Learn How To Prepare The Best Pot Of Banga Soup (Ofe Akwu) With This Simple Recipe

Nigerian Banga Soup or Ofe Akwu is a native soup of the indigenes of Niger Delta and the South Eastern parts of Nigeria.
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.
In the Niger Delta areas, Banga soup is commonly eaten with various fufu recipes: Starch, Pounded Yam, Semolina, Garri and Cassava Fufu.
The palm fruit oil extract used in cooking Banga Soup 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.
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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.
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.

How to prepare

1. Set the pot of palm fruit extract on the stove and start cooking at high heat.
2. 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.
5. 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.
Watch this easy tutorial on how to prepare Ofe Akwu