Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Cook's Guide entry for Okazi, Utazi, Uziza and Achara along with all the trcipes employing Okazi, Utazi, Uziza and Achara presented on this site, with 0 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Okazi, Utazi, Uziza and Achara recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Okazi, Utazi, Uziza and Achara as a major wild food ingredient.

Various kinds of greens, many of them sourced in the wild are used in Nigerian cookery. These include waterleaf, bitterleaf and achara.

Most confusion lies between okazi (also known as ukazi), utazi and uziza leaves, because of their similar spelling. Many consider them synonyms, but in fact they are derived from different plants and have different flavour profiles and usages.

The individual leaves and their usages are described below:

Okazi Also known as ukazi, eru and Afang leaf, these are the leaves of the liana (sometimes spindly tree), Gnetum Africanum (African jointfir), a member of the gymnosperms (they are related to confiers). Typically these are used for cooking Afang soup and Okazi (Ukazi) soup, though the leaves are sometimes also added to other soups, particularly egusi soup or vegetable soups. The leaves are hard and glossy and bear a resemblance to citrus leaves (though okazi leaves have red stems). Okazi leaves are quite tough and do not really have a distinctive taste or smell. They need quite long cooking to soften, and are valued for their purported medicinal qualities. Typically they are finely shredded before cooking.

Uziza Uziza leaves, also known as 'scent leaf' or 'Ashanti pepper leaves' are the leaves of the false cubeb vine or Ashanti pepper vine Piper guineense are a relative of true black pepper. The dried fruit are commonly used as a spice in West Africa (see the spice guide page for Ashanti pepper). The leaves are glossy, but have a distinctive spicy aroma when crushed. The leaves are used both as a vegetable and as a flavouring herb. Typically uziza leaves are used for cooking Pepper soup, Gi Nmiri Oku (yam pepper soup), egusi soup and Oha soup.

Utazi/Otazi Utazi (Bush buck, ewe-ijaji or Arokeke) are the leaves of Gongronema latifolium, a climbing shrub or liana with hollow stems that can grow up to 5m in length which occurs in rainforest, deciduous and secondary forests, and also in mangrove and disturbed roadside forest. The leaves are heart-shaped and with a slightly bitter taste (about the same bitterness level as dandelion). The leaves are typically eaten raw and are used fresh. However, they are also washed, destalked, dried, milled into powder and packed for further uses. Typically utazi leaves are used as a garnish for African salad (Abacha and Ugba), Isiewu and Nkwob. However, it is also used for some soups like Nsala. It is considered beneficial for diabetic patients. As well as Nigeria, the leaves of Gongronema latifolium sold locally as a foodstuff in the markets of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon

Achara Achara (also known as Napier grass, elephant grass or Ugandan grass) are the leaves of the grass, Cenchrus purpureus syn Pennisetum purpureum. This is a native African grass that requires low rainfall and can thrive on poor soil. Traditionally it is used for grazing, though in Nigeria the young leaves are eaten as a vegetable, primarily in soups (the image, right, shows napier grass being cut for sale). It is an important ingredient in the Nigerian dish, Achara Soup.