Banga Stew

Banga soup (stew) has over the years topped the list of Nigerian stew recipes due to its uniqueness and blend of natural ingredients.

I learned that it is more advisable to make stew with palm oil than groundnut/vegetable oil.
This is entirely different from the Deltan version that is served with starch or eba. If that is what you are looking to make, here is the recipe – Delta Banga Soup
The Banga soup (ofe akwu) is very easy to make and very popular in the eastern part of Nigeria, almost every ingredient used in Making this stew could be gotten from the farm, that is why it is a little bit easier for folks in the rural areas while it remains difficult for people outside the country to find all the ingredients that are required.
This is another kind of Nigerian stew popularly eaten by the Igbos and some other parts of Nigeria; I would prefer this stew above Nigerian tomato stew any day. This is a delicious plate rice, served with banga stew (soup) plus a sprinkle of peas. (the peas was boiled for 3 minutes on low heat)

 

Here is a list of ingredients used in making Nigerian Banga soup (stew) ‘ofe akwu’, (as the Igbos like to call it). Most of these ingredients can be purchased from any Nigerian market or African shops in case you live outside Nigeria.
Ingredients: | Serving : 6×2 Persons
Banga (palm fruit) (9-10 cups)
2KG of Meat (I used goat meat while making the video below, you can use chicken, turkey or a combination of two)
1 sachet of ‘Onga soup’ spice
A cup of Sliced onions
2 cups of sliced fluted pumpkin(optional)
2 cubes of maggi
A cup of sliced Scent leave
Dried fish (500g)
Half cup of ground Crayfish
Fresh or dried pepper to taste
Salt to taste

“Onga soup” is a special kind of spice that I use in making Nigerian banga soup and few other Nigerian foods, You will find this in the video below. Onga is made by promasidora (Nigeria) LTD, I think the company is located in Switzerland.
Like I always say; there are lots of spices and flavors used in making Nigerian foods, most of which are also franchised in almost every country of the worlds. Take knorr cube for instance, this ingredient is available in almost every country of the world in different forms and shapes, knorr or maggi is used in almost every known Nigeria food recipe.
The good thing is that you can use almost any spice for Nigerian foods although there are just a few that are irreplaceable.
Below is the image of pounded palm fruit with a portion of the squeezed-out thick juice in a plate and then by the right is sliced onions, scent leaves in a plate

Soak the dried fish in hot water and wash thoroughly to remove sand and dirt,
blend the crayfish or blend together with dry pepper if you are making banga stew with dried pepper, although I prefer to use red fresh peppers.
Chop the onion and set aside in a plate, I like to make most foods with lots of onions just because of its health benefits.

How To Make Banga Soup (Ofe Akwu).

Cook the palm fruits (banga fruits) for 30 to 50 minutes then pound with a mortar and pestle, you will see how this is done in the video below. Pour water in a bowl, add the pounded palm fruit and try to squeeze out the thick syrup. The palm fruit juice is a major part of banga soup this can also be used in making Nigerian soups (then you wouldn’t need palm oil).
Pour the squeezed-out thick juice into a bowl and set aside.
Wash the meat with hot water and parboil with a separate pot till it is tender (be sure to add the ingredients – use the 2 cubes of maggi, a teaspoon of salt, half cup of onions.), It is possible to make a delicious meal with tasteless meat, that is the only reason I advise you to use lots of ingredients while parboiling the meat. Then very little or none while making the main foods, just use the meat stock (water from the meat) and you will be fine.
Add the squeezed-out palm fruit juice to the boiling meat on fire.
Add the (dried fish and crayfish) to the cooking pot and cook for about 10 minutes
Add your spices if it is not yet as tasteful as required. (Sachet of “onga soup” and/or a cube of maggi, knorr or royco). Stir and add the scent leave (chopped), sliced onions, salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and cook for another minute then add the chopped vegetables (optional), allow to simmer for another 3 minutes and you just made a delicious Nigerian banga stew (ofe akwu)
Serve with rice, yam or cooked beans
That is how to make banga soup (stew) in Nigeria, the Igbos call it “ofe akwu”.

How to Make Banga

Delta banga soup is best served with starch or eba.
This is unlike the other banga stew that is native to the Igbos and popularly served with white boiled rice or yam.

This Banga soup is indigenous to the Deltans but also loved and enjoyed by both People from Edo state and all of the Niger Delta. If you are looking to make the Igbo version please click – Igbo Banga Stew.
This is not banga stew but they are both made with similar ingredients. Banga stew is native to the Igbos and usually served with boiled white rice. While banga soup (as in this case) goes with starch, eba or fufu.

The two are prepared the exact same way; the difference is just the spices. This recipe will, in the next few minutes shows you exactly how to make banga soup like an itsekiri woman.
You can use any combination of meat for this soup or just use plain red meat; I used a combination of cow head, foot and red meat.
Ingredients | Serving: 12 Persons.

• Meat (1kg)
• Crayfish (half cup)
• Fresh prawn [oporo](one cup)
• Fresh Palm Fruits (Banga) (8 cups)
• Medium sized dry fish / smoked fish (1)
• Red scotch bonnet pepper “Ata rodo” (8)
• Ataiko (1 tbsp)
• Irugege (1 teaspoon)
• Oburunbebe Stick (Banga stick) (1)
• Dried Beletientien leaves (half cup) or
• Thinly sliced bitter leaves (half cup)
• 3 cubes of knorr
• Periwinkles (1)
• Salt to taste.

 These are banga seeds (Mpuru akwu) they are the major ingredients for making this soup. Akwu is very abundant in Nigerian.

 These are pictures of some of the ingredients for this Itsekiri soup. All of these spices and ingredients can be purchased from any Nigerian local market. For the spices and banga stick, ask those women that sell traditional roots and herbs like zobo leaves and dogoyaro.

You should use crushed dried beletientien leaves, also called atama leaf in Efik or thinly sliced bitter leaves.
Start by grinding the spices. Add them all together (ataiko, Irugege and a cup of crayfish), blend to powder. Blend the pepper also. Wash the dried or smoked fish and remove center bones.
wsh and precook the prawn, use half cup of water, a cube of maggi and a pinch of salt.
I used already precooked meats. If your meat is not precooked yet, do that now. Wash properly and use two cubes of knorr and a pinch of salt. Cook the meat until it becomes soft, easy to chew and the water is almost dried. Add salt to taste and allow another three minutes. Set aside.

 Boil the palm fruit for 20 minutes, pound with a mortar and pestle, transfer into a bowl, add water and extract the juice. You will need about 7-10 cups of that palm fruit juice for this cooking. It should be thick.

Use a sieve to strain the extract into your cooking pot, allow to boil for 15 minutes with the pot half-covered. It should be a lot thicker now.
Add the cleaned dried fish, ground (crayfish, ataiko plus irugege), oburunbebe stick, precooked meat, ground pepper and salt to taste. Cover and allow another 10 minutes.

 Add the crushed dried beletientien leaves or thinly sliced bitter leaves, precooked prawn, periwinkles and one cube of knorr. Stir, cover and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. This is how to make the popular banga soup that is loved and made by the Deltans

Serve with starch, eba or fufu.
This is Delta state native soup.

How to cook Banga Soup (Ofe Akwu)

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.

The palm fruit oil extract used in cooking Banga Soup / Stew is quite different from the red palm oil used in cooking Nigerian food recipes. Palm Oil is pure oil extracted from the palm fruit pulp at high temperatures while the palm fruit oil extract used for the Banga Soup is extracted at a very low temperature and is a mixture of oil and water. Palm fruit oil extracted for Banga Soup contains less saturated fat than palm oils.

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 bitterleaves for Delta-style Banga Soup
• 2 medium onions
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
• Salt and Chilli Pepper (to taste)
• Ogiri Okpei (Iru)
• 1-2 big stock cubes

Before you cook the Nigerian Banga Soup

1. Extract the palm fruit concentrate from the palm fruits. If using the tinned palm fruit concentrate, open the tin and set aside.
2. Cook the beef and the dry fish with 1 bulb of diced onion and the stock cubes till done.
3. Wash and cut the scent leaves into tiny pieces. The scent leaves give the Banga Stew (Ofe Akwu) its unique aroma and taste. If you are outside Nigeria, this may be hard to find, so you can use pumpkin leaves or any other vegetable in place of scent leaves. If cooking Delta-style Banga Soup for starch, you should either cook this soup without vegetables or use dried and crushed bitter leaves.
4. Cut the remaining bulb of onion. Pound the crayfish, ogiri okpei and pepper in a mortar and set aside. You can also grind them with a dry mill.     

