients. Like the spinach leaves used in this cuisine, it is rich in proteins, carbohydrate, vitamin A, and even iron. 

Mushrooms will be used in the soup. This mush rooms when prepared, serve as meat. It tastes like meat. When grown up, when I hear of mushrooms, I thought it was a house with so many rooms. Little did I know it is a fungus. At times we say, “the house with so many rooms is just in the farm”. Lol. Cuisines are so special. And some are very medicinal. To prepare Efo Riro, follow steps below;

Ingredients

• Spinach 
• Mushrooms 
• Cray fish
• Pepper
• Onions 
• Meat 
• Curry powder 
• Tomatoes 
• ½-1 of palm oil
• Maggi
• Salt to taste 

Procedure

• To prevent the soup from getting sour fast, boil the tomatoes before you blend. After boiling, slice and blend. Blend tomatoes with pepper and some onions. 
• Take your spinach leaves, wash and drain or squeeze to remove most of the water in the leaves and then chop into small slices. Spinach is a green leafy green flowering plant. This flourish plant is common in Africa and it eating when cooked as you going to the read in this article of local cuisine.
• Wash your mushroom and drain. Cut it into small or large sizes. 
• Wash your meat, it could be goat meat or caw meat or red meat. Wash ad slice into small eatable sizes and boil. Boil with some salt to taste and make sure you keep stock.
• Heat your half or one cup of palm oil in the cooking pot are going to use. Add your onions and fry. Fry for about 2-3min
• Add tomatoes and fry. Remember the tomatoes blend is mixed with, some onions and pepper. Steer well for about 2min.
• Add your ground crayfish.
• Add your curry powder and pepper. steer well and leave it for some time. Add 2 cup of stock. Allow it to boil.
• Add your goat meat and mushroom. Allow it to boil for about 10min. 
• Add your spinach leaves and allow. If observing water shortage, add your stock water.
• Add your salt to taste and Maggi and steer well. leave the pot for about 10min and serve. If you want the spinach softer, allow for 15min. 

Enjoy….