Soups & Stews

Isapa / Ishapa Soup (White Roselle and Egusi)

Name: Isapa / Ishapa Soup (White Roselle and Egusi)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 125 min
Total time: 215 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 60 g dried culinary white isapa (white roselle sepals/calyces; buy specifically for soup); 220 g ground egusi; 500 g stewing beef (cubed); 120 g smoked fish (deboned); 350 g tomatoes; 150 g onion (50 g for meat, rest for sauce); 1 Scotch bonnet pepper; 75 ml red palm oil; 1 tbsp iru; 2 tbsp ground dried crayfish; 1200 ml water (for soup and egusi paste); 2000 ml additional water (for soaking/rinsing isapa; discarded); 0.75 tsp salt

A tangy white-roselle and melon-seed soup with tender beef, smoked fish and iru. Isapa gives an egusi soup a character that ordinary greens cannot reproduce. Sai Omojola learned a version from her Ekiti mother-in-law, while Afrolems describes the white zobo sepals used in Ogun. Sources often call this ingredient a leaf, although the pale roselle sepals or calyces are meant in these recipes. Their preparation deserves attention because grit and sourness vary. This version uses a clearly labelled culinary product, rinses and softens it separately, and finishes it in the soup rather than substituting red drink hibiscus. Cultural context: Sai Omojola documents an Ekiti household recipe; Afrolems records the soup while living in Ogun. The defining ingredient is culinary white roselle sepals/calyces, often called leaves, not generic red hibiscus tea.

30 minPreparation

125 minCooking

6Servings

Allow 60 additional minutes for resting / soaking. Total: 215 minutes.

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Sort the isapa carefully. Rinse repeatedly until free of grit. Cover with freshly boiled water and soak for 1 hour, then drain. Simmer in fresh water for 10–15 minutes until flexible, drain and rinse again. Follow longer preparation directions on the packet if supplied.
2
Meanwhile, simmer beef with 50 g onion, half the salt and 800 ml soup water for 55–75 minutes until fork-tender. Keep its stock.
3
Blend tomatoes, remaining onion and pepper. Warm palm oil without smoking, add puree and cook for 12–15 minutes until concentrated. Stir in iru and crayfish.
4
Mix egusi with 200 ml water into a thick paste. Add beef and 600 ml beef stock to the sauce, making up the volume with water if needed. Drop in small spoonfuls of egusi paste.
5
Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes, checking the base does not dry. Fold in the smoked fish and continue for 10 minutes, adding a little water to keep it spoonable.
6
Add softened isapa and simmer 5–8 minutes. It should be tender but distinguishable in the thick soup. Adjust salt and serve with pounded yam or another swallow. Refrigerate promptly.

A little kitchen wisdom

No potash or wood ash is needed in this adaptation; rinse and precook as the food-grade product requires. Do not confuse white isapa with red zobo sold primarily for drinks. Timing estimate: active preparation 30 min; cooking 125 min; additional passive time 60 min; conservative planning allowance 215 min. Some stages may overlap. Recipe status: Research formulation; not kitchen-tested. Allergen checks: Fish; Crustacean shellfish; Melon seed

Recipe notes & sources

Research formulation; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Obe Ishapa, Obe Isapa

Sai Omojola documents an Ekiti household recipe; Afrolems records the soup while living in Ogun. The defining ingredient is culinary white roselle sepals/calyces, often called leaves, not generic red hibiscus tea.

Allergens: Fish, Crustacean shellfish, Melon seed

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Soups & Stews

Isapa / Ishapa Soup (White Roselle and Egusi)

30 minPreparation

125 minCooking

6Servings

Allow 60 additional minutes for resting / soaking. Total: 215 minutes.

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Sort the isapa carefully. Rinse repeatedly until free of grit. Cover with freshly boiled water and soak for 1 hour, then drain. Simmer in fresh water for 10–15 minutes until flexible, drain and rinse again. Follow longer preparation directions on the packet if supplied.
2
Meanwhile, simmer beef with 50 g onion, half the salt and 800 ml soup water for 55–75 minutes until fork-tender. Keep its stock.
3
Blend tomatoes, remaining onion and pepper. Warm palm oil without smoking, add puree and cook for 12–15 minutes until concentrated. Stir in iru and crayfish.
4
Mix egusi with 200 ml water into a thick paste. Add beef and 600 ml beef stock to the sauce, making up the volume with water if needed. Drop in small spoonfuls of egusi paste.
5
Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes, checking the base does not dry. Fold in the smoked fish and continue for 10 minutes, adding a little water to keep it spoonable.
6
Add softened isapa and simmer 5–8 minutes. It should be tender but distinguishable in the thick soup. Adjust salt and serve with pounded yam or another swallow. Refrigerate promptly.