Ogbono soup (draw soup) is one of the most popular soups in Nigeria. Here, you will learn how to make this delicious soup and why it falls into the list of Nigerian popular soups.

While searching the web I have learned that there are over forty different soups that are eaten in Nigeria and there are probably about a hundreds of other foods, the list would likely run into thousands if both fruits were counted.
Here we talked about the process involved in making Nigerian draw soup. This soup is actually easy to prepare because almost all of its ingredients could be prepared by traders in the market, making it very easy for the cook.
Although, I like to make this soup with fluted pumpkin, the video below was made with bitter leaves. You can substitute different leaves for most Nigerian soups, this soup can also be made with water leaves, I have even eaten ogbolo soup that was made with uha leaves by my grandmother several years ago. So you can go ahead and experiment wildly!
Here are all the ingredients for making Nigerian Ogbono Soup, it would serve about ten to fifteen persons ( the remainder could be refrigerated for up to two weeks)
Secret: I once pulled out ogbolo soup from my deep freezer that has lasted for over a month and still tasted fresh *please don’t try this at home*, I highly recommend below two weeks to avoid complete loss of nutrients
Meat of choice (beef, chicken, turkey or assorted meat)
2 cups of ogbono seeds
Stock fish head (medium size)
2 medium size dry fish
1 cup of crayfish (ground)
Fluted pumpkin (a bunch)
Half teaspoon of ogiri or ground dawadawa or okpei (local ingredients) (optional)
10 to 15cl of palm oil
About 2 liters of water
salt and pepper to taste.
Assorted meat is always preferred above all other types of meat in Nigeria. This is just different parts of a cow, from the intestine to the tripes (shaki), kidney, liver, heart and also red meat (beef).

Like I stated above. This soup is very easy to make, you can grind/blend ogbono seeds with a blender or hand grinding machine. This can either be done at home or by the trader who sold it to you in the market (if you live in Nigeria).

Selecting the right Ogbono seed and other ingredients.

Most people don’t know the difference between the authentic and the fake ogbono seeds, the best approach would be to buy from a trusted trader. Although there is just very little difference between the two, the only difference is that one has better elasticity
Another ingredient that has a direct effect on any Nigerian soup is the kind of dry fish used, I like to use the round dry cat fish. It is sold in most Nigerian markets and African shops, if you can get your hands on a good one it tastes nice in soup
You can also slice the ugwu leaves (fluted pumpkin) in the market, the traders will assist you or you can do it yourself at home. Just pluck off the stem and slice with a sharp knife and a chopping board (I use tray sometimes), but that is only if you are making this soup with fluted pumpkin
But if you want to make this soup with bitter leaves you might want to boil the bitter leaves with water for ten to fifteen minutes, this technique would further reduce the bitter tastes and also soften the leaves (some people also add a little bit of edible potash just to hasten the whole process but I highly advice against this habit because it can change the entire texture of your soup thereby decreasing the nutritional value.
Soak the dry fish and stock fish with hot water and wash thoroughly to remove sand and impurities.
Here is how to make Nigerian ogbolo or Ogbono soup.
Parboil your meat the normal way, with all the necessary ingredients (2 cubes of knorr or maggi, salt, onions, half T/S of thyme and other spices or flavors of choice).
Add water to the meat after about ten minutes and cook till it is soft enough for consumption. Add the washed dry fish and stock fish, about 10 to 15cl of palm oil, ground crayfish, stir, cover and cook for ten to fifteen minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste, add a cube of maggi or knorr (optional), add the ground ogbolo seeds, stir and cook for another five minutes. At this point you can add the sliced okra in case you chose to make a blend of Nigerian ogbono and okra soup.
Allow for about three minutes before adding the chopped fluted pumpkin leaves or bitter leaves (as below)
You just made a very delicious Nigerian ogbono soup