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By: Onoworemu Jeffrey, Ojoye Oluwapelumi and Oresanya Balikis Ayomide
Banga soup combines a blend of natural palm sauce, spices, and other natural ingredients to make a delicious stew that is served with white-boiled rice.
The Banga stew is very easy to make and very popular in the eastern part of Nigeria, almost every ingredient used in Making this stew could be harvested from the farm.
That is why it is easier for folks in rural areas while it remains difficult for people in urban to find all the ingredients that are required.
This is another kind of Nigerian stew popularly eaten by the Isoko/uhrobo and some other parts of Nigeria; I would prefer this stew above Nigerian tomato stew any day.
We can purchase most of these ingredients from any Nigerian market or African shops in case you live outside Nigeria.
It is very popular and indigenous among the Isoko/uhrobo people, If that is what you are looking to make, here is the recipe – Delta Banga Soup
Ingredients For Banga Stew
Preparation time: 60 minutes(MAX)
Banga (palm fruit) (9-10 cups)
assorted meat
mackerel
A cup of Sliced onions
2 cups of sliced fluted pumpkin(optional)
3 seasoning cubes
Sliced Scent leave
Dried fish
Crayfish
Dried pepper to taste
Salt
Due to the presence of palm oil in the palm fruit, there won't be a need to add palm oil to the ingredients
How to Prepare Banga soup
Step 1
Soak the dried fish in hot water and wash thoroughly to remove sand and dirt,
blend the crayfish or blend with dry pepper if you are making banga stew with dried pepper.
Step 2
Chop the onion and scent leaves, and set aside on a plate, I like to make most foods with lots of onions just because of their health benefits.
Step 3
Boil the palm fruit after boiling the palm fruit for some minutes you then pound the palm fruit to get a portion of the squeezed-out thick palm fruit sauce on a plate using a mortar and pestle.
Step 4
Pour water into a bowl, add the pounded palm fruit and try to squeeze out the thick paste.
Palm fruit juice is a major part of banga stew I can also use this in making other Nigerian soups.
Pour the squeezed-out thick juice into a bowl and set aside.
Step 5
Wash the meat and mackerel (fish) with water and parboil in a separate pot till it is tender. Season with 2 stock cubes, a teaspoon of salt, and a half cup of sliced onions).
Remove the fish after 10 minutes.
It is possible to make a delicious meal with tasteless meat, that is the only reason I precook the fish/meat separately before adding them to the main pot.
Step 6
Add the squeezed-out palm fruit juice to the boiling meat on fire.
Add the (washed, dried fish and blended crayfish) to the cooking pot and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
Step 7
Add your spices if it is not yet as tasteful as required. (Sachet of Banga spice and/or a seasoning cube). Stir and add the scent leave (chopped), sliced onions, salt, and pepper to taste.
Add the precooked mackerel fish. I added the fish now because I want to serve them whole. If you add fish earlier to banga stew, it would break before the stew is made.
Step 8
Cover and cook for another minute then add the chopped vegetables (optional), allow to steam for another 3 minutes then at this point all work is done. You just made a delicious Nigerian banga stew
Edited by : Adebayo Nurudeen And Luqman Shukuroh
Published by: Mondiu Sherifat Oluwaseun