Efo riro ( yo, ẹ̀fọ́ riro) is a

vegetable soup Vegetable soup is a common soup prepared using vegetables and leaf vegetables as primary ingredients. It dates to ancient history, and is a mass-produced food product in contemporary times. Overview Vegetable soup is prepared using vegetables, ...

and a native soup of the

Yoruba people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitut ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The two vegetables most commonly used to prepare the soup are '' Celosia argentea'' () and ''

Amaranthus hybridus ''Amaranthus hybridus'', commonly called green amaranth, slim amaranth, smooth amaranth, smooth pigweed, or red amaranth, is a species of annual flowering plant. It is a weedy species found now over much of North America and introduced into Europ ...

'' ().

Ingredients

The ingredients used to prepare ẹ̀fọ́ riro vary, especially in which meats are included, but some common ingredients are: *

Beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

* Cow tripe (shaki) * Cow skin (ponmo) *

Smoked fish Smoked fish is fish that has been cured by smoking. Foods have been smoked by humans throughout history. Originally this was done as a preservative. In more recent times fish is readily preserved by refrigeration and freezing and the smoking of ...

* Dry fish *

Palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced fr ...

* ''Celosia argentea'' or green amaranth * Peppers (red bell peppers or chili peppers) * Ground

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, m ...

Onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...

s * Bouillon cubes * Locust beans *

Salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

Health Benefits

All recipe used in preparing ẹ̀fọ́ riro have individual nutritional and health benefits. Lets take a look at some of them; * vegetables- they contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and also minerals needed for the general well-being of our internal organs. * pepper- they contains vitamins, potassium, copper and other bioactive compounds. * fish- a great source of protein, vitamin-D, iodine and omega-3. * meat- it is a source of various vitamins and minerals, also vitamin B12, zinc, selenium, iron, niacin, and vitamin B6. * locust bean- fibre, they also supress blood sugar level, and also very beneficial to the eye. * palm oil: They help in buildng brain function, and also lowers risk of heart related diseases.

Culinary accompaniments

Ẹ̀fọ́ riro is often eaten with Nigerian swallow foods like eba, pounded yam, or

fufu Fufu (or fufuo, foofoo, foufou ) is a dough-like food found in West African cuisine. In addition to Ghana, it is also found in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ...

. Other starchy foods such as

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

and boiled

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

may also be eaten with it.

References

Nigerian cuisine Yoruba cuisine Spinach dishes Seafood dishes Fish stews {{Nigeria-cuisine-stub