The best-known Nigerian cooking herbs are bitter leaf, scent leaf, uziza and utazi. Bitter leaf gives soups a deep, mellow bitterness, scent leaf adds a clove-like perfume, uziza brings peppery heat, and utazi adds a sharp, bitter-sweet finish. Each one also has a long place in traditional home remedies, mostly as teas, tonics and pepper soups.
Below, each herb gets its local names, its taste, the dishes it belongs in, and how families have traditionally used it. This is food and cultural information, not medical advice: talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using any herb as a remedy, especially if you are pregnant or take medication.
Bitter leaf (onugbu, ewuro)
Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) is called onugbu in Igbo and ewuro in Yoruba. Fresh leaves are intensely bitter, so cooks wash them first, rubbing and squeezing them in several changes of water until only a mild, pleasant bitterness remains. Many families in Canada and the US buy it already washed, frozen or dried.
How it is used in cooking
- Ofe onugbu (bitter leaf soup): the Igbo classic, thickened with cocoyam and cooked with palm oil, meat and fish.
- Egusi soup: a handful of washed bitter leaf balances the richness of the melon seeds.
- Other soups and stews: some cooks add a little to vegetable soups for depth.
Bitter leaf soup also needs palm oil, crayfish and stockfish, which you will find with our Nigerian soup ingredients.
Traditional uses
The green juice squeezed from the leaves is traditionally taken as a bitter tonic, and many families have long used it for stomach upsets and fevers.
Scent leaf (nchanwu, efirin)
Scent leaf (Ocimum gratissimum) is a relative of basil, sometimes sold as African basil or clove basil. Igbo cooks call it nchanwu and Yoruba cooks call it efirin. Crush a leaf and you get a strong smell of clove, mint and pepper, much bolder than Italian basil.
How it is used in cooking
- Pepper soup, where it is the signature green aroma
- Ofe akwu, the Igbo palm nut stew served with rice
- Yam porridge, beans and jollof rice, stirred in at the end
- Stews and sauces, sliced thin and added off the heat
Add it in the last few minutes of cooking. Long simmering dulls the perfume.
Traditional uses
Scent leaf is traditionally steeped in hot water as a tea for colds and upset stomachs, and it goes into the pot of pepper soup made for someone who feels under the weather.
Uziza (leaves and seeds)
Uziza (Piper guineense) is a climbing vine in the pepper family, also known as West African black pepper or Ashanti pepper. In Yoruba, the seeds are called iyere. Both parts are used: the leaves taste peppery, warm and slightly bitter, while the dried seeds taste like black pepper with a more aromatic heat.
How it is used in cooking
- Ofe nsala (white soup): sliced uziza leaves are one of its defining flavours.
- Pepper soup: ground seeds go into the spice mix, and leaves go in at the end.
- Egusi, okra and vegetable soups: a few sliced leaves add heat and fragrance.
- Yam porridge and beans: a pinch of ground seeds wakes up the whole pot.
Traditional uses
In many Nigerian families, pepper soup spiced with uziza is traditionally served to new mothers after childbirth, and to anyone with a cold. The warming heat is the point.
Utazi and other greens worth knowing
Utazi (Gongronema latifolium) has a sharp, bitter-sweet taste, so a few leaves go a long way. It is the sliced green garnish on abacha (African salad), nkwobi and isi ewu, and it also goes into pepper soup and ofe nsala. Traditionally, it is eaten after heavy meals and taken as a bitter tonic.
A few leafy greens show up in the same pots:
- Ugu (fluted pumpkin leaves): mild and earthy, used in edikang ikong, egusi and vegetable soups.
- Waterleaf: soft and juicy, cooked with ugu in edikang ikong and with afang leaves in afang soup.
- Ewedu (jute leaves): blended into the smooth, slippery ewedu soup served with amala.
Buying and storing Nigerian herbs in Canada and the US
Fresh bitter leaf, uziza and utazi can be hard to find outside big cities, so most families keep a mix of fresh, frozen and dried.
- Freeze fresh leaves. Wash, dry well, slice and freeze them flat in bags. They lose their crunch but keep their flavour for soups.
- Use dried leaves sparingly. They are more concentrated, so start with about a third of the fresh amount.
- Grind uziza seeds as needed. Whole seeds keep their aroma much longer than ground pepper.
- Swap with care. Holy basil or Thai basil is the nearest stand-in for scent leaf, though neither is as strong. Spinach replaces ugu well. Bitter leaf and utazi have no real substitute.
Fresh herbs sit next to dried spices in most Nigerian kitchens. Dried thyme, such as Ducros Thyme, goes into stews, fried rice and jollof with curry powder, and you will find it on our curry and thyme shelf with the rest of our Nigerian spices and seasonings.
Frequently asked questions
What does scent leaf taste like?
Scent leaf tastes strongly of clove, mint and pepper, and it is much bolder than sweet basil. A small handful is enough to perfume a whole pot of pepper soup.
How do you remove the bitterness from bitter leaf?
Rub and squeeze the leaves in several changes of water, sometimes with a little salt, until the water runs lighter and the taste turns mildly bitter. Some cooks boil the leaves briefly first.
What is uziza called in Yoruba?
Uziza seeds are called iyere in Yoruba. In English, the plant is also known as West African black pepper or Ashanti pepper.
Can I use dried Nigerian herbs instead of fresh?
Yes. Dried bitter leaf, scent leaf and uziza work well in soups, but they are more concentrated, so start with about a third of the fresh amount.