1. Cooking Directions

2. Set the pot of palm fruit extract on the stove and start cooking at high heat. Leave to boil till you notice come 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.
3. Now, add the beef, dry fish and stock, the onions, crayfish and pepper and leave to boil very well.
4. Add the scent leaves or other vegetable and salt to taste. Leave to simmer for about 2 mins. 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.   

Cooking Directions for those using tinned palm fruit concentrate

1. When the beef and fish are well done, add the palm fruit concentrate and add water to get the consistency you like for your stews. Leave to boil very well.
2. Add the onions, crayfish, pepper and ogiri blend and let it boil very well.
3. Add the scent leaves or other vegetable and salt to taste. Leave to simmer for about 2 mins. The Banga Soup is done.

If 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.

Using Flour as Thickener in Nigerian Soups – Best Practices

When cooking Nigerian soups in which we use pastes as thickeners, we usually boil the cocoyam corms (for Bitterleaf Soup, Ora (Oha) Soup) or pieces of white puna yam (for Nsala (White) Soup), then pound them into a paste before adding to the pot of soup.


But what if you live in a place where you cannot buy cocoyam corms or tubers of puna yam? You live in a place where you only rely on flour when cooking Nigerian soups. What is the best flour to use as thickener in these soups? And how do we add it to the soups?

The best flour to use as thickener in all soups where we use cocoyam corms (Bitterleaf Soup and Ora Soup) is cocoyam flour. You can buy cocoyam flour in Nigerian markets and in African and South American food shops outside Nigeria. Sometimes, you may be lucky to buy them in Asian shops.

The best flour to use as thickener in soups where puna yam paste is used as thickener is yam flour, of course. Yam flour is abundant in all African food shops all over the world because it is used to prepare “pounded” yam.

Cocoyam adds its own taste to Bitterleaf Soup and Ora Soup the same way that yam adds a unique state to Nsala Soup but if you can’t find cocoyam or yam flour, the closest I have used is Quaker Oats Flour. The next best after that is potato flour. Please note that “the next best” as used here does not mean that your Bitterleaf, Nsala and Ora Soups will have the traditional taste when prepared with potato flour but it is manageable and better than not preparing these soups at all.

Best practices when preparing and using flour as thickener in Nigerian soups:

1. Turn the flour into paste.

If you add the flour directly into the soup in its powder form, the soup will become mushy and depending on how hot the soup is when the flour is added, lumps may form.

2. Do it over a stove.

The process of mixing the flour with water to form a paste should be done over a stove on low heat. This helps make the paste as elastic as possible. Thickeners for Nigerian soups should be soft and a tad sticky. If you simply mix the flour with warm or hot water in a bowl, what you will get is a mass of dough which may not dissolve naturally in the boiling pot of soup.

3. Do prepare only the quantity you will use in one go.

Yes, the first time you make the paste, you may not get the quantity exactly right. The best thing to do is to ensure you mix enough or more than you need then store the excess in the freezer. But you will find that this thickener does not store very well in the freezer, it loses its elasticity so much you will need to mix the frozen one with a new batch for it to regain its elasticity. With time and experience, you will master how to prepare the exact quantity you need for a particular quantity of soup.

4. Add the thickener in lumps.

Just like with all paste thickeners for Nigerian soups, this thickener should be added to the soup in small lumps. This is so the thickener has more surface area which makes it easier for it to dissolve in the soup.

5. Add all the thickener you need at the same time (in lumps).

As with all paste thickeners for Nigerian soups, all the thickener (derived from flour) you need to cook a pot of soup should be added to the boiling pot of soup at the same time. If you add some, cook for some time and add more, the lumps of thickener added later may not dissolve.

In the first video below, I cooked Ora Soup with cocoyam flour. Watch how I turned the cocoyam flour into paste before adding it to the pot of soup. In the second video, I cooked the soup with Quaker Oats. Enjoy!

What is your own best practice when using flour as thickener? Do you know any great alternatives to cocoyam flour and yam flour? Please share with us in the comments below.

 

Ogbono Soup: Easiest Recipe?

You may find the Ogbono Soup recipe detailed on this page easier than the other recipe where the ogbono is dissolved in palm oil before adding other ingredients. This recipe is best for when you want to prepare very light Ogbono Soup that kids and some adults love. I prefer light Ogbono Soup to conc. ones any day
Also check out the recipe of Ogbono Soup cooked with okra.
Your Ogbono Soup does not have the perfect elasticity when done? Check out: Ogbono Soup: Frequently Asked Questions.

Ingredients for Ogbono Soup

• 8 tablespoons ground Ogbono
• Meat
  • Cow Ribs
  • Shaki (cow tripe)
• Dry cat fish
• 3 cooking spoons red palm oil
• 2 handfuls crayfish
• 1 flat round ogiri okpei (Iru, Locust bean)
• Habanero pepper (ose oyibo, atarodo)
• 1 onion
• 2 big seasoning cubes
• Ugu (Nigerian pumpkin leaves): alternative spinach
• Salt (to your taste)

For grinding the ogbono seeds, you will need:

A spice/coffer grinder

Notes on the ingredients

1. With most Nigerian recipes, especially Nigerian soups recipes, we go freestyle when it comes to the quantities of ingredients. The quantities of all the ingredients listed above can be adjusted to your taste.
2. Feel free to add ponmo (Kpomo) and stockfish to your own Ogbono Soup. I used ribs because that part of beef is very tasty and makes Ogbono Soup more delicious. The quantities and varieties of meat and fish to add to your Nigerian soups is entirely up to you. The only meat we don't normally use for Nigerian soups is chicken. Goat meat, Beef, Lamb etc go well with Nigerian soups.
3. Add palm oil to your liking.
4. For vegetables, add the quantity you like. Some people do not even add vegetables to their Ogbono Soup and they love it that way. Watch the video below for more information. If you are in Nigeria, use Ugu (Nigerian Pumpkin leaves), outside Nigeria, use spinach (I prefer frozen spinach to leafy spinach for my Nigerian soups). Some people even add bitter leaves.
5. You can use cayenne pepper (fresh or dry) or Scotch bonnet peppers instead of habanero peppers.

Before you cook Ogbono Soup

1. Grind the Ogbono with a dry mill.
2. Soak the dry cat fish in some cool or lukewarm water. When soft, clean thoroughly and debone.
3. If using frozen spinach, cut it when it is not completely defrosted. It is easier that way. Then when completely defrosted, squeeze out the excess water.
4. If using Ugu, pick and cut into thin slices.
5. Grind the crayfish and ogiri okpei with a spice/coffee grinder.
6. Cut the onion into big chunks. I use chunks of onion when I want the taste of onion but not pieces of onion in what I am cooking.
7. Grind or pound the pepper.
8. Boil some water and set aside, you may need it.

Cooking Directions for Ogbono Soup

1. Cook the assorted meat with the seasoning cubes and onion. Remember to start cooking the toughest part of meat first (eg shaki), then add beef when almost done.
2. When the meat is done, turn off the heat, remove the chunks of onion then take out the meat from the beef stock.
3. Add the ground ogbono, spreading over the meat stock as you add. Then stir very well with a slotted spoon to ensure that they mix with the beef stock without lumps.
4. When happy, cover the pot, turn on the heat to very low and start cooking. Yes, you can cover the pot while cooking Ogbono Soup and the elasticity will not be affected. There are a few reasons why your Ogbono Soup does not have the perfect elasticity but covering the pot is not one of those reasons. See below.
5. Stir the soup very often as you cook so it does not burn.
6. After 15 minutes, add the crayfish and ogiri okpei blend, habanero pepper, deboned dry cat fish, salt and palm oil in no particular order and continue cooking. Remember to stir often.
7. After 5 minutes (a total of 20 minutes of cooking), add the remaining ingredients: the boiled meats we took out earlier and leafy vegetables. You can add more salt if necessary. For vegetables, I add, stir, add, stir till I am happy with the ratio of the vegetables to the soup. This is how I add vegetables to almost all Nigerian soups.
   
   Note:
   You need to cook Ogbono for at least 20 minutes for the delicious taste and flavour to come out. You will know when you have cooked it long enough because you can even smell this delicious aroma when it happens. If you have ever wondered why your Ogbono Soup does not taste as delicious as that one you ate somewhere else, it may well be that you are not cooking yours for long enough.
8. Cover the pot and at the first sign of it boiling again, it's done!
   
