by Fatima Sani | Nov 28, 2021 | Local Delicacies
Bitter leaf soup otherwise known as Miyan shuwaka in Hausa language is a delicacy in northern Nigeria. It is prepared with fresh bitter leaves (shuwaka) and some use the dried leaves, that’s after washing it till the bitterness reduces significantly, then spread under the sun to dry. However, it is not consumed by many. Only a few people like it which largely owes to its bitterness. In this article, I will be guiding you on how to make this delicious northern Nigerian cuisine. Let’s get right into it!
Equipment for Making Bitter Leaf Soup
Cooking pot
Bowl
Kitchen Knife
Scoop
Ingredients for Preparing Bitter Leaf Soup
You will need the following ingredients to prepare Bitter Leaf soup:
Fresh or dried bitter leaves
2 cooking spoons of palm oil
Fresh pepper, onions, and tomatoes (all grinded)
Seasoning cubes – maggi cubes, thyme, curry, etc. (to desired taste)
Salt to taste
2 litres of water (more or less depending on the quantity)
1 cake of locust bean (daddawa)
Boiled or fried meat and/or fish (quantity and size to taste)
Procedure for Making Bitter Leaf Soup
STEP 1: Wash the bitter leaf properly (that’s if you are using fresh bitter leaf) with a small pitch of salt. Squeeze it between your palms till the bitterness has reduced significantly.
STEP 2: Over medium heat, place a pot of oil and pieces of onions in it and allow to fry for 2 minutes.
STEP 3: Add the ground onion, pepper, and tomatoes. Allow to fry for 5 minutes.
STEP 4: Add your clean water (a little bit higher than the quantity you actually need for the soup) to the cooking pot and ground locust beans. Add your meat to it too and allow to boil until the water reduces to the desired quantity.
STEP 5: Add the bitter leaf to the cooking pot with your seasoning cubes, spices, and salt to taste. Allow to cook for 10 minutes.
STEP 6: Stir it well and reduce the heat. Allow to cook for additional 3 minutes.
STEP 7: Turn off the cooker. Ta-Da! Your Miyan Shuwaka is ready!
TIPS:
You can add more water to the soup if you feel it is too thick. In addition, it is advisable to use warm water and not cold water.
Swallows That Best Goes With It
Miyan Shuwaka (Bitter Leaf Soup) is normally taken with Tuwon Semovita or Eba.
How to Serve Bitter Leaf Soup
Aside from Tuwon Semo and Eba, it could also be served with Tuwon Shinkafa, Tuwon Masara, Tuwon Alkama, Tuwon Alabo, and any other swallow of your choice. It tastes best when served hot.
Occasions to Best Serve Bitter Leaf Soup
This delicious northern Nigerian delicacy can be eaten as lunch or dinner. It is served in wedding ceremonies which is mostly common among the Yorubas.
How to Store Bitter Leaf Soup
It is best stored in a refrigerator as it will last for several days. In the absence of a refrigerator nonetheless, it only lasts for a day or two at most, or you will have to be warming it mornings and evenings to last a little bit longer.
Nutritional Value of Bitter Leaf Soup
Miyan Shuwaka (Bitter Leaf Soup) has numerous medicinal values and benefits to human health. The leaf exhibits antibacterial and antifungal properties that make it a good home remedy for several health issues such as diarrhea, high blood pressure, dysentery, and many others.
In addition, Miyan Shuwaka has the ability to improve a crucial female sex hormone that contributes to reproductive development and regulation.
Conclusion
Ensure you wash the leaves properly to reduce the bitterness. This is very important if you do not like bitter tastes else, it will be difficult to consume. More so, as you have seen, it is very easy to prepare without much stress. Now that you know how to prepare Miyan Shuwaka, I hope you will try it at home. Ensure you perfect it first before you choose to make it for occasions.
If you find this article helpful, please leave a comment in the comments section below.
