Nigeria – Worowo Vegetable

by Verdzekov Bernard

There is a soup called Worowo vegetable soup. It is made from leaves. This leaf until you have them and harvest, you can’t prepare worowo soup. This is a Nigeria cuisine and particular from the people of Ekiti state. What accompanies worowo soup is pounded yams. 

Most at times, when I mention about cuisines, particularly traditional cuisine, I mention but the traditional name. Some of this traditional dish follow tradition and don’t even disclose the English names of the leaves use in preparation. Note, most meals are soups that may be thick or watery. And they have their accompaniment. You can hardly eat yams without an accompaniment or soup. Same as you can’t eat just soup without an accompaniment except you eating an appetizer such like paper soup, which some people still eat it with boiled plantains. The botanical name of this leave use to cook worowo is Solanecio Biafrae.

This is so important to the Nigerians and will be important to you if you can have the leave in your own locality. This leaf, in as much as it is used for preparing food, it is also medicinal. It is use to stop bleeding from cuts and injuries, and also used in treating sore eyes. 

To prepare worowo soup, the ingredients you are to put together are;

Ingredients

• Five hand full of Solanecio Biafrae
• Caw skin (canda)
• Meat (dry meat)
• Dried or smoked fish
• Tomatoes
• Pepper
• Maggi 
• Salt to taste.
• Palm oil
• Ground cray fish

Process

• Wash your Worowo leaves, slice and set aside.
• Wash your meat well. That is the dry meat and your caw skin (canda). Use an iron sponge to wash your caw skin well. Rinse well, and put in a pot with water and boil. This should take about 25-30min, but using a pressure cooker, it could take less time. 
• Before it is getting ready, slice your tomatoes, onions and put aside.
• If you haven’t ground your crayfish, grind and keep aside. I say this because, so many people grind their crayfish and keep in large dry bowls and use gradually when necessary.
• Wash your smoked fish and scatter into large piece using your hands. keep aside.
• Your 25-30min timing elapse, check if meat and canda is soft, add your dry fish and leave It for about 5min. Turn off heat.
• Turn palm oil into a dry pot and stand on heat. When it is heated up, add your onions and fry for about 3min, add your tomatoes and fry. Add your pepper and stir well.
• Add meat and stir and well. After about 2min, add your Canda and stir well.
• Add your dry fish. stir. 
• Add your crayfish and stir well. Add maggi and salt to taste. At this point close your pot and allow for about 3min.
• Uncover your pot and add Worowo leaves. Stir very well for like 20sec, close pot so that scent get mix with all ingredients in the pot, open and stir again. This should be for 3min. Taste for maggi and salt. Add any if necessary. if need be, add a little bit of stock water, close pot for 5mins more.
• Your Worowo soup is ready.
• Serve with pounded boiled Yams.

Enjoy…