   Take the soup off the stove immediately and pour into another pot (cold pot) or the container(s) you will use to freeze it. This ensures that the vegetables retain their green colour. Though you have turned off the heat, if you leave the soup in the hot pot, the vegetables will continue to cook and will turn dark and unappetising.
   
   This is even worse if you have a vitro ceramic cooker (hot plate kind of cooker) that still has lots of residual heat long after you have turned off the heat. Pouring the soup into a cold container stops the cooking process.
   
   After pouring the soup into the new container(s), leave them on your kitchen counter to cool down completely before freezing.

Serve Ogbono Soup with any Nigerian Fufu meal. This easy and light Ogbono Soup is perfect for the little ones in your family.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ogbono Soup

My Ogbono Soup does not draw. Why?

There are 3 main reasons why your Ogbono Soup does not draw.

1. You bought the wrong seeds. There is another seed that looks so much like Ogbono and is sold as Ogbono seeds in Nigerian markets. First sign that you are buying the wrong seeds is if they are too cheap to be true. To confirm that the seeds are really Ogbono seeds: break the seed and rub the broken sides together, if they make a sap that draws, then you've got the real Ogbono seeds. In Nigeria, every open market seller should let you do this "drawing test", if not, please leave their shop and go somewhere else.
   
   For those living outside Nigeria, I guess you just have to pray that the Ogbono seeds in the pack you buy are the real thing :)
2. Another reason why your Ogbono Soup does not draw may be because you used packaged ground Ogbono, ground being the keyword here. This is especially the case for those who live outside Nigeria who do not have any choice than to buy the ground packaged Ogbono sold in African shops.
   
   Once you grind Ogbono, it starts losing its potency to draw and with time, it won't draw anymore. The exact time at which it completely loses its potency to draw will depend on: how dry the Ogbono was before the grinding took place and how well it is packaged amongst other things.
3. The third reason why your Ogbono Soup does not draw is that you fried it before adding the meat/fish stock. The ground Ogbono should only be dissolved in the palm oil NOT fried. The more you fry it, the more it loses its drawing ability till you've got no potency left. This happens even if it is the authentic Ogbono seed.

How can I cook Ogbono Soup so that it does not burn?

First, turn down the heat. Whatever you are cooking, turn down the heat to prevent burning. This is especially the case with Ogbono Soup which is very sticky. Always cook your Ogbono Soup at very low heat. If your cooker's heating ranges from 1 to 9, set the heat to 4.
Secondly, do not add crayfish or any other ingredients when cooking the Ogbono at first. Crayfish especially speeds up the burning. When you grind your Ogbono in Nigerian markets, they will tell you to use crayfish to make sure all the Ogbono comes out of the mill. If you decide to do that, make sure that they put the crayfish and that last bit of Ogbono in a different plastic bag for you and add the crayfish bit when you add the rest of the ingredients.
Also, use stainless steel or aluminium pots in cooking your Ogbono Soup. Non-stick pots are not the best for cooking Ogbono Soup even though it says non-stick lol!

My Ogbono Soup tastes bland in spite of all the ingredients I usually add to it. Why is this?

One reason Ogbono Soup will taste bland even after adding enough ingredients is that you did not cook it long enough. I have seen a lot of people cook Ogbono for only 5 minutes. That's not enough. Ogbono, once added, should be cooked for at least 20 minutes on low heat. This is the time at which the taste begins to come out and blend with the ingredients.

Another reason is maybe because the Ogbono seeds have gone mouldy in which case, it will have a slightly bitter taste too.

Ofe Achara with Akpuruakpu Egusi (Mgbam)

Ofe Achara with Akpuruakpu Egusi (Mgbam) is the most traditional way to prepare Egusi Soup. The akpuruakpu is molded egusi. This is not just ordinary molded egusi that scatters as you cook the soup. These disc shaped molds of egusi should be intact and solid by the time the soup is done such that the person enjoying the soup can bite into and chew them like meat.

Akpuruakpu and mgbam are dialects from Imo and Abia states of Nigeria. In my state (Anambra), we call it Egusi Ógbalóti. Yes, only correct Anambra boys and girls know it by this name. LOL
Other ways of cooking Egusi Soup:

• Egusi Soup (Caking Method): I also call this one the Egusi Before Oil method. No frying is involved, making is a healthier way to prepare Egusi Soup.
• Fried Egusi Soup: where the Egusi is fried in palm oil before other ingredients are added. I also call this one the Oil Before Egusi Method.

Ingredients for Ofe Achara

For a decent pot of soup, you will need:

• 300g egusi (melon) seeds
• 40g ósú
• 1 handful sliced okazi leaves
• 1 cup broken pieces of achara (~15 stalks of achara)
• 2 cooking spoons red palm oil
• 3 pieces stock fish
• 1 dry cat fish
• 1 ogiri okpei
• 3 small stock cubes
• Habanero pepper (atarodo, ose oyibo, atarugu)
• 1 handful crayfish
• ½ teaspoon dry pepper
• Salt (to taste)

Important tool

Spice grinder for grinding egusi (melon) seeds, crayfish, Ósú and ogiri okpei

Notes on the ingredients and alternatives:

1. Since most of the ingredients listed above come in different sizes, it is advisable to watch the video below to see the sizes of the ingredients I used.
2. I used only stockfish and dry fish in preparing this soup, no meat. But you can add meat if you want.
3. What is Achara?
   • Achara is elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum). The word achara is Igbo language and this one word means elephant grass, bamboo and sugar cane (also okpete in Igbo) but as far as this recipe is concerned, achara is elephant grass.
   • I asked on Facebook for other names for achara in other languages and I got: Achala (a variant spelling in Igbo), Ireke / Ireke Obo (Yoruba), Takanda/Kara (Hausa), Kangale saudu (Kanuri), Asara (Ibibio), Mbritem (Akwa Ibom). I have asked for confirmations from the contributors to make sure some of these names do not translate to sugar cane because the achara used in Ofe Achara is not sugar cane. I will update these names as I get more feedback.
   • Achara is NOT: sugar cane, lemon grass nor spring/wild onions.
4. Ogiri okpei is made with locust beans. It is known as iru in Yoruba. It adds a traditional taste to Nigerian soups that it goes well with such as Egusi Soup and Ogbono Soup. If you do not have it, use only crayfish.
5. Some people add achi or ófó (both are Egusi Soup thickeners) to this soup. You can achieve a similar effect using ósú. See video below.
6. Ósú is a binder for the molded egusi. It helps hold the balls together so that no matter how you stir the soup, the egusi balls will not disintegrate. Ósú is a naturally occuring parasitic plant that grows on trees. I do not know any other names for it.
7. If you can't buy achara where you live and you are dying to re-live the taste of Ofe Achara or try it, use asparagus as alternative. For now, that's the closest alternative that I know. The texture of Asparagus is similar to the edible inner tender shoots of achara and both taste almost the same; that mild almost bland taste. And when you cut up asparagus like I did the achara, you can pretend that you are eating achara, just call it Asparegusi Soup and not Ofe Achara. LOL
8. Okazi is afang leaf (Gnetum africanum).

Before you cook Ofe Achara

1. Soak the stockfish and dry fish with cool or lukewarm water to soften. When soft, clean thoroughly and debone.
2. Grind the egusi seeds and the ósú with a dry mill.
3. Grind the crayfish with the ogiri okpei, also with a dry mill or spice grinder.
4. Peel the achara by removing the coarse outer husk till you get to the tender part. Then break the tender part into 1 cm long pieces. Any part of the shoot that is not brittle (easily breakable), should be discarded. Rinse the pieces of achara and set aside.
5. Pound the habanero pepper with a mortar or grind with a hand blender.

Cooking Directions

1. Cook the stockfish with the stock cubes (seasoning cubes) till soft and pour some of the stock into a bowl. Yes, this has been soaked earlier but stockfish is quite tough and soaking alone does not get it as soft as we need it. The soaking is necessary so that it can be cleaned very well.
2. Pour most of the ground egusi (about 70%) into a clean dry bowl.
3. Season the egusi with dry pepper and some of the crayfish and ogiri okpei blend. It's important to season the egusi very well so that the mgbam will not taste bland when one bites into it.
4. Add some of the fish stock to the egusi and mix till a thick dough is formed.
5. Mold the egusi dough into flat discs, as big as a coin and set aside.
6. Boil some water and throw the molded egusi into the pot of boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.
7. Set the pot of stockfish on the stove. It should still contain some stock from cooking the stockfish. If not, add the water from boiling the egusi balls.
8. Add the deboned dry fish, habanero pepper and the remaining crayfish and ogiri okpei blend and bring to a boil.
9. Once it boils, take off the fish and set aside.
10. Add the remaining ground egusi to the stock, stir and cook till you see some clear egusi oil come to the surface. This should take 15 to 20 minutes. Stir the soup often so it does not burn. Add the water you used in boiling the molded egusi when necessary.
11. Once you are sure you see some clear oil at the top, add palm oil and cook for 5 minutes.
12. Add the boiled akpuruakpu egusi, achara, okazi and the fish we took out earlier.
13. Add salt to your taste, cover and once it boils again, it is done!

Serve with any Nigerian fufu meal especially Akpu (Cassava Fufu).

Nigerian Egusi Soup (Fried Method)

The Egusi Soup recipe described on this page is the Fried Method of preparing Nigerian Egusi Soup (Ofe Egusi / Efo Elegusi / Miyan Gushi). This is the oil before egusi method.

Other ways of cooking Egusi Soup:

• Egusi Soup (Caking Method): I also call this one the Egusi Before Oil method. No frying is involved, making is a healthier way to prepare Egusi Soup.
• Akpuruakpu Egusi: where the ground egusi is molded into balls and cooked in the soup such that you will be eating the egusi balls like meat while enjoying the meal. The surrounding egusi in the soup is prepared using the caking method. Go check it out.

If you have been with All Nigerian Recipes for some time, you will know that the fried egusi method is not my favourite way to prepare Egusi Soup. It is not my favourite because it involves frying the ground egusi (melon) seeds. This gives me heart burn. The soup also needs more palm oil than the caking method.

But since I have been receiving requests for how to prepare it, here we go!

Ingredients

• 4 cups (500g) Egusi (Melon) seeds
• 3 cooking spoons red palm oil
• Beef: best cut and Shaki (cow tripe)
• Fish: dry fish and stockfish
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
• Pepper and Salt (to taste)
• Vegetable: Nigerian pumpkin leaves, spinach or bitter leaf
• 3 small stock cubes
• 1 small ogiri okpei (optional)

Important tool

Spice grinder for grinding egusi (melon) seeds

Notes on the ingredients

1. To be honest, I may have put 3 cooking spoons of palm oil up there but you will need more. You want the quantity of palm oil that will turn every grain of the ground egusi yellow. See video below. If the ground egusi is not well coated, it will burn during frying and the resulting Egusi Soup will be dry and have a burnt taste. If you are concerned about the quantity of palm oil you will used for this soup, it is best to prepare your egusi soups using the Caking Method.
2. The best meat for Nigerian soups for swallows is red meat with beef being the most common. You can also use goat meat. I have seen some people cook Egusi Soup with chicken, that's fine but the elders will not like it. :D
3. If you use chicken, please do not use dry fish and stockfish because those two cannot co-exist with chicken in the same Nigerian pot. ;)
4. If using bitter leaves, add it a bit earlier because it is a tough vegetable (see the cooking directions below). Remember that they need to be washed to remove all the bitterness unless your family prefers it with the bitter taste.
5. Ogiri okpei is made with locust beans. It is known as iru in Yoruba. It adds a traditional taste to Egusi Soup.

Before you cook Egusi Soup

1. Before preparing the soup, soak the dry fish and stock fish till soft. If you are using the very tough stockfish, boil it for 20 minutes and leave in the pot with the hot water to soak for about an hour. If using the softer stockfish, you can just soak them in cool water till you can break them apart with your hands.
2. When the fish and stockfish are soft, de-bone and break them into sizeable chunks.
3. Much closer to your cooking time, grind the egusi with a dry mill. Grind the crayfish and the dry pepper separately and set aside.
4. Rinse the vegetables to be used and cut into tiny pieces.
5. Cook the beef and fish with the stock cubes till they are well done. You should start cooking the toughest meat and fish first and add the others as they get done. If using a normal pot, I will start with stockfish and shaki, add beef after about 1 hour and cook till done. I can add the dry fish when all the other meat and fish are cooked because it is already cooked, you just need to cook it long enough till it is soft and integrated with the rest of the ingredients. With a pressure pot, I do it differently but that is a process for another post.
6. Set all these aside.

Cooking Directions

1. Pour the red palm oil into a dry pot and set on the stove to heat. As soon as the oil melts, add the ground egusi and start frying. If the oil is not congealed, add the egusi as soon as the oil is translucent. Mix the ground egusi with oil till every grain of egusi turns yellow.
2. Start stirring the egusi on low to medium heat. Keep stir-frying for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the meat/fish stock (water from cooking the fish and meat) little by little while still stirring the egusi. So you add a bit of the stock, stir-fry for some time, add another, stir-fry and so on. When the stock is exhausted and you feel that the soup is still too thick, you can start adding hot water in the same way till you get the consistency you want. If your choice of vegetable is bitter leaf, add it at this time.
4. Cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes, stirring at intervals. Also, top up the water when necessary. If you don't stir it, it will burn. It takes 30 minutes to cook egusi properly else the soup will not taste nice to someone with authentic Nigerian taste buds. Also, egusi that is not cooked long enough may cause upset stomach. The egusi is done when you notice that the oil has separated from the mix.
5. Once you are happy that it is done, add the ground crayfish and pepper. Stir and add the Nigerian pumpkin leaves or spinach (alternative).
6. Stir very well and add the cooked stockfish, shaki and meat.
7. Add salt if necessary. If it is too thick, add some water to bring it to a consistency you like.
8. Cover and leave to simmer and it is done!

The perfect swallow for Egusi Soup is Pounded Yam. You can also serve it with Eba (Garri), Agidi, Amala, Semolina Fufu, Tuwo Shinkafa or Cassava Fufu.

How to Cook Nigerian Egusi Soup

The Nigerian Egusi soup, prepared with melon seeds, is prepared by most tribes in Nigeria in many different ways. It is known as Miyan Gushi in Hausa, Ofe Egusi in Igbo and Efo Elegusi in Yoruba.

Egusi soup is also one of the most popular soups, if not the most popular for all Nigerians and non-Nigerians that like Nigerian fufu recipes.

The recipe detailed on this page is what I call the Caking Method of cooking Egusi Soup (the Egusi Before Oil method). Other methods are:

• Fried Egusi Soup: where the Egusi is fried in palm oil before other ingredients are added. I also call this one the Oil Before Egusi Method.
• Akpuruakpu Egusi: where the ground egusi is molded into balls and cooked in the soup such that you will be eating the egusi balls like meat while enjoying the meal. The surrounding egusi in the soup is prepared using the caking method. Go check it out.

Ingredients

• 4½ cups (600g) Egusi (Melon) seeds
• 2 cooking spoons red palm oil
• Beef: Best cut and Shaki (cow tripe)
• Fish: Dry Fish and Stock Fish
• 3 tablespoons ground crayfish
• Pepper and Salt (to taste)
• Vegetable: Nigerian pumpkin leaves, spinach or bitter leaves
• 3 small stock cubes
• 1 Ogiri Okpei (traditional locust bean seasoning: optional)

Important cooking equipment

Spice grinder for grinding egusi (melon) seeds

Before you cook Egusi Soup (Caking Method)

1. Before preparing the soup, soak the dry fish for about half an hour. If you are using the very tough stockfish, boil it for 20 minutes and leave in the pot with the hot water to soak for about an hour. If using the softer stockfish, you can just soak them in cool water till you can break them apart with your hands.
2. When the fish and stockfish are soft, debone and break them into sizeable chunks.
3. Much closer to your cooking time, grind the egusi with a dry mill. Grind the crayfish and the dry pepper separately and set aside. Wash the vegetable to be used. Cut into tiny pieces.
4. Boil the shaki, stock fish and dry fish in 1 litre of water with the stock cubes till they are well done. First sign of a done shaki is that the cuts will start curling on itself.
5. Wash the beef to be used for the soup, add it to the pot and cook on medium heat till done.

Cooking Directions: Caking Method

This method produces a healthier egusi soup as there is no frying involved. It requires less oil too.

