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5 from 3 votes

Palm Nut Soup (Banga Soup)

Palm nut soup is a rich, nutty West African soup made from palm fruit extract. Depending on where you're from, you might know it as banga soup or ofe akwu, but it's all the same delicious dish. This version uses store bought concentrate so you get that deep, slow-cooked flavor in just 35 minutes.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Soups & Stews
Cuisine: African
Diet: Gluten Free
Servings: 8
Calories: 340kcal
Author: Tayo Oredola

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Cut and clean your catfish if you bought it whole.

Using store-bought concentrate

  • Pour the palm nut concentrate into a pot.
    1 can Palm-nut concentrate
  • Add in the shrimps and spices and let it boil for 10 minutes.
    8 oz shrimps, 1 tablespoon bouillon powder, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon ground crayfish, 1.5 tablespoon banga spice, 1 teaspoon salt
  • Add your catfish and simmer for about 15 minutes.
    2 lbs catfish
  • When the oil from the palm nut starts to rise to the surface, your banga soup is ready.

Make the palm nut concentrate using a mortar and pestle (optional)

  • Wash the palm nut seeds, and place them in a pot with enough water to cover them.
  • Boil till tender (about 20 minutes).
  • Pour the palm kernel seeds into a mortar and use a pestle to gently pound and mash them.
  • When the palm nut seeds look mushy, transfer them to another large bowl. Add some water, squeeze the palm nuts, and drain into a separate bowl.
  • Repeat several times till the water looks a bit lighter.
  • Strain the water from washing the palm nut into a pot.
  • Boil for about 30 minutes or an hour until the liquid has a thicker viscosity.
  • Continue cooking the banga soup using instructions from above.

Notes

  • Although palm nut soup is traditionally made with seafood like fresh fish, shrimp, or periwinkles, you can also cook it with meat.
  • You can add scent leaves to your soup for an additional dimension of flavor.
  • Palm-nut soup produces quite a bit of oil. If this bothers you, you can drain some of it when it's ready.
  • You can add more or less cayenne pepper, depending on your preference.
  • You can also add spinach or other leafy greens to this Nigerian soup.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 722mg | Potassium: 429mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 57IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg