Learn how to make Niger Delta Signature Traditional Soup – BANGA SOUP, Owho Soup and Starch

Nigerian Banga Soup is a flavorful and speedy palm nut soup prepared in the Niger-Delta style. It’s effortlessly made, bursting with taste from the herbs and spices incorporated.

From your kitchen to the table, you can whip up this soup in just 30 minutes. While it shares similarities with the Ofe Akwu recipe (Ibo style), it stands out with its distinct set of spices. While Banga soup is commonly enjoyed with starch, I personally prefer relishing it with pounded yam or Eba.

Ingredients for Banga Soup:

• Canned palm nut fruit concentrate (or fresh palm fruit if available)
• Banga spice (Ataiko and Irugeje, blended)
• Beletete leaves (or substitute with dried basil, bitter leaf, or dried scent leaves)
• Oburunbebe stick (optional)
• Fresh catfish steaks (or any other fresh fish)
• Assorted beef (offal, e.g., tripe, lungs, liver, cow leg, etc.)
• Fresh shrimps
• Ground crayfish (or dried shrimps)
• Scotch bonnet chili
• Dried cod (panla, or substitute with smoked fish)
• Periwinkle (optional)
• Seasoning cubes and beef stock
• Salt
• Water
• Onion

How to Cook Banga Soup:

1. Season assorted beef and dried fish with salt, onions, and seasoning cubes. Add water and bring to a boil until tender. Separate meat from stock and reserve stock.
2. Place a large pan on medium heat, add palm nut fruit concentrate, and dilute with warm water (double the amount of palm fruit used). If using tough beef, add it at this point to help soften it and infuse flavor.
3. Stir well, bring to a boil for about 20 minutes. Do not cover the pan to prevent boiling over. Use a wooden spoon across the pot to avoid overflow.
4. As the palm fruit extract thickens and the oil floats on top, add blended scotch bonnet, assorted beef, periwinkle, and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
5. Add Banga spice, oburunbebe stick, ground crayfish, and cook for another 10 minutes. Check for salt and seasoning, dilute the soup with reserved stock if too thick.
6. Add fresh catfish, shrimps, fresh fish, and beletete leaves (or bitter leaf). Cook on low heat for another 10-12 minutes. Stir carefully to avoid sticking to the bottom.
7. Optionally, scoop out the floating oil for another dish.
8. Serve the Banga Soup with starch, eba, fufu, pounded yam, or any preferred swallow.

Enjoy your delicious Banga Soup!

Owho Soup

Owho Soup is a delicious soup that people from Delta State of Nigeria swear by.
It goes well with yellow garri, starch, boiled yam and boiled plantains. Whichever you like, Owho Soup will not disappoint!

Ingredients:

• Assorted meat and fish (beef, cow skin, cow tripe, snails, shellfish, dry fish, stockfish)
• Palm oil
• 2 teaspoons powdered edible potash (akanwu, kaun, keun)
• 3 tablespoons ground crayfish
• 1 cup garri
• Hot and spicy pepper (to taste)
• 2 stock cubes
• Optional: native Urhobo salt, palm fruit concentrate (banga oil)

Cooking Directions:

1. Soak the dry fish to soften.
2. Mix the potash with a little amount of water and set aside.
3. Clean, debone, and separate the dry fish into medium pieces.
4. Pour the palm oil in a small container, gently decant the potash water into the palm oil while stirring until the palm oil turns yellow and becomes thick.
5. Cook the meats and stockfish with the seasoning cubes until soft.
6. Blend the garri with a dry mill, then mix it with some meat and fish stock to get a soft dough.
7. Add the dry fish, crayfish, and pepper to the pot, cover, and continue cooking.
8. After about 7 minutes, add the palm oil mix and scoop small lumps of the garri dough into the pot, continuing to cook without covering to prevent boiling over.
9. The soup is done when the garri lumps have dissolved, and the soup is no longer foaming. Remove any excess lumps if necessary.
10. Stir well and take it off the stove.

Enjoy your Urhobo Owho Soup with yellow garri, starch, boiled yam, or boiled plantains!

Starch

Quite often we see starch sold in Nigerian markets. learn how to extract cassava starch if you cannot buy it where you live. I will also explain how to turn the extracted starch into the popular yellow Delta Starch Swallow.

How to Extract Cassava Starch:

Ingredients:

• Cassava tuber (Yuca)
• Water
• Utensils (chiffon cloth, blender, big and small bowls, cups)

Instructions:

Note: The quantity of cassava tubers determines the amount of starch produced. Raw starch can be stored in the freezer.

1. Peel the Cassava:

• Peel the cassava tubers along their natural lines.

1. Rinse:

• Rinse the peeled cassava with cool water.

1. Cut or Grate:

• Cut the cassava into small pieces or grate it.

1. Blend:

• Blend the cassava in a blender using as little water as possible.

1. Separate Chaff:

• Use a chiffon cloth to separate the chaff from the cassava blend. Rinse with clean water while sieving until all the starch is washed off the chaff. The remaining chaff can be used to make Cassava Fufu.

1. Settle the Starch:

• Leave the starch in a bowl for at least 3 hours. The starch will settle at the bottom, and clear water will be seen at the top.

1. Decant and Store:

• Slowly decant the clear water, then scrape the starch into a container. Store it in the fridge or freezer.

Directions for Making Delta Starch Swallow:

Ingredients:

• Extracted cassava starch
• Water
• Red Palm Oil

Instructions:

1. Prepare Starch Mixture:

• Put the extracted starch in a clean pot and add water. Use the ratio of 1 cup starch to 2 cups water (adjust based on the quantity of starch).

1. Add Palm Oil:

• Add enough red palm oil to turn the starch yellow. For 1 cup of starch, use about 3 tablespoons of red palm oil (adjust based on preference).

1. Mix Well:

• Mix everything thoroughly until you get a smooth mixture with no lumps.

1. Heat and Stir:

• Set the pot on the stove, turn on medium heat, and start stirring continuously. As the starch heats up, it solidifies.

1. Continuously Stir:

• Keep stirring nonstop until a solid yellow mass is formed. Ensure there are no streaks of palm oil, and the starch should be yellow all over.

1. Serve:

• Take it off the stove and serve immediately.

Enjoy your freshly made Delta Starch Swallow!

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