1. In this method, as soon as the shaki, fish and meat are done, remove them from the stock (water used in cooking the meat and fish) and place in a different pot or plate.
2. Add the ground egusi to the stock and stir. If the stock from cooking your meat and fish is not enough to give you a medium consistency, add some water to get the consistency of evaporated milk or a bit thicker. It will not be as smooth as evaporated milk though.
3. Cover and cook till the egusi cakes. Stir and add a little bit more water. watch it closely so that it does not burn.
4. Repeat step 3, adding only a small quantity of water at a time. After about 25 minutes, you will notice the clear egusi oil coming to the surface of the soup.
5. Add the red palm oil and bitter leaves (if it is your choice of vegetable), pepper and salt to taste and cook for about 7 minutes. You know it is good to continue when the palm oil and egusi forms a good blend of light yellow colour.
6. Add the cooked meat and fish. If using pumpkin leaves or any other soft vegetable, add it at this time and stir the soup.
7. Add salt to your taste, stir and leave to simmer for 2 minutes maximum.
8. Turn off the heat. Leave to stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

The egusi soup is ready to be served with Garri (Eba), Semolina Fufu, Amala, Cassava Fufu or Pounded Yam.

How to cook Nigerian Pepper Soup

The Nigerian Pepper soup is a popular Nigerian soup recipe. It is such a versatile recipe as it can be prepared with different types of meat and fish. Thus there is the Chicken Pepper Soup, the Catfish Pepper Soup (popularly known as Point & Kill), the Goat Meat Pepper Soup, the Cow Foot Pepper Soup and the Assorted Beef Pepper Soup.

 

People usually go to exclusive bars or restaurants to eat the Pepper Soup. This is because this Nigerian soup recipe is believed to be prepared with 'secret' ingredients that only the restaurant Madams know about. Yes, the Pepper Soup ingredient which gives this recipe its unique aroma and taste, is truly the best kept secret. But our job here at All Nigerian Food Recipes is to expose all Nigerian food recipes and cooking secrets so that you can prepare them right inside your own kitchen whenever you want to.

Ingredients for Pepper Soup

• 1kg Chicken or Cow Foot or Assorted Beef
• 4 seeds Ehu or Ariwo or Calabash Nutmeg
• Chilli Pepper (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons crushed Dry Uziza (optional)
• 2 medium onions
• Salt (to taste)
• 3 stock cubes
• 1 teaspoon of Thyme (for chicken pepper soup)

For grinding the ehu seeds, you will need:

A spice/coffer grinder

Before you cook the Nigerian Pepper Soup

1. If preparing Chicken pepper Soup, it is preferable to use whole chicken instead of drumsticks. The different parts of the chicken will bring variety to the pepper soup. So wash and cut up the whole chicken and set aside.
2. If you want to prepare Assorted Beef Pepper Soup then you should buy different parts of beef - best cut, offal (shaki, round-about, liver and kidney). Wash the offal thoroughly especially the round-about which should be turned inside out during the washing. Cut these into medium pieces, just big enough to be chewed in one go.
3. For Cow Foot Pepper Soup, just wash and cut the cow foot into medium pieces. In this case also, make the pieces just big enough that it can be chewed in one go.
4. Now it is time to prepare the 'secret' ingredient. Using an old frying pan, roast the Ehu seeds (stirring constantly) till you can smell it. Don't worry you will know when it is OK to take it off because it has a distinctive aroma. Another way to know that it is OK is to take one of the seeds and try to remove the outer membrane. If the membrane comes off easily, then the Ehu is done.
5. Peel off the membrane from all the Ehu seeds and grind with a dry mill.
6. Cut the onions into tiny pieces.
7. Rub the dry uziza with your fingers to break them into tiny pieces.

Cooking Directions

1. This cooking direction describes Chicken Pepper Soup. To prepare Goat Meat Pepper Soup, Cow Foot Pepper Soup or Assorted Beef Pepper Soup just substitute chicken with cow foot or beef and offal respectively.
2. Place the pieces of chicken in a pot and pour enough water to cover the contents of the pot. Add the stock cubes, thyme and onions and cook till done.

   Note: When cooking Assorted Beef Pepper Soup, you should cook the shaki for sometime before adding the other beef parts. Shaki is tough and will take longer to cook than the other beef parts.
   Cow foot is a tough part of meat so when cooking Cow Foot Pepper Soup, you should use a pressure cooker if you have one. This will save you some gas or electricity.

3. By now, you will notice that some of the water has dried. Add more water to bring it to the level of the contents of the pot.
4. Add the ground Ehu, dry uziza, chilli pepper and salt to taste. Ehu has some spicy taste so you should add chilli pepper with care. Even though it is called pepper soup, you still want to be able to taste and enjoy the recipe itself. Too much chilli pepper will ruin it for you.
5. Cover the pot and leave to boil for 5 minutes and the pepper soup is ready.

Pepper Soup should always be served hot. It can be eaten alone with a chilled drink by the side. You can also eat it with Agidi, White Rice or Boiled Yam.

Nigerian Goat Meat Pepper Soup

This recipe explains the Nigerian Goat Meat Pepper Soup. For other Nigerian Pepper Soup recipes,Assorted Meat Pepper Soup and Catfish Pepper Soup (Point & Kill).


Goat Meat adds a special traditional flavour to the Nigerian Pepper soup recipe.

Ingredients for Goat Meat Pepper Soup

• 700g Goat Meat (with skin)
• 4 seeds Ehu or Ariwo or Calabash Nutmeg
• Habanero Pepper (to taste)
• A few scent leaves or 2 table spoons dry uziza
• 2 medium onions
• Salt (to taste)
• 2 big stock cubes

For the Agidi:

• 120g corn flour. You can also use Akamu/Ogi/Pap

Note: You can add white yam to Goat Meat Pepper Soup to get Goat Meat and Yam Pepper Soup. In that case, peel the yam and cut into big pieces and add them when the goat meat is almost done, some time between steps 2 and 3 under cooking directions below.

Before you cook the Nigerian Pepper Soup

1. If you will eat the Goat meat peppersoup with Agidi, prepare some and set aside to cool down and set.
2. Peel and grind the 'secret' ingredient (ehu seeds) with a dry mill. You can also roast it with an old frying pan before grinding them. Roasting is known to improve the flavour.
3. Cut the onions into big chunks. If you want pieces of onions in yours, cut into tiny pieces.
4. Pick and wash the scent leaves. If using dry uziza, rub with your fingers to break them into tiny pieces.

Cooking Directions

1. Wash the goat meat and put in a sizeable pot. Pour water to cover the meat and then some. I love lots of water in my pepper soups.
   Goat meat is tough so use a pressure cooker to cook it if you have one.
2. Add the stock cubes, ground ehu seeds and the chunks of onion and start cooking.
3. When the meat is done, remove the chunks of onion.
4. Add pepper, scent leaves or uziza leaves.
5. Cover the pot and leave to simmer for 5 minutes and the pepper soup is ready.
6. Serve piping hot with the agidi.

Pepper Soup should always be served hot. It can be eaten alone with a chilled drink by the side. You can also eat it with Agidi, White Rice or Boiled Yam.

Ogbono Soup (Draw Soup)

Ogbono Soup also known as Draw Soup makes eating Fufu Recipes so easy because of its slimy nature which helps the lumps of fufu slide down. If your kids do not like Okra Soup because of the chunks of Okra, then try Ogbono Soup, they will surely love it. You may want to use the recipe for light Ogbono Soup when preparing theirs.

Some people like their Ogbono soup plain, with no added vegetables, others would not touch it unless there is some kind of vegetable in it. A third group love their Ogbono Soup with Okra. Some people even go fancy and add Egusi to it.

Ingredients for Ogbono Soup

• Assorted Meat and Fish: Beef, Shaki (cow tripe), Dry Fish, Stockfish
• 2 handfuls Ogbono Seeds
• 3 cooking spoons red palm oil
• Vegetable: Frozen Spinach (you can also use Pumpkin leaves or even Bitterleaf)
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
• Pepper and Salt (To taste)
• 1 onion
• 2 stock/seasoning/boullion cubes

For grinding the ogbono seeds, you will need:

A spice/coffer grinder

Before you cook Ogbono Soup

1. Grind the Ogbono with a dry mill.
2. Cut the frozen spinach when it is not completely defrosted. It is easier that way. Then when completely defrosted, squeeze out the excess water.
3. Cook the assorted meat with the stock cubes and onion. If you will use Shaki, remember to start cooking that first, then add beef when almost done.
4. Grind crayfish and pepper.
5. Boil some water and set aside.

