Soup is a liquid food that is served warm or hot and made from combining ingredients of meat vegetables milk and water. Soups are similar to stews, but the difference is that soup generally has more liquid than stews. With Nigerian soups you get to try new tastes and textures.
In this article, I would talk about some of the common soups in Nigeria, Africa.
Nigeria is known as the “giants of Africa” and the most populous black nation on earth.
They have several ethnic groups and each of them having particular cuisines. They have several soups and its eaten with fufu or other swallows like Eba, pounded yam etc.
These swallows are usually tasteless and would require the richness and quality of the soup to make a good taste.
Most of them are usually low in carb because they are prepared mostly with vegetables meat and fish.
Here is a list of the best Nigerian soups.
Most common Nigeria soups
1. Ewedu
Ewedu soup is one of a popular Nigeria dish that’s made from ewedu leaves. The leaves are also known as jute or molokhai leaves.
Ewedu soup is a traditional soup which are common to the Yoruba part of Nigeria. It is very delicious and nutritious, and it has a slimy effect when it’s cooked which is very similar to okra and ogbono.
It’s a popular dish in the Western part of Nigeria and it’s usually served with a soup called gbegiri (a bean-based stew) and a protein, such as meat stew or fish stew. Apart from west Africa, the soup is also popular in the Middle East, East Africa, and North Africa.
The soup is also very simple to make, and it’s usually served with beans stew together with beef stew, or fish Stew or chicken stew. It is eaten with meals like pounded yam and fufu
Preparations
After Plucking the ewedu leaves, wash it in a bowl to remove dirts from it.
Blend the ewedu leaves in a blender together with locust bean and crayfish until it becomes smooth.
Pour the mixture into a pot and season with salt and other seasoning cubes and allow to cook for some minutes on medium heat until it becomes smooth and viscous. Its then ready and can be eaten with any swallow of your choice
2. Palm nut soup (Banga soup)
Banga soup is also a very nourishing soup that’s made from palm nuts. It has several benefits as it is rich in minerals and vitamin k, antioxidants and other many nutrients that support good brain function, it helps in the treatment of vitamin A deficiency and contains unsaturated fat.
Banga soup can be cooked with lots of spicies and different varieties of meat and fish. Its popular in the Niger delta part of Nigeria.
Preparation
In preparation, you boil the palm kernel fruits for about 30 minutes or slightly more, then you transfer the nuts into a mortal and pound it gentle without breaking the nuts.
Pour some hot water in the pounded notes and then squeeze and save to take out the extract do this until you get the extracts from the Nut.
After getting all the extracts, pour it into the pot and boy until takings and then the oil rises to the top, then add some recipes to it and allow to boil till it’s cooked
3. Egusi soup
This is another popular Nigerian soup and it’s mostly served on special occasions.
It is common in the southwest part which are the Yorubas and the Southeast part which are the Igbos. But everywhere in the country eat this delicacy.
Egusi is the name of a protein rich seed from a certain cucurbitaceous plant. This seed is been dried and grounded and then used to cook the delicacy.
Its prepared with meat, leaf vegetables, water, palm oil and other seasonings to make the soup taste great the seasoning may include locust beans as it’s popular among several dishes. Onions and peppers are also used. The vegetables may be bitter leaf, celosia, pumpkin and spinach.
They commonly use goat meat, beef, fish, crayfish etc while cooking the soup.
Preparation
Ground the melon seeds to a fine paste cut the pumpkin leaf into smaller pieces and wash it.
Cut the meats and wash them thoroughly, cook the meat and add some seasonings,
Set aside another pot and put some oil. When it’s hot, put the grounded melon together with tomato paste.
Add pepper, salts and locust beans. Add the fish and meat.
Wait for some time and add the vegetables and let it simmer.
Remove after 5 minutes.
After the soup is prepared, it is eaten with pounded yam mostly or Eba ( a thickened food made from hot water and cassava flakes which is called garri in the local language), Amala (made from unripe plantain flour) etc. This indeed is a super delicious soup and it’s my favourite.
4. Okra soup
Okra is a flowering plant from the mallow family. It’s green seed pods are edible and it’s mostly found in West Africa and the plant is cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions in the world.
The pods of the plant are mucilaginous which make it look slimy or sticky. The best way to de-slime okro is to cook it along with an acidic food like tomatoes which will render the mucilage less viscous.
Okra has 90% of water, 2% protein, 7% carbohydrates and contains little Amount of fat.
The soup is prepared with the edible seeds pod of the okra flowering plant is the main ingredient here.
Several other countries like china, Indonesia, Japan, USA, some West Africa countries etc are familiar with this diet. When preparing, it should be cut into desired shapes, Keep it, then add little quantity of water into the pot, add stock fish, meat, seasoning cubes, salt, locust beans crayfish, pepper.
Allow it to boil for about 10 to 15 minutes then, add the okra into the pot and stir it for about 5 minutes or more, add little quantity of palm oil and allowed to steam for a few more minutes.
Then it’s prepared. It can be eaten with pounded yam mostly or Eba (a thickend food made from hot water and cassava flakes which is called garri in the local language), Amala ( made from unripe plantain flour) etc.
There are a few types of okra soup but this is the most popular of the okra Nigerian soups.
5. Edikaikong
This is a vegetable soup that originated from the Efik people of Cross River State and akwa ibom in the Southeast part of Nigeria. Its filled with nutrition and may be expensive to prepare. Its known to be served at special occasions.
Its cooked with meat like beef or bush meat, dried fish, cray fish, palm oil, salt and pepper, water, onion, Vegetables like pumpkin leaves and water leaves.
Not all of the Nigerian soups have meat some are just vegetable based.
