Go local with Banga Soup
Banga soup is one of the best nourishing soups you can make with palm nuts. All it takes is an assortment of spice flavourings, an assortment of meat and fish. Nigerian Banga Soup or Ofe Akwu is native to the Niger Delta and the South Eastern parts of Nigeria. In the Niger Delta areas, Banga […]
Banga soup is one of the best nourishing soups you can make with palm nuts. All it takes is an assortment of spice flavourings, an assortment of meat and fish.
Nigerian Banga Soup or Ofe Akwu is native to the Niger Delta and the South Eastern parts of Nigeria. In the Niger Delta areas, Banga soup is commonly eaten with various fufu recipes: Starch, Pounded Yam, Semolina, Garri and Cassava Fufu. In the South-Eastern parts of Nigeria, Banga Soup is referred to as Ofe Akwu where Ofe means Soup / Stew and Akwu means palm fruit and is used mainly as stew for Boiled White Rice.
Ingredients for Banga Soup
- 1 kg Palm Fruits or 800g tinned Palm Fruit Concentrate
- Beef
- Dry Fish
- Vegetable: Scent Leaves for Ofe Akwu or dried and crushed bitter leaves for Delta-style Banga Soup
- Two medium onions
- Two tablespoons ground crayfish
- Salt and Chilli Pepper to taste
- Ogiri Okpei Iru
- One to two big stock cubes
Cooking direction
Set the pot of palm fruit extract on the stove and start cooking at high heat. Leave to boil till you notice it becomes red oil at the surface of the Banga Stew. If you think that the Banga Soup is watery, cook till the soup has thickened to the consistency you like for your stews.
Now, add the beef, dry fish and stock, the onions, crayfish and pepper and leave to boil very well.
Add the scent leaves or other vegetable and salt to taste. Leave to simmer for about two minutes. The Banga Soup is done. Serve with White Rice or use the Delta-style Banga Soup to eat Starch, Garri, Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.
In case you used bitter leaves to prepare it, serve with Nigerian fufu meals especially Starch. If you used scent leaves to prepare it, serve with boiled white rice.