Cooking Directions for Ogbono Soup

1. Pour the palm oil into a clean dry stainless steel or aluminium pot. Set on the stove and melt the oil at low heat. Remember, only melt the oil, do not allow it to heat up.
2. Once melted, turn off the heat and add the ground Ogbono.
3. Use your cooking spoon to dissolve the Ogbono in the oil.
4. When all the Ogbono powder has completely mixed with the oil, add the meat/fish stock (water from cooking the assorted meat and fish). Set the heat of your cooker to low and start stirring. You will notice the Ogbono start to thicken and draw.
5. Keep stirring till the Ogbono has completely absorbed the meat stock.
6. Add a small quantity of the hot water and stir till the Ogbono has absorbed all the water. Repeat this process till you get a consistency that is shown in the video below.
7. Making sure that your heat is set to low, cover the pot and start cooking. Once it starts to simmer, stir every 2-3 minutes for 20 minutes.
   So what you'll do is: every 3 minutes or so, open the pot, stir every well, scraping the Ogbono that sticks to the base of the pot, cover the pot and cook for another 3 minutes.
8. After 20 minutes, the Ogbono should be well cooked and you will begin to perceive its nice flavour and aroma.
9. Add the assorted meat and fish, ground crayfish, salt and pepper to taste. The Ogbono may have become thicker from the cooking. If so, add a little bit more water and stir very well. Cover and cook till the contents of the pot is well heated up.
10. If you prefer your Ogbono Soup without vegetables, turn off the heat and serve but if you like to add a vegetable then keep reading :)
11. When the contents of the pot have heated up, add the vegetable (frozen Spinach used in the video). Stir very well, cover the pot and turn off the heat. Leave to stand for about 5 minutes and serve with any Fufu recipe.

Serve Ogbono Soup with any Nigerian Fufu meal.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ogbono Soup

My Ogbono Soup does not draw. Why?

There are 3 main reasons why your Ogbono Soup does not draw.

1. You bought the wrong seeds. There is another seed that looks so much like Ogbono and is sold as Ogbono seeds in Nigerian markets. First sign that you are buying the wrong seeds is if they are too cheap to be true. To confirm that the seeds are really Ogbono seeds: break the seed and rub the broken sides together, if they make a sap that draws, then you've got the real Ogbono seeds. In Nigeria, every open market seller should let you do this "drawing test", if not, please leave their shop and go somewhere else.
   
   For those living outside Nigeria, I guess you just have to pray that the Ogbono seeds in the pack you buy are the real thing :)
2. Another reason why your Ogbono Soup does not draw may be because you used packaged ground Ogbono, ground being the keyword here. This is especially the case for those who live outside Nigeria who do not have any choice than to buy the ground packaged Ogbono sold in African shops.
   
   Once you grind Ogbono, it starts losing its potency to draw and with time, it won't draw anymore. The exact time at which it completely loses its potency to draw will depend on: how dry the Ogbono was before the grinding took place and how well it is packaged amongst other things.
   
3. The third reason why your Ogbono Soup does not draw is that you fried it before adding the meat/fish stock. The ground Ogbono should only be dissolved in the palm oil NOT fried. The more you fry it, the more it loses its drawing ability till you've got no potency left. This happens even if it is the authentic Ogbono seed.

How can I cook Ogbono Soup so that it does not burn?

First, turn down the heat. Whatever you are cooking, turn down the heat to prevent burning. This is especially the case with Ogbono Soup which is very sticky. Always cook your Ogbono Soup at very low heat. If your cooker's heating ranges from 1 to 9, set the heat to 4.

Secondly, do not add crayfish or any other ingredients when cooking the Ogbono at first. Crayfish especially speeds up the burning. When you grind your Ogbono in Nigerian markets, they will tell you to use crayfish to make sure all the Ogbono comes out of the mill. If you decide to do that, make sure that they put the crayfish and that last bit of Ogbono in a different plastic bag for you and add the crayfish bit when you add the rest of the ingredients.

Also, use stainless steel or aluminium pots in cooking your Ogbono Soup. Non-stick pots are not the best for cooking Ogbono Soup even though it says non-stick lol!

My Ogbono Soup tastes bland in spite of all the ingredients I usually add to it. Why is this?

One reason Ogbono Soup will taste bland even after adding enough ingredients is that you did not cook it long enough. I have seen a lot of people cook Ogbono for only 5 minutes. That's not enough. Ogbono, once added, should be cooked for at least 20 minutes on low heat. This is the time at which the taste begins to come out and blend with the ingredients.

Another reason is maybe because the Ogbono seeds have gone mouldy in which case, it will have a slightly bitter taste too.

How to cook Ogbono Soup with Okra

The Ogbono Soup recipe detailed on this page is the one where Okra is added to the soup.

Ingredients for Ogbono Soup cooked with Okra

You can vary the quantities of Ogbono and Okra below depending on which one you want to have more of. So if you want your soup to be mainly Okra soup, you can decrease the quantity of Ogbono and increase the quantity of okra and vice versa.

• 2 handfuls Ogbono Seeds
• 200g Okra
• Assorted Meat and Fish: Beef, Shaki (cow tripe), Dry Fish, Stockfish
• 3 cooking spoons red palm oil
• Vegetable: Frozen Spinach (you can also use Pumpkin leaves or even Bitterleaf)
• 1 handful crayfish
• Pepper and Salt (to taste)
• 1 medium onion
• 2 Stock cubes (Maggi/Knorr)

Tool

Spice grinder for grinding ogbono seeds

Before you cook Ogbono Soup with Okra

1. Grind the Ogbono with a dry mill.
2. Cut the okra fingers into tiny pieces. To achieve this, you need to make a few vertical cuts followed by horizontal cuts on the okra fingers.
3. Cut the frozen spinach when it is not completely defrosted. It is easier that way. Then when completely defrosted, squeeze out the excess water.
4. Cook the assorted meat with the stock cubes and onion. If you will use Shaki, remember to start cooking that first, then add beef when almost done.
5. Grind crayfish and pepper.
6. Boil some water and set aside.

Cooking Directions for Ogbono Soup with Okra

1. Follow the cooking directions for Ogbono Soup till Step 9.
2. Then add the vegetables, stir very well.
3. Add the okra and stir very well. Cover and leave to heat up very well and it is ready.

Serve with Garri (Eba), Semolina Fufu, Amala, Cassava Fufu or Pounded Yam.

Vegetable Sauce Recipe

This tasty sauce, made from chopped salad vegetables is a colourful way to enjoy a wide range of staple foods with vegetables. Some people even call it Salad Stew. Eat it with white rice, boiled yam, fried plantain or even mashed potatoes.
 
It is very rich in vitamins and nutrients. So there is no reason why you should not be cooking this recipe as soon as possible.
I promise you'll not want to eat the Nigerian Red Stew ever again after eating this vegetable sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 Whole Chicken (hen)
• 2 cooking spoons vegetable oil
• 5 Spring onions
• 8 fresh plum tomatoes (Jos tomatoes)
• 8 medium Carrots
• 1 small cabbage
• 3 medium Irish potatoes
• 1 red bell pepper (optional)
• 1 green bell pepper
• Salt (to taste)
• 3 big stock cubes
• 1 tablespoon thyme

Before you cook the Vegetable Sauce

1. Wash and cut the vegetables: plum tomatoes (remember to remove the seeds), carrots, cabbage and bell pepper as shown. Remember to scrape the carrots before cutting. Set these aside.
2. Peel the Irish potatoes, wash and cut into small pieces. Blend into a thick paste and set aside. This will be used as thickener for the Vegetable Sauce.

Cooking Directions

1. Wash and cut the whole chicken into pieces. Place in a pot, add chopped spring onions, stock cubes and thyme. Add water to cover the contents of the pot and start cooking.
2. When done, add salt to taste and top up the water to the same level as the contents if necessary.
3. Once it boils, add the chopped tomatoes and the vegetable oil. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Now, add the potato puree, chopped bell peppers and cabbage. Stir, cover and allow to cook for 5 minutes on high heat. Add salt to taste and the sauce is ready to be served.

   Note: Feel free to experiment by varying the thickness of the vegetable sauce. This you can achieve by increasing or decreasing the amount of potato puree added till you get a consistency that appeals to you.
   Tip: The smoothest puree usually settles at the bottom so you may want to use only that (if it is sufficient) and discard the frothy part at the top.
   

Serve with white rice, boiled yam, fried plantain or mashed potatoes.

How to cook Nigerian Ewa Agoyin

Ewa Agoyin simply means plain boiled beans eaten with a pepper sauce.


This is the perfect way for those who do not like beans to enjoy it. I can tell you that yours truly does not like beans yet, I can never get enough of Ewa Agoyin. I don't know what it is about it that makes it taste so good. Maybe it is the caramelized onions. All I know is that I enjoy eating it.

