Hello Vegan lovers, welcome to my blog.
Today I'll be sharing with you this tasty nutritious Ugboguru (Squash Shoots)soup I prepared over the weekend. I love weekends because that's when I get the chance to try out some nice recipes. The good thing about this soup is that you can prepare it within minutes. It's a sharp sharp soup, lol.
About Ugboguru vegetable
Ugboguru - Squash Shoots vegetable is the tender leaves and stems of the Cucurbita maxima plant - Kabocha squash or Anyu (in our local dialect).
That being said let's go over the ingredients for the soup
Ugboguru (Squash Shoots) - desired quantity.
8 fingers of Okra.
Dry mushrooms. This particular mushroom is white, tender and sweet. It's called ero mgbawa ala in my local dialect. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the English name.
Fresh pepper - desired quantity.
1 sizeable onion bulb.
1 tablespoon of salt.
8cl palm oil
2 pieces of Aidan fruit.
And water.
Let's prep the ingredients.
Wash the mushrooms thoroughly with warm water and set aside.
Wash the Aidan fruit too.
With your hands, cut the vegetables in small bits and wash very well.
Peel and dice the onions. Wash the peppers.
Wash the okra and cut.
- Pound or blend the pepper and onion together. I pounded mine with mortar and pestle.
- Pound or slightly blend the okra The reason is to make it to bring out it's draw-like texture. You can skip this part if you want.
Now our ingredients are ready, let's get cooking
- In your cooking pot, add the ingredients - mushrooms, aidan fruit, pounded onion and pepper, salt and palm oil, all together. Stir, cover the lid and allow to cook for 15 minutes.
- Next add the pounded okra, stir and allow to cook for 3 minutes. You don't want to overcook it.
*Finally add the ugboguru leaves, stir very well, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for another 3 minutes. Turn off heat and uncover the pot.
Preparing the Potato Flour
- Get your desired quantity of the potato flour. I used 250g.
- Pour the flour in a bowl, add about 15cl of water, turn until it forms a thick paste.
- Put water to boil, about 20cl of water, pour the potato paste, and turn continuously for about 10 minutes, until you're sure it's well cooked. As you turn, ensure that you check the texture to know if more water is needed. Just a little quantity.
Now your ugboguru soup and potato swallow is ready. Serve in your favorite plates and enjoy the tasty goodness. 😋
Benefits of Ugboguru - Squash Shoots or Pumpkin Shoots vegetable
Like any other green leafy vegetables, Ugboguru contains essential nutrients like minerals, vitamins, and equally rich in antioxidants.
The benefits of this amazing vegetable are numerous;
Ugboguru vegetable is good for general wellbeing. It nourishes the skin, help improve eyesight and wound healing.
Ugbogoru can be used to prepare soups, yam and potato porridges too. How about veggie sauce for rice or white yam? Perfect combination. 😅
Due to the softness of the leaves, they do require much heat to cook. So it's best advised to cook on low heat and do not overcook to avoid loss of nutrients.
I hope you'll try out this recipe. I bet, you'll love it.
Thank you for reading.
Author's Photos
