Ewedu Soup Recipe

Ewedu soup will forever remain one of the most popular Nigerian soups, particularly amongst the Yoruba ethnic group. Ewedu leaves are also known as Jute or Molokhia leaves.  Ewedu is highly nutritious and has been proven to aid weight loss. Heard of Ewedu smoothie yet?

Ewedu soup is very easy to prepare and gone are the days when we worked our arms tirelessly to puree Ewedu soup with an Ewedu broom (Ijabe), now, we just take the easier route of blending with a hand blender or jug blender, this purées the leaves even better than using the popular broom.

Now, I don’t cook with Kaun (Potash), but rest assured. blending does enhance the viscosity, very much like Ijabe. Alternatively, you can use a whisk, it functions just as good as an Ijabe.

So, let’s start!

Ingredients:

I Big Bunch of Ewedu Leaves

2 Cups of Water

1 Tablespoon Locust Beans (Iru)

1 Heaped tablespoon Ground Crayfish

1 Bouillon cube, I’m using 1/2 Maggi Crayfish

Salt to taste

Preparation:

 

Pick your Ewedu leaves, make sure you don’t pick the stalk/stem along with it. This is what Ewedu leaves look like:

Wash the leaves thoroughly to rid it of dirt. Pour the water into a medium size pan, place on a bob on medium heat, bring to a rolling boil.

Add the Ewedu leaves and boil for 2 minutes, then add the locust beans, continue to boil till tender, this should take roughly 8-10 minutes.

If you’re using a broom (Ijabe), use the broom to pound the leaves….

If you’re using a blender, take the Ewedu off the heat and leave to cool for a bit…don’t switch the heat off.
Add the Ewedu into a blender along with the Iru, make sure you don’t add all the water, just 1/2 a cup should do. Too much water will affect the viscosity of your Ewedu.

Using the pulse function, pulse a few timesntill you get a semi-purée consistency.

Transfer the Ewedu back into the pan, add the ground crayfish, bouillon cube and salt to taste…

Switch off the heat and let it simmer with the residual heat for 3 minutes….stir occasionally to prevent burning. Do not over cook or the Ewedu will go brown.

And it’s ready….

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