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Banga (palm nut soup): photo of the dish
Illustrative photo: Justdifference — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Soups

Banga (palm nut soup)

A rich, creamy soup made from juice extracted from palm nuts, with a deep orange colour, often served with rice or yam pounded. Traditionally cooked for festivals and ceremonies in the Niger Delta and the south-east of the country.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Extraction du jus

Épices

Spices & seasoning

Optional extras

On the side

Instructions

  1. Boil the palm nuts for 15 minutes in water, then crush them by hand or with a pestle to loosen the flesh.
  2. Blend the pulp with a little hot water and strain through a fine sieve or a cloth to get a thick orange juice.
  3. Fry the chopped onion in a little oil, add the palm juice and let it simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat.
  4. Add the chicken, the flaked smoked fish, the blended tomatoes and chilli, then cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
  5. Stir in the ogiri, the Scotch bonnet pepper, the dried shrimp, the stock cube, the salt and the pepper.
  6. Cook for another 15 minutes over low heat, stirring from time to time, until the soup thickens and the oil rises to the surface.
  7. Serve hot with white rice or boiled plantains.

Variations and tips

Simplified version. With canned palm juice, go straight to step 3 and reduce the cooking time by 10 minutes.

With what you can find here. Without ogiri, a spoonful of shrimp paste or a little miso paste gives a close fermented note.

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Original Ecomely recipe.