What it is
A pale, pepper-forward soup thickened with pounded boiled yam rather than seeds or palm oil, so it stays close to white. It is heavily spiced with uyayak and utazi and cooked with goat meat, chicken or fish.
Key ingredients
- Pounded yam as thickener
- Goat meat, chicken or fish
- Uyayak (aidan fruit)
- Utazi leaves
- Ground crayfish
- Ground pepper
- Onions
- Salt
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Eaten with pounded yam or fufu, or drunk as a broth when it is made thin for a nursing mother.
Cultural significance
Afia efere is Efik and Ibibio, from Cross River and Akwa Ibom, and is the Calabar white soup often served to guests and to new mothers. Because it uses no palm oil, the skill sits in the spicing and in getting the yam thickener smooth. It is closely related to Igbo nsala but seasoned differently.
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