Food Paradise

HOW TO MAKE BANGA SOUP

Banga soup is a soup made from the sauce squeezed from palm fruit (Elaeis guineensis) and is incredibly rich in nutritional value.

INGREDIENT

• 500g Assorted parts of meat/fresh fish
• 225g stockfish(pre-soaked)
• 225g dried fish(pre-soaked)
• 1kg oil-palm fruits
• 8oz grounded crayfish
• 1pt meat stock/water
• vegetable – scent leaves
• 100g ground pepper
• 2 onion(sliced)
• 3 cubes Maggi cubes(knorr)
• salt to taste

BEFORE COOKING THE SOUP

1. wash and cook the palm fruits till done. a good sign that the palm fruit is done is that you will notice cracks on the flesh of the fruits. The palm fruit is also soft to bite.
2. remove from the water and pound the palm fruits in the mortar with a pestle till all the flesh is separated from the nuts to form a smooth pulp.
3. cook the beef, dry fish, and stockfish with 1 bulb of diced onion, the 3 Maggi/knorr cubes till done, 2tsp of the ground pepper, and 1tsp of salt.
4. while you have the beef cooking, extract the palm fruit oil from the palm fruit pulp by washing it in warm water. small quantities of the palm fruit pulp should be washed in as small a quantity of warm water as possible. if the palm fruit oil starts getting too thick, pour the liquid into another container through a sieve to prevent the palm fruit fibers from entering the oil that will be used in cooking the Banga soup. Repeat this till all the palm fruit pulp has been washed.
5. Leave the extracted palm fruit oil to stand for some time then slowly pour this into the pot that will be used to cook the Banga soup/stew, taking care not to pour the tiny pieces of fiber that have settled at the bottom.
6. Wash and cut the scent leaves into tiny pieces. The scent of leaves is what gives the Banga soup 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.
7. cut the remaining bulb of onion, grind the crayfish and pepper, and set aside.

COOKING DIRECTIONS

1. Set the pot of palm fruit oil on the stove and start cooking at high heat. leave to boil till you notice come clear oil on the surface of Banga soup. if you think that the Banga Soup is watery, cook till the soup has thickened to the consistency you like for your soups.
2. Now, add the cooked beef, dry fish, stockfish, and the beef stock, onion, crayfish, and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the scent of leaves and salt to taste. Leave to cool for 2 mins. The Banga Soup is done. Serve with white boiled rice.