Ogbono soup benefits, ingredients and step-by-step recipe

They use Ogbono for weight loss, high cholesterol, and diabetes, according to WebMD. However, it is essential to note that no solid scientific evidence supports these uses.

Ogbono seeds might lower cholesterol because they have high fibre content. The fibre increases the removal of cholesterol from the body. In terms of content, the African mango seed is rich in Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, protein, amino acids, fibre and fat.

Taking Ogbono with diabetes medications might cause your blood sugar to go too low.

Ogbono in English and other scientific names

Although the most famous English name for Ogbono is Wild Mango and Dikka, here are twelve other names for Ogbono

1. African Mango
2. Agbono
3. Bread Tree
4. Bush Mango
5. Dika Nut
6. Dikanut
7. Dikka
8. Duiker Nut
9. Etima
10. Irvingia
11. Irvingia barteri
12. Irvingia gabonensis
13. Kaka
14. Mangifera gabonensis
15. Manguier Sauvage
16. Odika
17. Wild Mango

Ingredients for Ogbono (Draw) Soup

Here are some ingredients needed to make the most delicious draw soup:

1. Assorted meat (Goat meat, chicken, or beef)
2. Fish (Stock fish, aka Okporoko/panla and Dry fish)
3. Palm oil
4. Ogbono seed (Ground ogbono or pounded Ogbono)
5. Ground crayfish
6. Okpehe
7. Salt to taste
8. Uziza seed/ Uziza leave
9. Seasoning cubes
10. pepper

Optional ingredients you can put in Ogbono soup

1. Vegetables
2. Egusi
3. If you can afford assorted proteins, it is okay. You can pick one meat or use dry fish!!!
4. Okra

Step-by-step on how to cook ogbono soup

1. Place all your main protein into a pot and place it on low heat
2. Add a little palm oil, seasoning, pepper and salt to taste.
3. Stir and bring to a simmer
4. Add two cups of water
5. Boil until the proteins are properly cooked
6. Wash dry fish generously with hot water and salt
7. Gently split dry fish in half and carefully pick out the bones
8. To prevent lumps of Ogbono in the soup, I love to take out all the meat and fish and set them aside. Doing this gives you a clear stock to sprinkle ground ogbono. This method also prevents the meat and fish from melting in the Ogbono.
9. Check out different ways for dissolving the ogbono in the next paragraph
10. Not that it is important not to cover the pot because it causes the soup to lose its viscosity. As we put in typical Nigerian terms, “the soup will cut.”
11. You can tell that the soup is cooked when it thickens and foams on the side
12. Once it is cooked, you can add the chopped vegetables.
13. Once the cooked Ogbono simmers for a minute or two with the veggies, this is where I love to add my meat and fish back into the pot of soup.
14. Switch from high to low heat and allow everything to simmer for a minute on the low heat
15. The ogbono soup is ready to be served with any fufu
16. Take the soup off the heat and set it aside, leaving it completely open or slightly covered.

How to melt Ogbono seeds

This step might be an unnecessary detour for those who can ensure that they do not throw lumps of Ogbono into the pot. Check out our next post for how to dissolve Ogbono

What to Serve With Ogbono Soup

Personally, I prefer my ogbono soup with one or two wraps of pounded yam or Semovita. There is a long list of swallows (fufu) you can enjoy with your draw soup.

Here is a list of Fufu you can enjoy with ogbono soup. I am listing this based on my preference, from the perfect to the least perfect. These are:

Pounded yam

Semolina

Wheat

Garri (Eba)

Corn flour

Casava Flour

Amala

Starch

Akpu

Please, leave a comment below with your favourite Fufu to pair with the ogbono soup.

Cooking Ogbono soup with vegetable

There are a few vegetables you can add to your ogbono soup to add extra flavour and zest to your draw soup. some of these vegetables are:

1. Okra
2. Ugu (pumpkin leaves)
3. West African Black Pepper or Ashanti pepper leaves (Uziza in Igbo and Ata iyere in Yoruba)
4. Bitterleaf

If you choose to include any of these veggies in your soup, know that it is the last thing that goes into the soup. Vegetables do not need to be overcooked.

• Okra

Sometimes we use okra with Ogbono to make our draw soup extra thick. Depending on the ratio of Okra to Ogbono, the soup can be Okra soup with Ogbono for extra thickness. You can also have more Ogbono and a sprinkle of okra to add extra freshness and flavour to the Ogbono soup.

• Uziza and Bitterleaf

We use uziza and bitterleaf in negligible quantities to enhance the taste and aroma. Bitterleaf adds its unique bitter but sweet taste to the soup.

Uziza adds a very earthy and floral flavour to your African mango soup!!

• Ugu

Ugu is the most common vegetable that you can add to your soup. Adding ugu to your ogbono soup is an easy way to add a little extra nutrient to your soup.

Cooking Ogbono soup with egusi

Adding egusi to your African mango soup adds extra flavour and enjoyment to your dinner. This recipe is simple. Follow the steps below to prepare the egusi.

1. Add ground egusi to a dry bowl
2. Sprinkle a little of the billing stock into the bowl of egusi
3. You can also add a little onion or seasoning to the egusi
4. Continue to fold in the egusi until it brings out the oil
5. Cut into tiny lumps and gently drop into the boiling stock to cook for at least 5 minutes, depending on the size

Below are a few things to note:

• You can then add the prepared egusi to the stock. Make sure the broth is boiling. You must add the lumps of egusi to boiling water, but you can allow it to cook with the meat and other proteins.
• The egusi goes out with the meat and fish before adding Ogbono to the stock.

Serving and properly Storage

Here are tips to use when you want to preserve your soup:

• Ensure you leave your pot slightly open after you add the ground ogbono to the stock. (Enclosed heat breaks the consistency of the soup)
• Ensure your pot is slightly open when you take the pot of soup down from the burner/stove (enclosed heat breaks the consistency of the soup). You can cover the pot properly once the soup is warm.

• You can refrigerate/ freeze for as long as you want, then microwave or reheat on a stove whenever you want
• If you do not have a refrigerator, you can always reheat your soup morning and evening to prevent it from getting sour. However, this method kills the taste of the soup and sometimes dries it out.