Aaru Soup (Ọbẹ̀ aaru)
Overview
Aaru soup is a traditional Yoruba soup of southwestern Nigeria, cooked for women after childbirth. Palm oil is heated in a pot and blended pepper and sliced onions are fried in it, followed by ground crayfish and ground melon seed, the egusi, which is stirred until it toasts and begins to clump. Pieces of cooked meat with their stock, dried fish cleaned in hot water, salt and seasoning go in next, and the soup simmers until thick and rich. Last of all comes the aaru, the dried and ground buds of a fragrant plant identified by Nigerian researchers as clove, which is steamed in the soup for a few minutes to give its warm, spicy aroma.
History
In Ondo State and other parts of Yorubaland, families prepare a group of special soups for new mothers, each based on a particular herb, such as aaru, marugbo and gbanunu, which are believed to help recovery after delivery. Nigerian nutrition researchers have studied these soups and found that aaru soup is rich in fat and energy. They also looked at its safety and found it within acceptable limits, and they encourage mothers to keep eating such traditional soups.
Main ingredients
Meat, dried fish, melon seed, palm oil, crayfish, cloves. The soup is built on rich palm oil and melon seed soup and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Fish and seafood soups · More soups from Nigeria
Recipe
Method
- 1
Heat the palm oil and fry the blended pepper with the sliced onions.
- 25 min
Add the crayfish and ground melon seed and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes.
- 3
Add the cooked meat, stock, dried fish and seasoning and stir well.
- 410 min
Add a little water and simmer for 10 minutes until thick.
- 55 min
Stir in the aaru, steam for 5 minutes and take off the heat.
- ✓
Serve. About 1h 10m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