Ingredients

• 2 cigar cups (approx. 500g) brown/black eyed beans
• 5 cooking spoons red palm oil
• 5 big plum tomatoes
• 1 handful crayfish
• 1 big onion
• Pepper & Salt (to taste)
• 2 stock cubes

Before you cook Ewa Agoyin

1. Soak the beans in cold water for 5 hours. Boil the beans for 5 minutes and discard the water. Rinse the beans in cold water and set aside. This soaking and pre-cooking process will help reduce the gas inducing elements. For more on that visit: How to Reduce Beans Bloating.
2. Chop the onions, grind the crayfish and pound the pepper.
3. Blend the tomatoes and boil the tomato puree till all the water has dried from it.
4. Pre-cook the diced onions without any added water. The aim is to get it to caramelize a bit so that it will take less time to fully caramelize during frying.

 

How to Cook Nigerian Egg Stew

Egg stew is often mistaken for Tomato Omelette. Both are not quite the same. Yes, they are both prepared with the same ingredients, just not in the same quantities. While Tomato Omelette consists mainly of eggs, Egg Stew has more of tomatoes. Also, Egg stew is not "set" like Tomato Omelette.


Egg Stew is very easy to prepare and it spices up some Nigerian staple foods.

Ingredients

• 2 Eggs
• 4 medium plum tomatoes (Tomato Jos)
• 1 medium onion
• Salt & Dry Pepper (to taste)
• 1 stock cube
• 2 cooking spoons of vegetable oil

Before you Cook the Egg Stew

1. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and cut into big slices (see video).
2. Also cut the onion into big slices (see video).
3. Beat the two eggs, add a pinch of salt and set aside.

Cooking the Nigerian Egg Stew

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a pot, when hot, lower the heat to medium.
2. Add the onions and stir for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, stir for a bit and cover the pot. This is so that the tomatoes and onions do not dry up too quickly. Stir from time to time though.
4. After about 5 minutes, add the ground pepper, salt and seasoning.
5. Keep stirring till the tomato is completely soft and separated from the oil.
6. Slowing pour the egg in a circular motion. Do NOT stir. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low to allow the egg to "cake". You want the egg to form lumps in the stew rather than look mushy.

Egg stew is the best thing that ever happened to Boiled Yam and Boiled Potatoes. You can also serve it with White Rice, Fried Yam, Fried Plantain or Potatoes. And it does many things to plain sliced bread. :)

How to Cook Nigerian Tomato Stew

By Tomato Stew, I mean stew used to prepare the Nigerian Jollof Rice recipes: Jollof Rice, Coconut Rice, Rice & Beans, etc. This tomato stew also forms the base for the Nigerian Beef & Chicken Stew. I always prepare a large quantity of this tomato stew and store in my freezer. This makes cooking my Nigerian Jollof Rice, Spaghetti Surprise and other meals where I use Tomato Stew so easy.

Please note that this tomato stew does not have any seasoning and other ingredients because it is just a base.

Ingredients for Nigerian Tomato Stew

• 3.2kg (7lbs) fresh Plum Tomatoes (referred to as Jos Tomatoes in Nigeria, tomate pera in Spanish and pomodoro pera in Italian)
• 400g (14oz) tinned tomato paste: (or watery tinned Tomato Puree: 800g)
• Vegetable Oil: a generous quantity (see the video below)
• 2 onions

Important notes on the ingredients

1. Tomatoes: Plum tomatoes are the best for the Nigerian Tomato Stew (and other Nigerian recipes) because all the other types of tomatoes either have a very strong taste, have lots of seeds or contain lots of water. You can also use Roma Tomatoes because it is very similar to plum tomatoes.
2. Vegetable Oil: There's always a debate about this one. But I will insist that you need more than enough oil when frying the tomatoes. This is so that the tomatoes will not burn till all the sour taste is gone and the water has dried from the tomatoes. You will pour out the excess oil when the tomatoes are well fried. Just think about this as "sort of" deep frying the tomatoes. Not that you'll need that much oil but you get the gist.
   
   If you don't use enough oil, your stew will have a sour taste and it will burn even if you stand there stirring frantically :( Cooking should be fun, not tedious. And why worry when you'll pour out the excess oil when you are done? In my opinion, anybody worried about his/her health should stay away from this stew because it is fried.
   
   This oil you pour out is red hence it is perfect for cooking Egusi Soup, Okra Soup and Ogbono Soup for those who cannot buy or do not want to use palm oil. Once it has cooled down, put it in the fridge or freezer because it will go bad if left on the kitchen counter.
3. Tinned tomato paste/puree: The tinned tomato paste sold in Nigeria is usually very thick and concentrated. If you try to fry this tomato paste as is, it will burn straight away. What I normally do is to add some water to it to bring it to the softer consistency as I did in the video below. There are other types of tomato purees sold in Europe and the rest of the world and these are usually watery. If that is the only type you can buy, then you need to cook it with the fresh tomato puree (as explained below) to get it to dry up a bit and get rid of the sour taste before frying.
   
   One more thing; the tinned tomato paste/puree is optional. Its job is to improve the redness of the tomato stew, making it look richer and more appetizing. If you don't want to use it, replace with fresh plum tomatoes. In Nigeria, it is common to use tatashe (Nigerian big red peppers) to improve the redness of the tomato stew. Please note that tatashe is not the same as bell peppers.
4. Feel free to vary the ratio of fresh plum tomatoes to conc. tomato paste. If you want the stew very red and conc. especially if you want to use it too cook Jollof Rice for a large crowd, increase the quantity of tomato paste you will use for a specific quantity of plum tomatoes.

Before you cook Tomato Stew

1. Wash and blend the fresh plum tomatoes. Remember to remove the seeds unless you are sure your blender can grind them very well.
2. If using the thick tinned tomato paste that is common in Nigeria, mix it with cold water to get a softer consistency. See the video below for how I did this.
3. If you are using the watery tinned tomato puree that is common in Europe and other parts of the world, open the tins or packets and set these aside, you'll need them soon.
4. Cut the onions into small pieces.

Cooking Directions

1. Pour the fresh tomato blend into a pot and cook at high heat till almost all the water has dried. If you have the watery tinned/boxed tomato puree, add these to the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook till the water in the tomato puree have dried as much as possible.
2. Add the vegetable oil, the chopped onions and the thick tomato puree that you mixed in step 2 above (if it's the puree you are using). Stir very well.
3. Fry at very low heat and stir at short intervals till the oil has completely separated from the tomato puree. A well fried tomato puree will also have streaks of oil, unlike when you first added the oil and it was a smooth mix of the tomato puree and oil. Taste the fried tomato puree to make sure that the raw tomato taste is gone. With time and experience, you can even tell that the tomato puree is well fried from the aroma alone.
4. If you are happy with the taste and you are sure that all the water has dried as much as possible, pour out the excess vegetable oil like I did in the video below, then add the well fried tomato stew to your cooking.
5. If you are not using it immediately, leave to cool down, dish in containers and store in the freezer.

To use, bring out from the freezer and allow to defrost at room temperature and use in your Nigerian Jollof Rice, Nigerian Coconut Rice, Nigerian Rice & Beans, Spaghetti Surprise. Add pepper, seasoning, chicken, beef, fish, turkey etc to get the Nigerian Beef & Chicken Stew used for eating Nigerian Boiled White Rice and other Nigerian staple food.

How to prepare Pepper Sauce

Pepper Sauce is a special hot sauce best used to eat Boiled Yam, Roasted Plantain or Boiled Plantain. It is very easy to prepare and is made off the stove.


You can rely on the pepper sauce, eaten with any of the above mentioned recipes, to warm you up on a cold day.

Ingredients

With the following ingredients, you can make enough pepper sauce for 3 roasted plantains :)

• 2 habanero peppers or fresh chilli peppers.
• 1 medium onions
• Red palm Oil: add till you get the consistency you like
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Wash and chop the onions and pepper into very tiny pieces. If you have mortar and pestle, then no need to cut the pepper, just pound it with the chopped onions.
2. When the pepper and onions have medium smoothness, transfer to a bowl. Then add some palm oil till you get the consistency you want.
   

   Note: If the oil is congealed, place the container in a bowl of hot water for some time to melt it. You can also melt it in the microwave. You can increase the quantity of peppers if you prefer your pepper sauce very hot.
   

3. Add salt to taste and your pepper sauce is ready.
4. You can heat the pepper sauce up a bit before use.

Dip pieces of Boiled Yam, Roasted Plantain or Boiled Plantain to eat.