You are always welcome to Northpad Nigeria for more local Northern Nigerian recipes.
by Fatima Sani | Nov 28, 2021 | Local Delicacies
Miyan Alayyahu also known as Spinach Soup is a soup well consumed in northern Nigeria mostly by the Hausas. Yorubas that live in this part of the country also consume it. It is made with fresh spinach. It is quite easy to prepare and tastes delicious. This is one of my favorites of all northern Nigerian soups. Stay with me as I show you how to prepare Miyan Alayyahu.
Equipment for making Miyan Alayyahu
Cooking pot
Kitchen knife
Chopping board
Bowl
Colander
Blender
Ingredients for Preparing Miyan Alayyahu
You will need the following ingredients to prepare Miyan Alayyahu (Spinach Soup):
2 bunches of fresh spinach (alayyahu)
Fresh onions, pepper, and tomatoes (all blended)
Vegetable oil or palm oil
Seasoning cubes (in desired quantity)
Salt to taste
Boiled meat and/or stockfish or dried fish.
Little water
Procedure for Making Miyan Alayyahu
STEP 1: Wash the spinach with water and small salt in a bowl properly.
STEP 2: Chop the spinach to the desired size and set it aside. Then;
STEP 3: Over medium heat, put the cooking pot, add the vegetable oil or palm oil, and some sliced onion. Allow to fry for 3 minutes
STEP 4: Add the ground onion, pepper, and tomatoes and mix. Allow to fry for 5 minutes.
STEP 5: Add a little water and allow to boil for 5 minutes.
STEP 6: Add the fish and/or fish and let it boil till it becomes soft. (Be careful not to add too much water, else, you will ruin the soup).
STEP 7: Add the chopped spinach and seasoning cubes, salt, and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
STEP 8: Taste the soup to see if you need to add any seasoning. Finally;
STEP 9: Turn off the cooker and your soup is done and ready to be served.
TIPS:
- Only a little water is needed when cooking Miyan Alayyahu. This is because the spinach has its own water.
- Don’t worry when you see the quantity of spinach much more than the water in the pot. As you cook, the spinach releases its water content into the soup.
Swallows That Best Goes With It
Miyan Alayyahu (Spinach Soup) is normally taken with Tuwon Shinkafa or Eba.
How to Serve Miyan Alayyahu
Aside from Tuwon Shinkafa and Eba, it could also be served with, Tuwon Masara, Tuwon Alkama, Tuwon Dawa, Tuwon Alabo, and any other swallow of your choice.
Occasions to Best Serve Miyan Alayyahu
This local northern Nigerian cuisine could be taken as breakfast, lunch, and also dinner. More so, it is suitable for occasions like festive periods, wedding ceremonies, naming ceremonies, birthday parties, etc.
It may interest you to check how naming ceremony is conducted in Northern Nigeria.
How to Store Miyan Alayyahu
It is best stored in a refrigerator as it will last for several days. In the absence of a refrigerator nonetheless, it only lasts for a day or two at most, or you will have to be warming it mornings and evenings to last a little bit longer.
Nutritional Value of Miyan Alayyahu
Spinach (alayyahu) is one of the best sources of dietary potassium and magnesium, two very important electrolytes necessary for maintaining human health.
In addition, spinach has been famous for its ability to make one strong. It is dense in vitamins and minerals and low in calories.
Furthermore, eating spinach is important in maintaining healthy skin, hair, and strong bones, as well as helping with lowering the risk of heart disease and helps in digestion. More so, it is beneficial in improving blood glucose control in diabetic patients.
Conclusion
Again, don’t forget that you only need a small amount of water, usually less than the quantity you need in preparing soups like Miyan Taushe, Miyan Karkashi, Miyan Wake, Miyan Kuka, and the likes. Now that you know how to prepare Miyan Alayyahu, you can decide when to try it.
If you find this article helpful, please leave a comment in the comments section below.
