Efo Riro Recipe

If you are a fan of Nigerian food recipes and how to make them, then you will love this recipe which is how to prepare efo riro.

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The great thing about preparing efo riro is that it can be prepared with most Nigerian leafy green vegetables mostly of Yoruba origin.

In Yoruba, ‘efo’ means ‘vegetables’ while ‘riro’ means ‘to mix’. As the name implies, ‘efo riro’ means ‘mixed vegetable’.

Apart from the fact that efo riro is a healthy delicious soup, another reason why this soup has gained so much popularity with Yoruba people in particular and Nigerians in general is because it is makes a wholesome meal when combined with other foods.

What kind of leaf is used for Efo riro

This soup is easy to make, although many people wonder about the kind of leaf is used for efo riro.

Some of the popular vegetables used to make efo riro are listed below.

• Efo Igbo
• Efo Ebolo
• Amunututu Leaves
• Ugu leaves/ Fluted pumpkin leaves.
• Efo Iyana Ipaja / Hospital too far leaves
• Efo Shoko leaves
• Efo Tete

Do you know that; if for any reason you cannot cook this soup after reading this recipe, all you need to do is google ‘efo riro near me’.

You will be amazed at the wide array of online options available for you to buy efo riro.

Wholesome meal combinations with Efo riro

This stewed Nigerian vegetable soup can be eaten alone. But if you crave a more filling meal, It can also be enjoyed with other foods.

Here are some of the meals that you can easily enjoy with your efo riro in order to have a satisfactory food experience.

• Pounded Yam and efo riro
• Efo riro and rice
• Efo riro and Eba – Garri
• Efo riro and semo
• Efo riro and Eko or Agidi

In this recipe, I will be writing about how to cook efo riro with shoko leaf.

I will also be sharing my cooking hack on how to make your vegetables retain its green colour after cooking.

Efo riro ingredients

• Turkey
• 3 ponmo
• 2 bunches shoko leaves
• 1/4 cup palm oil
• 2 bell peppers
• 3 tablespoons crayfish powder
• 4 onions
• 2 tablespoons Iru/locust beans
• 10 scotch bonnet peppers
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 seasoning cubes
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup stockfish fillets

I know this is a long list of ingredients for just one soup but trust me, you will love the delicious taste when you finish cooking this soup using this recipe.

You can also shop food Nigerian food ingredients here .

How to cook efo riro with shoko leaf

• If you are using uncleaned ponmo ijebu here is How To Clean Ponmo Ijebu
• Slice the cleaned ponmo, two onions separately and set them aside.
• Remove the shoko leaves from the stem.
• Slice the leaves and put them in a big bowl then set them aside.
• Boil water.
• Pour the hot water over the sliced vegetables.
• Steam lightly and drain the hot water immediately.
• Set the vegetables aside.
• Clean the turkey and cut into halves.
• Place your pot on the cooker set to low heat.
• Pour the cleaned turkey into the pot.
• Add some of the sliced onion into the pot, add thyme, curry, salt, 2 cubes of seasoning, and one scotch bonnet for extra spiciness if you want.
• Mix well and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.
• While the turkey is simmering, blend the bell peppers, 2 onions and scotch bonnet pepper to achieve a rough texture.
• Set the blended peppers aside
• After 5 minutes of simmering the turkey, add 2 cups of water and cook on high heat for 15 minutes.
• Remove the pot of cooked turkey from the cooker.
• Separate the turkey from the turkey stock.
• Pour vegetable oil into your frying pan.
• While the cooker is still on high heat, place the frying pan on it.
• Allow the oil heat up well .
• Fry the turkey in the hot oil until both sides are a golden brown.
• Place your your cooking pot on the cooker.
• Add palm oil and allow it heat up briefly.
• Fry the remaining sliced onions in the hot palm oil for 1-2 minutes.
• After briefly frying the onions, add the cleaned iru.
• Allow the Iru fry for about 2 minutes also before adding the blended peppers and onions.
• Add the sliced ponmo, crayfish powder, seasoning cube, stockfish fillets and turkey stock.
• Mix well and allow it cook on high heat for 10-15 minutes.
• Pour the Fried turkey into the sauce after 15 minutes.
• Mix well and cook for 10 minutes on high heat.
• At this point the liquid in the sauce would have dried up considerably.
• Add the steamed vegetables.
• Mix well and cook for 3-5 minutes.
• Efo riro is ready to be eaten alone or combined with your most preferred food.

Leafy green vegetables cooking hack.

Most times when leafy green vegetable are used to cook soups, they do not retain their green colour after cooking.

When the vegetables colour changes, to many people it makes the vegetables look overcooked and soup looks unattractive.

An easy way to making sure your vegetables retain their green colour is by briefly steaming them for few second in hot water and then allowing it to cool down.

I used this cooking hack to make this recipe and my green vegetables did not change colour even after I finished cooking it.

To verify this, please watch the video of this recipe on my YouTube channel.

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