Okra Soup — or as Nigerians across the land lovingly call it, draw soup — is one of the most iconic dishes in West African cooking. Made with fresh green okra that releases a beautifully silky, stretchy texture as it cooks, this soup is at home in kitchens from Lagos to London, from Yoruba to Igbo to Delta households. It appears on tables after Sunday church, at midweek family dinners, and as a deeply comforting pot on cold British evenings. Simple to make and endlessly satisfying, it is a dish that never gets old.
What makes okra soup truly special is that signature stretch — the draw — that forms the moment the sliced okra melts into the rich palm oil base. Layered with smoky dried catfish and stockfish, plump cleaned periwinkle, tender assorted meat, aromatic ground crayfish and a handful of fresh uziza leaves, every spoonful carries the bold, earthy flavours that remind you of home. It comes together in under an hour, and the result is a pot so good it will have everyone at the table reaching for seconds before they have even finished their first scoop.
Everything you need to make this pot of joy is available at Awuf Afro Store — from fresh green okra and Banga Palm Oil to Awuf Grounded Crayfish, dried catfish fillet, periwinkle and fresh uziza leaves, delivered straight to your door anywhere across the UK.
Ingredients
Serves 4
| Quantity | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 500g | Fresh green okra (washed and sliced into thin rounds (about 3mm), or coarsely grated for extra draw) |
| 4 tbsp | Palm oil |
| 500g | Assorted meat (beef, tripe, shaki) (cut into bite-sized pieces) |
| 80g | Stockfish (soaked in warm water for 15 minutes, bones removed) |
| 100g | Dried catfish fillet (rinsed and broken into pieces) |
| 50g | Smoked prawns (rinsed) |
| 3 tbsp | Ground crayfish |
| 100g | Periwinkle (cleaned) |
| 3–4 peppers | Fresh scotch bonnet peppers (adjust to your heat preference) |
| 1 medium | White onion (half blended with peppers, half sliced for seasoning the meat) |
| 2 cubes | Maggi Star seasoning cubes |
| 1 cube | Knorr Chicken seasoning cube |
| 1 handful | Fresh uziza leaves (washed and roughly torn) |
| to taste | Salt |
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Method
- Place the assorted meat in a pot and season with 1 Maggi Star cube, 1 Knorr Chicken cube, half the sliced onion and a pinch of salt. Add just enough cold water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30–40 minutes until the meat is completely tender. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and reserve the stock — do not throw it away.
- While the meat cooks, soak the PC Stockfish Cod in warm water for 15–20 minutes to soften. Break into small pieces and remove any visible bones. Rinse the Awuf Dried Catfish Fillet under cold water and break into pieces. Set all fish aside.
- Blend the scotch bonnet peppers and remaining half onion with 2–3 tablespoons of water until smooth. Set aside.
- Prepare the okra: wash the fresh green okra well under cold water. Slice each pod into thin rounds, about 3mm thick, for a classic chunky texture. For maximum silky draw, grate the okra coarsely on a box grater instead — the finer the cut, the more it draws. Set aside.
- Heat 4 tablespoons of Banga Palm Oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat for about 2 minutes until it shimmers and is fragrant. Do not bleach or overheat the oil — you want it deep golden, not clear.
- Add the blended pepper and onion to the hot palm oil. Fry, stirring frequently, for 10–12 minutes until the raw pepper smell completely disappears and the oil rises back to the top of the stew.
- Add the cooked assorted meat, stockfish pieces and dried catfish fillet into the pot. Pour in 1 to 1.5 cups of the reserved meat stock. Stir everything together and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.
- Add the periwinkle, smoked prawns and 3 tablespoons of Awuf Grounded Crayfish. Crumble in the remaining Maggi Star cube and stir well. Cook for a further 3 minutes, tasting and adjusting salt as needed.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the sliced or grated fresh okra into the pot and stir gently to combine. Cook for 3–5 minutes — just until the okra turns bright green and the soup becomes gloriously silky and thick. Do not cook longer than 5 minutes or the draw will disappear.
- Add the fresh uziza leaves, stir through, and cook for 1 final minute. Taste one more time, adjust seasoning, and remove from heat immediately.
- Serve hot alongside pounded yam, eba (garri), fufu, semolina or semovita. Watch it vanish from the pot faster than you made it.
Tips & Variations
- The secret to maximum draw is low heat and short cooking time — once the okra goes into the pot, 3–5 minutes is all it needs. High heat, overcooking or over-stirring will break down the draw and leave you with a flat soup.
- For a deeper, more traditional flavour, add a small amount of Awuf Ogiri (fermented locust bean paste, available in store) to the hot palm oil just before you add the pepper blend. It gives a bold, earthy umami depth that is very authentic.
- Okra soup freezes beautifully without the uziza leaves. Freeze the soup after step 9 in portion-sized containers. When reheating, add fresh uziza leaves in the last minute for the best colour and flavour.
