Efo Riro: A glory dish from Western Nigeria

One of the many things I love about living in Nigeria is the diversity of the food. For a foodie like me, Nigerian cuisine is an opportunity to discover new food and culture.

This diversity is what inspired the recipe edition of Culinary Delights.

The vegetables that can be used to cook this soup are Efo Shoko or Efo Tete (Green Amaranth). If these are not readily available where you live, leafy or frozen spinach is a very good substitute.

Ingredients for Efo Riro:

• Assorted meat and fish. use a combination of the following:
  • Beef
  • Shaki (cow tripe)
  • Smoked fish
  • Dry fish
  • Stockfish
  • 20 cl palm oil
  • 500g Efo Shoki
  • 5 tatashe peppers
  • 2 Maggi cubes
  • 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
  • 2 red onions
  • 2 small stock cubes
  • 2 tablespoons locust beans (iru)
  • Salt & Habanero / Scotch Bonnet peppers (to taste)

Before you cook Efo Riro

1. If you are using the hard stockfish, soak it for a few hours. Soak the dry fish till soft and debone.
2. Cut the leafy vegetables
3. Deseed the tatashe and grind till coarse.
4. Prepare other ingredients: pound/blitz the pepper, dice the onions and grind the crayfish.

Instructions

1. Start cooking the shaki first with as little water as possible (see video below) as it is the toughest meat in the bunch. This soup should have as little water as possible so add small amounts of water at a time and top it up as you cook.
2. When the shaki starts to curl, add the dry fish and stockfish.
3. When the shaki is almost done, add beef, stock cubes and some of the onions and cook till all the meat and fish are well done. Set these aside.
4. In another pot, pour the palm oil and heat it up. Once hot, add the remaining onions.
5. Fry the tatashe peppers till there’s no more water in it. This should take about 15 minutes.
6. Add the locust beans, crayfish, and stir very well.
7. Add the cooked meat and fish, stir very well.
8. Add the vegetables stir very well, cover and once it heats up again, add salt to taste and take the pot off the stove.

There you have it, your Efo riro is ready to be served. You can Serve Efo Riro with Semolina, Amala, Pounded Yam, Eba or any other fufu meal. It also goes well with boiled white rice.

Please try it at home and let us know how it goes! Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @bdculinarydelights and @maggi_nigeria and use the hashtags #magginigeria #myculinaryrecipe to show us your Efo riro and stand a chance to win some special prizes.