You are always welcome to Northpad Nigeria for more local Northern Nigerian recipes.
by Fatima Sani | Nov 20, 2021 | Local Delicacies
Miyan Karkashi also known in English as Sesame Leaves Soup is a local cuisine consumed in northern Nigeria by the indigenes of the area, mostly by the Hausas. It is made with dried or fresh karkashi leaves – the procedure for preparing the two varieties is the same. For those of you who like draw soups, here is one for you.
Follow me as I will be your guide on how to prepare this delicious soup that will keep you wanting to have more after your first feel of it.
Before we go fully into how it’s being prepared, I would like to draw your attention to something. You wouldn’t need any vegetable or palm oil to make it. This is because it will reduce its sliminess, which is normally needed. However, you can choose to if you want it anyway.
Equipment for Making Miyan Karkashi
Cooking pot
Whisk
Blender
Cooking spoon
Ingredients Used for Making Miyan Karkashi
A bunch of fresh karkashi leaves (sesame leaves) or powdered karkashi leaves
A small piece of potash (kanwa).
Spices and seasoning cubes (proportional to taste).
2 spoons of locust beans (daddawa).
Fresh pepper and onions (grinded).
Fish and/or meat (size and quantity to taste).
Water (as required).
Procedure for Preparation of Miyan Karkashi
STEP 1: Cut your Karkashi leaves into small pieces (pounded or blended) and keep them aside.
STEP 2: Over medium heat, put a pot containing the required amount of water add the locust beans into it (daddawa). Allow to boil.
STEP 3: Add the fish or meat to the cooking pot and allow to cook for 25 minutes.
STEP 4: After then, add the blended Karkashi with a little amount of potash. Stir for a few minutes.
STEP 5: Lower the heat and add your seasoning and spices.
STEP 6: Continue stirring it with a whisk for 3 minutes until you get the mixture very smooth. Then;
STEP 7: Taste the soup using the cooking spoon to see if there is a need to add seasoning and/or spices.
STEP 8: Turn off the cooker and your Miyan Karkashi is ready to be served.
Swallow that Goes Best with It
Miyan Karkashi is best dished with Tuwon Masara. Personally, I prefer to take it with Tuwon Dawa. Yummy… I’m salivating already. Other swallows such as Tuwon Alkama, Tuwon Shinkafa, and others can go with it just fine – your choice.
How to Serve Miyan Karkashi
It will interest you to know that some people serve it with a red stew and take it with whatever swallow they prefer. As usual, it should be served with drinking water (bottled or sachet), and ensure you have a bib on you because there is a proclivity of you messing yourself up. Eat with caution, especially bearded guys.
Occasions to Serve Miyan Karkashi
There is no special occasion for this meal, as it can be consumed any day anytime. Again, in most Hausa communities, Miyan Karkashi and Tuwon Masara can serve as a good combination for breakfast mostly as dumame – informally translated as double-fire. Just so you know, dumame is the surplus or stored food that is eaten as breakfast in Hausa homes when warmed or microwaved.
How to Store Miyan Karkashi
You can store this cuisine in a refrigerator that is constantly powered for as long as you want. However, you stand the chance of losing its actual feel because the taste reduces. If you do not have a refrigerator, it lasts for 2 days at most and only when you keep warming mornings and evenings. Therefore, I advise you to make the quantity just enough for consumption to avoid unnecessary wastage.
Health Benefits of Miyan Karkashi
The leaf itself has a lot of health benefits for humans, some of which are:
- The production of red blood cells in the body is boosted.
- It increases the libido and helps boost ovulation in women
- It increases human eyesight.
- Because it has a low glycemic index, it is highly recommended for diabetic patients.
When consumed in soup form, it adds to its nutritional value. This is because of the ingredients such as meat, pepper, tomatoes, etc. that are contained in it.
Conclusion
Don’t forget, if you want to get the taste and feel of the real Miyan Karkashi, please, do not use any oil when preparing it. As you have seen, it is very easy to prepare. Hope this was helpful. Tell me in the comments section when you will be making yours.
If you find this article helpful, please leave a comment in the comments section below. Thanks.
You are always welcome to Northpad Nigeria for more local Northern Nigerian cuisines.
