Seeing this picture, you may think this is Ogbono soup or Oha soup. This is Bokolisa soup, the native draw soup of Ikale and Ilaje people in ondo state Nigeria.

Suffice to say, bokolisa is Ikale and Ilaje food although people from neighboring town for Ijebu East also enjoy this delicacy. As I continue with this blog post, I will also write about useful tips and notes to cooking the perfect bokolisa soup below.

If you would also like to watch the YouTube video showing how I cook Bokolisa soup please click here

Just like MARUGBO RECIPE || OBE EWETA || BLACK SOUP  bokolisa soup is commonly eaten with pupuru /Kpupuru a native food of the Ikale and Ilaje people made of cassava just like fufu, although the process of making pupuru is different which makes it lighter and easily digested.

This soup is a rare Nigerian soup because the seeds are not commonly sold in markets just like other Nigerian soup ingredients. Bokolisa seeds can only be gotten from Ikale or Ilaje land in Ondo state.

INGREDIENTS

8 Bokolisa seeds

2 Dried Fishes (catfish)

8 Ponmo(cowskin)

a handful Ewedu/Jute leaves

3 Beef cuts

1 tablespoon Chili Pepper (ata gigun/yaji)

3 tablespoons Palm oil

1 and half teaspoon Salt

1 small size Onions

2 small Seasoning cubes

COOKING PROCEDURE

• grind bokolisa seeds into powder
• our Bokolisa powder into a bowl and add 3 tablespoons of palm oil
• mix well until it forms a smooth paste and set it aside
• detach ewedu/jute leaves from the stalk
• wash the leaves in clean water to remove all dirt.
• slice ewedu leaves and set it aside
• pour Beef into a pot and add some water
• add salt, Seasoning and onions
• cook for 30 minutes
• after 30 minutes, add more water
• add Ponmo and dried fish and cook for 15 minutes
• after 15 minutes, add chilli pepper,salt, seasoning and ewedu leaves
• mix gently so that the fish does not crumble
• cook for 5 minutes
• after 5minutes,remove the fish
• add the bokolisa paste.
• cook for 5 minutes and BOKOLISA SOUP IS READY!!!

To watch the video recipe HOW TO COOK BOKOLISA SOUP – IKALE SOUP

USEFUL NOTES AND TIPS

1. Ewedu/jute leaves is the common vegetable used to cook this soup because of the peculiar taste it gives the soup. And also because it enhances the slimy/draw effect to the soup. Read more HOW TO COOK EWEDU SOUP WITH BROOMS
2. Bokolisa is not fried like ogbono for cooking ogbono soup. Instead of frying, palm oil is mixed into bokolisa powder.
3. While mixing the bokolisa powder with palm oil make sure it is smooth without lumps this is necessary to avoid having a soup filled with lumps.
4. For bokolisa soup the meat is only boiled with salt, seasoning and onions. NO CURRY, NO THYME etc.
5. For this recipe, I used dried catfish but cooking bokolisa soup is not restricted to using only beef, ponmo and dried fish. You can use goat meat, fresh fish, chicken, turkey etc. It all depends on what you have in your panty or the taste you want to achieve.
6. when adding bokolisa paste, you have to the gentle and meticulous in making sure that the paste dissolves completely before adding another.
7. to avoid having lumps in your soup, you should scoop the paste with the back of your spoon and gently press it to the side of the pot in a circular motion. This will help you dissolve the paste faster and crush and lump easily before it gets into the soup.