Nigerian Okro Soup for Babies

Nigerian soups are packed full of nutrients and you may want to introduce them to your baby from 7-8 months old.

Rather than giving him/her your fingers to lick from your own soup (I am equally guilty of that sometimes), make a baby version that can be given as a complete meal. Making strictly baby’s own soup is in my opinion a better way of making this introduction.

The family soup will definitely contain salt and it is medically advised to avoid adding salt to baby’s food. This is because their  kidneys are not completely developed to withstand processing all that.

Okro soup is always a kids favourite and therefore a good soup to start baby with from 6 months. Inorder to make it tasty, without adding salt or seasoning, I use crayfish, onions, flaked mackerel fish and  then sometimes add a little scent/basil leaf (nchuanwu/effirin).

Baby’s Okro Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 5-6 fingers Okro
• 2-3 medium cuts of mackerel fish
• 1 medium onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons crayfish
• 2 tablespoons red palm oil
• 1-2 cups water

Method:

1. Wash fish and put in a pot with 2 cups of water. Finely chop half of the onions and garlic, add to pot and cook till fish is cooked (this will take about 10-15 minutes)
2. Remove the fish and allow to cool before de-boning completely and flaking. Please be careful to remove all the bones in the fish. Meanwhile, drain the fish stock into a fresh pot with a sieve to ensure all the onions, garlic and any bone particles have been removed.
3. Blend the remaining onions and crayfish together. Chop Okro in chunks and blend with a little water till smooth.
4. Set pot of stock on medium heat again and once it boils, add the palm oil, flaked fish,  blended onions and crayfish. Stir and simmer for about two minutes.
5. Pour in the blended okro, stir well and remove from heat once done. The okro is blended, so the heat from the soup will cook it well without killing the nutrients.
6. Serve with a small portion of very soft eba.

Note: You can add more or less water to loosen the thickness of the soup to your baby’s preference.

There is another okro soup for older kids or the whole family. Leave a comment below. Follow Mummy’s Yum on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for more interaction and sharing of information and ideas.

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