Learn with Steem: A tutorial on how to cook "Efo Riro Elemi Meta" | by @afunkycares

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_{Efo Riro Elemi Meta}

INTRODUCTION

Greetings to you friends , trust we are all doing great? Today, I will sharing my first entry for the Writeinfull contest organized by our amazing community @steemalive.

In this post, I will show us how to prepare Efo Riro Elemi Meta, a rich vegetable soup owned by the Yorubas, the Western part of Nigeria in Africa.

You can cook this vegetable soup with any of these vegetables: Soko (Lagos Spinach), Ugwu ( Pumpkin leaves), Gbure (Waterleaf) , Amunututu (Malabar Spinach) or Efo Tete ( African Spinach). You may also like to combine 2 vegetables.

Without the essential native spice, iru ( locust beans) , your vegetable soup is not complete. Iru adds this natural flavouring to your soup. And with varieties of animal proteins, your dish is a Delight!

PS: The number of animal proteins you use adds to the dish name : Elemi Meta means containing three animal proteins, Elemi Meje meaning containingseven animal proteins.

Without further ado, let's proceed to the cooking.

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LIST OF INGREDIENTS

• Soko ( Lagos Spinach)- 1 bunch
• Iru - (as needed, I used enough)
• Smoked fish -2 medium sized
• Cowskin - 1 medium
• Crayfish ( handful)
• Scotch bonnet Pepper -12 tiny ( spicer than the big ones, any size is fine)
• Tomatoes - 4 small ( 2 medium is fine too)
• Onions -2 bulbs
• Palm oil ( 2 cooking spoonful)
• Seasoning cube -2
• Salt to taste

You can use as many variety of animal proteins as you desire such as beef, assorted meat, snails, shrimps, stockfish etc.

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PREPARATION

• Wash the pepper, onions and tomatoes well with water. And blitz all together. I used 1& half bulb onion.

• Pick the Lagos Spinach to an handful as seen in the image. And cut into fine slices.

• Clean cowskin thoroughly with water and dice. Rinse fish properly, fillet and divide into chunks. I filleted only one of the fish. Rinse the crayfish too. And keep them aside.

• Rinse the locust beans properly, keep aside. Slice/chop the second half bulb onion.

Steps are shown with images below:

We are done with preparing, let's bring everything to heat.

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COOKING THE EFO RIRO

• First, heat the palm oil lightly, do not bleach the oil. It's unhealthy. Fry the locust beans for 3 minutes, you will begin to percieve its aroma. Add the chopped onions and Saute them.

• Pour in the blitz pepper. Add the seasoning. Leave to cook for some minutes.

• Add the cowskin and crayfish first, leave to cook. Now add the fish.

• Preheat the vegetable in a separate pot for 2 minutes to soften the texture a bit. Then add to the sauce.

• Mix well with omorogun ( wooden spatula or turning stick), cover and let it simmer for 2 minutes.

Steps are demonstrated in the images below:

And your delicious Efo Riro is Ready to Serve!

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BENEFITS OF EFO RIRO

• Provides the body with plenty of proteins, vitamins and mineral salts

• Iru (locust beans) is good for the eyes; it improves vision.

• Provides the body with enough iron, improving blood circulation

• Nourishes the skin

• Boosts the immune system, helping your body to fight against diseases

• Aids digestion

• Increases bowel movement, hereby preventing constipation

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CONCLUSION

This dish is never a miss at any Yoruba home or Yoruba party. It is usually served with different swallows like pounded yam, wheat,Semo or garri. You can also enjoy with it boiled rice, boiled yam or boiled plantain.😋.

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Thank you all for reading ❤️. Give it a try and you'll love it!

Big thanks :

@steemalive
@focusnow