How I made A Vegetable or Pumpkin leaf Soup (Ugu) With Achi on Sunday being November 28, 2021
Helo my friends in this adorable community. How is everyone out there.
Is really a privilege given to me via this platform to narrate to you my experience on Sunday how I prepared a vegetable or Pumpkin leaf (Ugu)soup with (Achi) a thickner.
Locally, Pumpkin leaf or Ugu leaf as it is called it in our locality. it's a nutritious leaf desire by every African regional territory, especially Nigerians.
IN THE MORNING
Sunday morning was so bright for me as I woke up from bed healthy and hetic, had my morning consideration of Bible text. After prayers with my Husband, I swept the house, did some cleanings both the kitchen and inside the house. Then prepared our breakfast fast using Quaker Oats. Have you tried mixing it with Nutzy Chocolate Peanut Spread? "Nnmm... so delicious"🍛🍜🍨🍦and smooth.
When it was 9a.m. we started our zoom meeting till 11 a.m. After the meetings, we had a heart warming pleasantries and shout of joys and laughter with our brothers and sisters because it was a day we were with our C/O. Immediately we left the zoom meeting. I decided to open my shop to make some sales hence my shop was very close to our 🏠.
IN THE AFTERNOON
I opened my shop by 12 noon. I targeted when people might have dismissed from morning service, knowing that they must be dehydrated because of the intense sun. I had cool and chilled drinks in my refrigerator and snackes too. I made much sales. But do you know what?
I remembered that my husband doesn't like rice and stew stuff but enjoys swallow. I told him to stay in the shop for a little while so that I can rush home to cut some fresh vegetables from my little garden. I moved so fast that I got there on time before evening could set in.
I went back to the shop. I started packing things that I will use for the soup so that when I get home, it will not take much time. I first started by picking the vegetables leaf one by one because you don't put the whole of the leafs inside the pot without first picking them.
After picking the vegetables, I washed it got it ready for cutting . Cutting vegetables manually is not all that easy. It needs careful concentration if not your hand may be cut off. I used my cutting board and my kitchen knife purposesly kept in my shop for cutting small things like oranges etc.
IN THE EVENING
We closed around 7.30 pm. I started cooking my soup. I brought out the ingredients like:
Vegetable is already washed and cut set aside for the soup
Cat fish (Azu Arira)
Stuck fish (Ishii okporoko)
Crayfish (Ayiya or obu)
Pepper (Ose)
Palm oil (Nmanu NRI)
Salt (Nnu) to taste
And lastly
Achi the thickner
I started the cooking by washing the cat fish and the stuck fish with hot water to remove some ant or moth that usually eat the fleshy parts of the fish. After that, I steamed them together adding a little salt for taste. Too much salt is not good for vegetable soup because vegetables caries a good percentage of salt naturally. Even stuck fish. Remember that stuck fish is from salt sea. Even the cat fish all of them contain sodium, so adding salt or Maggi cubes make it tastes saltier. Mark it well that I did not add maggi cubes.
If you add much salt, in the following day, the salt becomes too much for you to eat it again. So put less quantity of salt to your soup.
I allowed it to steemer untill it became tendon. I then added my palm oil inorder to make the soup become bright and attractive. I left it to blend with the water used in steaming the ingredients.
Then, the time to add the Achi the thickner is now. Before I added the Achi, I had to kneed it with a small bowl and a spoon to allow it resolve and become smooth to the soup, if not it will be as if you are eating mosle of garri. I strire it very well until it became smooth. Then, poured it to the already boiling soup on the cooking gas.
Having seen they have blended together, I stired the whole soup gently, tasted it and covered it again. The soup was boiling steadily as you can see it here 👇
Finally, I added the vegetable (Ugu leafs).
Waoh! Just take a look of the delicious and succulent Vegetable (Ugu) soup with Achi - the soup thickner. You don't need to miss it my fellow Steemian women.
CONCLUSION
Vegetable or locally called Ugu is a very sweet soup. Please know that it is not only being cooked with water leafs, okra, egusi or ogbono but can be cooked with Achi. Nnnnmmm, so sweet. Try this method in your next cooking.
My soup is now ready to serve. My husband and I ate satisfactorily in that Sunday night. He thanked me for such hasty cook just for him to eat that swallow he desired for.
Thank you so much for making out time to read my story.
Truly yours
@joykal01