Okoho

Okoho is a soup of the Idoma people of Benue State in central Nigeria, described as their main traditional food. It is made from the stick of the plant Cissus populnea, a member of the grape family Vitaceae, which turns very slimy once it is prepared. The soup is usually cooked with bush meat such as grass-cutter, alligator or smoked meat, and is made without oil. It is best served with pounded yam, known as onihi, though it can also accompany semolina, eba made from garri, or yam flour. Okoho is among the most respected and most requested foods at Idoma events, including traditional weddings, burial ceremonies and birthdays, and it is said to be medicinal and to aid digestion. Other Nigerian peoples such as the Igbo and the Igala also call it okoho, the Yoruba know the stick as ajara or orogbolo, and the Hausa call it dafara.