Naijawack

Tag: soup

  • Delta Banga Soup Recipe

    Delta Banga Soup Recipe

    10,000 naira

    Banga soup is a delight for every Urhobo man, when paired with piping hot starch, a wife can ask for anything and her husband will gladly obliged. Banga soup is now a favorite to many tribes across the country with some variations along the way.

    Here is an authentic way to make Delta banga soup guaranteed to win you the heart of any deltan, or simply fill your stomach and delight your tongue.

    Banga Soup 1

    Ready in 150 minutes

    Serves 8 people

    2280 calories 

    Ingredients

    • Cow meat (3000 naira)
    • Tomato basin of Palm nuts (1500 naira)
    • Ground cayenne pepper (300 naira)
    • Seasoning cubes
    • Fresh mackerel fish (2000 naira) you can also use catfish.
    • Sachet of Banga Spice which is a blended mixture of Irugeje and ataiko (400 naira) 
    • Obeletientien leaves or Dried bitter leaves (100 naira)
    • 1 Oburunbebe stick also known as banga stick (150 naira)
    • Dried Fish (1500 naira)
    • 1 cup of deshelled periwinkle (600 naira)
    • 1 tbsp ground crayfish
    • Salt to taste

    Preparation

    • Parboil the banga nuts. Start by washing the palm nuts and place in a big pot and allow to cook till soft.
    Banga Soup 2
    • When the nuts are soft, Transfer them into a mortar and pound gently, making sure you don’t break the nuts.
    Banga Soup 3
    • Pour some hot water over the pounded nuts, squeeze and use a sieve to strain out the extract – Repeat this a couple of times until you get all the extract from the nut. 
    Banga Soup 4
    Banga Soup 5
    • Place the palm nut extract or banga water as we like to call it into a cooking pot and place on the stovetop. Once it starts to boil add the banga spices. 
    Banga Soup 6
    • Hot Take! I like to add my raw meat directly to the banga extract and allow everything cook together but some people may prefer to cook the meat separately before adding to the soup. To each his own! But i find parboiling the meat separately a waste of time, as you do not use any special seasoning to parboil meat meant for banga soup. But if you prefer to parboil your meat separately, place the meat in a pot and add Cameroon pepper, seasoning powder, and salt. Stir and leave to cook till the meat becomes tender and set aside.
    • Allow the palm nut extract to cook for about 30 minutes or until it starts to thicken slightly. Then add your ground pepper, fresh and dried fish alongside your seasoning cubes. 
    Banga Soup 7
    • Allow the soup to thicken some more before introducing the deshelled periwinkle and crayfish powder.
    Banga Soup 8
    • Add some salt to taste and your authentic delta banga soup is ready to be devoured. 

    Tips

    Banga soup can be eaten with eba, fufu or semo. But it’s typically eaten with starch. This is a type of swallow made with cassava starch. Its very stretchy and smooth.  Here’s how to make starch swallow

  • Egusi Soup

    Egusi Soup

    Easy Egusi Soup Recipe 

    12,000naira

    Egusi soup is the unspoken national soup of Nigeria, it has different variations of preparation but you end up with the same finger licking result.

    Egusi soup ingredients includes ground melon seed, pepper mix, spinach, beef, crayfish, iru and other condiments. Egusi soup and fufu are commonly paired together but it can also be eaten with other swallows like Fresh garri (Eba), Amala, Semovita, Pounded yam, and the likes. Some people like my husband even serve Egusi soup over Rice.

    Egusi Soup 1

    Ready in 120 minutes

    Serves 8 people

    2280 calories 

    Ingredients

    • 2 Cups Egusi melon (1200 naira)
    • 1 Cup Palm Oil (400 naira)
    • Crayfish (100 naira)
    • locust beans/ Iru (100 naira)
    • Vegetables ( Ugwu, bitterleaves, Uziza leaves) (200 naira)
    • Fresh pepper and tomatoes (500 naira)
    • 2 Onions (100 naira)
    •  Stock Cube (100 naira)
    • Kilo of Chicken  (6000 naira)
    • Dry Fish (1000 naira)
    • Fresh fish (3000 naira)
    •  Salt To Taste

    Preparation

    • Blend the tomato and pepper. Try using as little water as possible to reduce the cooking time.
    Egusi Soup 2
    Egusi Soup 2
    • You can opt for ground egusi or buy egusi seeds that you blend yourself. I like to buy ground egusi as I find it easier to work with but many people prefer the egusi seeds because depending on where you buy from, ground egusi might have some dirt particles inside. But if you have a clean and reliable vendor, ground egusi is the way to go. I mix the ground egusi with some water to form a paste.
    Egusi Soup 3
    Egusi Soup 3
    • Time to cook the chicken. I bought live chicken which was the same price as a kilo of frozen chicken. I prefer the toughness of the live chicken compared to the softness of the frozen chicken. This is especially best for soups. I parboiled the chicken with salt, bullion cubes, ground crayfish and pepper. Cooking hard chicken takes some time so make sure to check on the chicken from time to time.
    Egusi Soup 4
    Egusi Soup 4
    • Heat the palm oil in a pot. Once the chicken is cooked to your desired softness, place a pot on the store and pour in your oil. Allow  it to melt over medium heat but don’t bleach the oil.
    Egusi Soup 5
    Egusi Soup 5
    • Throw in your diced onion, dry fish, iru and the remaining ground crayfish. Allow everything fry for about 3 minutes on medium heat.
    Egusi Soup 6
    Egusi Soup 6
    • Add the blended tomato and pepper mix. Once the onions is translucent, add the blended mix of tomato and pepper and allow to cook till the water is reduced. This should take about 15 minutes on medium heat, stir frequently about every 5 minutes to prevent burning.
    Egusi Soup 7
    Egusi Soup 7
    • Add the Egusi and cooked chicken. When the stew base is ready, add the remaining iru/locust bean, cooked chicken with its stock, then gently introduce the blended egusi into the mix but don’t stir it at this point.
    Egusi Soup 8
    Egusi soup 8
    • Cover it and allow to cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, before finally introducing the fresh fish. I like to add the fish last as it only takes a few minutes to cook so it doesn’t scatter in the soup.  Keep an eye on the soup, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn.
    • Finally add the vegetables. I like to use ugwu/ pumpkin leaves and washed bitterleaves but you can also use uziza leaves and/or spinach and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes. 
    Egusi Soup 9
    Egusi Soup 9
    • Taste the soup for seasoning and make adjustments if necessary. You can add some water if the soup is too thick.
    • Serve while still hot. Your soup is ready to be eaten with Eba, fufu, semovita or rice. Enjoy!!

    Tips

    Reduce the quantity of palm oil to cut down the calorie content of the soup.i

    If you intend to keep the soup for later use or have some leftovers, keep it in an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can also store egusi soup in the fridge for up to 4 days If you plan to consume it within a short time.

    When you are ready to serve, pop the soup on the stovetop under low heat or place it in a microwave using a microwave-safe container.