Mixed Vegetables Curry Sauce

This is my go-to vegetable sauce. It's quick, it's easy and it's delicious! It's the perfect match for boiled white rice. Take a break from fried tomato stew and try the Mixed Vegetables Curry Sauce today.

Ingredients

The vegetables below are my favourite combination of vegetables to use but feel free to remove some of them and add your favourite vegetables. Just make sure that there's carrot in there because it gives this sauce a rich delicious taste.

• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 3 mushrooms
• ½ green bell pepper
• ½ red bell pepper
• 6 lumps of chicken (soft chicken)
• 1 tablespoon corn flour/starch (thickener)
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 2 big stock cubes
• 2 teaspoons Nigerian curry powder
• Salt to taste

Notes on the ingredients

• I use the soft chicken (cockerel or rooster) for this sauce because the sauce tastes better with it.
• If you are in the USA, use corn starch. If you are in Nigeria, make sure the corn flour you use is very fine. The corn flour sold in Nigerian markets are not so fine.
• The curry powder used in this sauce is the curry powder used in Nigerian recipes NOT the hot and spicy Indian curry.

Before you cook the Mixed Vegetables Curry Sauce

1. Rinse all your vegetables very well. Scrape the carrot.
2. Cut the mushrooms into thin slices
3. Divide the onion into 2. Cut half into small pieces and cut the other half into long thin slices.
4. Cut the red and green peppers into long thin slices.
5. Cut the carrot into thin half moons.

Cooking Directions

1. Set the pieces of chicken in a pot.
2. Add the stock cubes (crushed), thyme and the half of the onion that you cut into tiny pieces.
3. Pour water to the same level as the contents of the pot and start cooking on high heat.
4. While that is cooking, mix the corn flour/starch with a small quantity of water to get the consistency of evaporated milk. Or a little bit more watery than evaporated milk.
5. When the chicken is cooked, take them off from the pot and set aside. Leave the stock (water from cooking the chicken) in the pot.
6. Add the curry powder, the carrot and mushrooms
7. Stir, cover and continue cooking, again on high heat.
8. Once it boils, add the peppers and the other half of the onion.
9. Stir and continue cooking for 90 seconds.
10. Add the thickener. Stir and add the chicken.
11. Stir and add salt if necessary and it's done!

You need to be careful so you don't overcook the vegetables. Serve with boiled white rice.

Oil-free Nigerian Tomato Stew

Oil-free Salt-free Nigerian Tomato Stew

Click here to watch the video below.

Ingredients

• Approximately 20-25 tomatoes
• 1 container of cherry tomatoes
• 1 sweet onion
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 tbsp African or Caribbean Thyme
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
• 1 vegetable stock (optional)
• Vegetable broth (optional)

Before you start

1. Chop all the tomatoes in half, chop up the onion into large chunks and remove the seeds from the red bell peppers. This does not have to be perfect as we are going to throw it all in the blender.
2. In your blender (preferably high speed) throw in your chopped tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, chopped onion, bell pepper, thyme, and crushed pepper.
3. Blend till all the ingredients have a nice a smooth consistency. This is all going to get boiled down together so if you need to, you can add water to your blender to get it moving but by doing this it will increase your wait time on the boiling process.

Directions

1. Once all the ingredients are blended nice and smooth together throw it into a large pot set at a medium temperature and forget about it on the stove for about 2 hours or until all the water is boiled out of the sauce completely.
2. At this point if you need to transfer it into a smaller pot for easier handling you can.
3. If you opted in for the vegetable stock add that in at this point breaking it up and distributing it into the stew evenly.
4. Turn the heat down to a low temperature add in your desired amount of vegetable broth till you get the consistency you desire. I prefer mine thicker so when I freeze it I can later thin it out or leave it thick depending on the dishes I serve it with.
5. Allow this to simmer on the stove till the stock it well mixed in, approximately 10 min.

Serve the Tomato Stew with your favorite kind of rice and some baked plantain, pounded yam or eba with some spinach or use it as a spaghetti sauce with some other veggies added to it like mushrooms and spinach. One of my personal favorite ways to serve it is to use it to top off a sweet pepper salad with some sauteed onion and tofu.

This simple stew can be used in so many different ways to make several different dishes that you will never get tired of. Making a large pot like this allows for some to be frozen for later usage when in a time crunch.
Enjoy!

How to Cook Garden Egg Sauce/Stew

Garden Egg Sauce may well be the best sauce for Boiled White Yam. It contains palm oil which boiled yam loves. It can also be prepared with vegetable oil but I do not recommend that. Keep reading for details.
Garden Egg Sauce is the perfect match for:

• Boiled White Puna Yam (best combo)
• Boiled Plantains
• Agidi/Eko
• Boiled White Rice (when cooked with vegetable oil)
• Boiled Potatoes (when cooked with vegetable oil)

Ingredients for Garden Egg Sauce

• 8 big garden eggs
• 1 cup palm oil
• 1 onion
• Habanero Pepper & Salt (to taste)
• 1 small ogiri okpei (iru)
• 2 small smoked mackerels

Important notes on the ingredients + alternatives

1. Always buy baby garden eggs. These are garden eggs that are harvested as soon as they mature. If they over-mature or are even beginning to ripe, the seeds will be very tough and hard for the blender to grind. Even worse if you are using a mortar and pestle.
2. I prefer the white or off-white variety of garden eggs for this recipe. You can also use the green variety.
3. You can use eggplant or aubergine as alternative for garden eggs. In that case, use about 3 for the stated quantities of ingredients.
4. Fry with palm oil if you will use the garden egg sauce for boiled white yam or boiled plantains. Fry with a tasteless and odourless vegetable oil if you will use it to eat boiled white rice or boiled potatoes. In my opinion, this sauce should only be prepared with palm oil because it is more delicious. Palm oil gives the sauce a unique delicious flavour.
5. The palm oil adds colour to this sauce. This means that when you fry with vegetable oil, it does not look as appetizing.
6. Ogiri okpei (iru) is a traditional seasoning made from locust beans. If you do not have it, use stock cubes. Also, when preparing this recipe with vegetable oil, use stock cubes.
7. You should add enough palm oil to fry the garden egg puree. Palm oil is good for you! If you are in Nigeria use a milk cup to measure the palm oil.
8. You can use boiled mackerel if you do not have smoked mackerel but smoked is the way to go.

Kitchen tools and equipment

• Blender
• If you don't have a blender: mortar and pestle

Before you cook Garden Egg Sauce

1. Rinse the garden eggs very well and remove the stalk.
2. Blend the garden eggs. There are 3 ways to turn the garden eggs into a smooth puree:
   1. With a blender:
      1. Cut the garden eggs into small pieces.
      2. Put in a blender and pour just enough water to help the blades of your blender move.
      3. Blend till smooth.
   2. With a mortar and pestle:
      1. Boil some water in a pot.
      2. Add the garden eggs and continue to cook till the are soft.
      3. Peel the water-proof skin of the garden eggs.
      4. Pound in a mortar till a smooth puree is achieved.
   3. With a sieve:
      1. Cut the garden eggs into small pieces.
      2. Put the garden egg pieces in a pot and pour some water to the same level as the contents of the pot.
      3. Cook till the pieces are very soft, soft enough to melt when you press with a fork.
      4. Keep cooking till almost all the water has dried.
      5. Pour into a sieve with a wire mesh or any other rough sieve and mash it up.
3. Cut the onion into small pieces.
4. Pound the pepper and ogiri okpei in a mortar till smooth.
5. Prepare the smoked fish if you don't have some and separate them into small pieces.
6. Start cooking the yam or the staple food you will serve with the garden egg sauce.

Cooking Directions

1. Pour the garden egg puree into a clean pot and cook till all or almost all the water dries up. Set it aside. Skip this step if you prepared the garden egg puree using step b above.
2. Pour the palm oil into a clean dry pot and heat it up. Do not bleach it, you only need to heat till a piece of onion sizzles when added to the hot oil.
3. When the oil is hot enough, add the onions and fry for about 2 minutes.
4. Add the garden egg puree and stir for a bit. Cover the pot and cook-fry for some time and stir again.
5. Repeat step 4 till the small amount of water in the puree dried up. the paol oil will also be separated from the puree.
6. Add the ogiri okpei and habanero pepper blend then add salt to your taste.
7. Add the smoked fish, stir, cover and leave to simmer and it's done!

Use the Garden Egg Sauce to eat Boiled White Puna Yam (best combo), Boiled Plantains and Agidi/Eko. If you fried the sauce with vegetable oil, use for Boiled White Rice and Boiled Potatoes.