Preparation
For the preparation you have to wash and cut the pumpkin and water live in smaller pieces and then drain out the water cook the beef, dried fish, and add some onions and stock cubes with little water.
After cooking the meat had some amount of palm oil crayfish and pepper. Allow to boil for about 10 minutes.
The palm oil served as the liquid so make sure its enough. Add the water leaves and allow to cook for a few minutes so as not to make it over cooked, then add the pumpkin leaves. Allow to cook for 5 minutes and then it’s ready.
It can be served with pounded yam, fufu, Eba etc.
6. Obono
This is one of the Nigerian soups that’s made made from dried ogbono seeds (Wild mango) and it’s easy to prepare.
Its similar to okra and Ewedu (Jute leaves) as they are both slimy in texture (Mucilaginous). Its prepared with the grounded seeds, water, palm oil, meat chicken bush meat, goat meat etc or fish, leaf vegetables like bitteleaf, celosia, some seasonings, onions, locust beans etc.
Preparation
In preparation you have to cook the meat and fish and add the necessary seasoning and recipes, then blend the obono seeds and add it to the boiling meat, stir it and then add the rest ingredients like the crayfish, locust beans etc then add your vegetables and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes.
It can be eaten with pounded yam, fufu etc.
7. Peanut soup (Groundnut soup)
This is a soup that’s made from Groundnuts and other ingredients. Its an African cuisine but other countries in Asia like Taiwan and some america countries do eat this. Its common with the Edo people of Nigeria.
Its similar in preparations to the egusi soup. The groundnut is been must into taste similar to that of melon. Its prepared with any meat, fish, crayfish, tomatoes, palm oil, pepper and onions, vegetables and some seasonings.
Peanut soup is another one of the popular Nigerian soups.
Preparation
When preparing it, you wash your meat and fish.
Roast the Groundnuts well and blend it to form a paste.
Wash your vegetables and cut them into smaller pieces.
Then cook the meat and later add the fish with some seasonings.
Add crayfish salt and pepper till it boils.
Then transfer the meat and fish to a separate pot and leave the stock there
Add the grounded Groundnuts and stir continuously. Keep checking and stirring it to prevent burning.
Add palm oil and cook for about 15 minutes.
Add the meat and fish and cook on low heat to the boils.
Add vegetables, stir and allow to simmer.
Then after few minutes remove it. Its usually eaten with fufu, Eba, pounded yam etc.
8. Afang soup
This is another one the Nigerian soups and it’s a vegetable soup that originates from the efik people in Cross River and the people of akwa ibom in South Nigeria. This is usually served at special occasions and ceremonies.
Its cooked mostly with meat, fish, palm oil, crayfish, pepper, waterleaf onion, salts, other seasonings.
Preparation
Wash and slice the water leaves into tiny pieces. Ground or pound the okazi leaves. Ground your cray fish, pepper and cut your onions into smaller sizes.
Boil your meat and add onions and seasonings, then add your fish.
Add palm oil crayfish and pepper and when it starts to boil, add the okazi leaves with water. Allow the leaves to soften and when it’s almost done, add salt and allow to simmer. This can be eaten with fufu Eba, pounded yam etc
9. Atama soup
This is a vegetable and palm nut soup which originates from the efik people of Cross River State. Banga is one of the most popular of the Nigerian Soups.
The soup is made from the extract of palm kernel which is similar to that of the Banga soup. Its thick and can be cooked with different varieties of meat and dry fish.
The difference between the atama soup and Banga soup is the vegetables and spices used in preparation. The oil for the atama soup contains less saturated fat than than palm oil. The palm oil that is used for cooking the atama soup is extracted at a very low temperature which is mixed with oil and water. But the palm oil used in cooking other foods are extracted at high temperature.
Preparation
Set your palm oil, cut the onions into smaller pieces and blend the pepper. Wash your meat and fish and remove Bones from fish. Cut to fish the way you want it.
Wash the atama leaves and cut it into pieces. You can wash it thoroughly to reduce the bitterness.
Put the pieces of meat on the pot and a little water with some seasonings and leave to cook for a while.
Then after some time, add the fish into the pot. Pour the extracted palm fruit in another pot and put it on high heat. Allow to boil till you observe some read oil in the top. Make sure the extracts is cooked till it thickens well.
Add the cooked meat and fish to the extracts together with the crayfish, pepper, and the atama leaves. Add salt for taste and stir it gently and leave to simmer for some few minutes.
This can be eaten with fufu, Eba, pounded yam etc.
10. Gbegiri soup
This is a soup come out to the western part of Nigeria (the yorubas). It’s prepared with beans
It looks like a baby food but will look good when ewedu soup and meat is added into it.
Preparation
Set your bead and meat
Ready your beef or chicken stew and other ingredients to be used for cooking. Remove the beans coat and.
Soak the beans for about three hours. This soaking will soften the beans well making it to cook with less time.
Now after it has been soaked, put it into a pot and add water for it to cook. Prepare the ewedu soup that would be used to eat the gbegiri soup.
Cook beans till it becomes so soft. Add water continuously to make sure it’s in same level with the beans.
Then take the beans out and blend it after it gets too soft. Blending hot food in Plastic jug is harmful. So, sieving it before blending can be helpful. After bleeding for the beans back into the stove and then add the smoke fish crayfish some seasoning salt for taste pepper and palm oil.
Cover the pot and allow to cook on low heat till the oil mixes with the rest of the ingredients for some few minutes. Stir from time to time so it doesn’t burn. It can be eaten with fufu, pounded yam and Eba.
Check out this post on Goat Meat Pepper Soup
To learn more about healthy foods and how the benefit you head over to this post. If you are unsure about what seafood is exactly check out my post describing it.