Ghana’s soup repertoire does not get nearly enough attention outside the country. While the jollof debate takes up most of the conversation, the soups are where a lot of the real cooking happens. Light soup, palm nut soup and groundnut soup each have their own character, and all three are straightforward enough to make at home.
- +3 Ghanaian soups to recreate this weekend
Here is what you need to get started.
Here is what you need to get started.
Light soup is one of the most common dishes in Ghanaian cooking. Known as Nkrakra, it is a spicy, tomato-based broth made with fresh tomatoes, ginger, garlic, scotch bonnet peppers and onions. It is deeply rooted in Akan culture, particularly among the Ashanti and Fante people, though it is made across the country. What distinguishes it from most other West African soups is its consistency. It is thin and watery by design, and the tomatoes, peppers and onions are boiled before being blended rather than blended raw. It is traditionally served with fufu.
Meat (chicken or goat), fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, scotch bonnet peppers, tomato paste, fish, spices of choice, salt and seasoning to taste, water.
Known as Abenkwan, palm nut soup is a rich, oily and nutritious soup made from the pulp of boiled and pounded palm fruits. It is widely eaten in Ghana and appears in varying forms across West Africa. It is traditionally paired with fufu, banku or rice balls.
Palm nut extract (from fresh palm fruits or canned palm cream), assorted meats (goat meat, oxtail, beef, chicken or cow foot), smoked and dried fish (tilapia, catfish, tuna or mackerel), herring powder, smoked shrimp powder or crayfish, fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, anise seeds, bay leaves, bouillon cubes, prekese (aidan fruit), turkey berries (abeduru), okra, garden eggs, salt and water.
Also known as Nkatenkwan in Twi or Azidetsi in Ewe, groundnut soup is a rich, creamy staple of Ghanaian cooking made primarily from natural peanut butter and a tomato-based broth, seasoned with ginger, garlic and scotch bonnet peppers. It is commonly made with chicken, beef, goat meat or smoked fish, and the consistency can range from a thin broth to a thick stew depending on preference. The key indicator that the soup is ready is when the natural oils from the peanut butter rise to the surface. It is served as a swallow dish, paired with fufu, rice balls (omo tuo), banku, kenkey or kokonte.
1 to 2 lbs chicken, beef or smoked fish, 1 cup natural unsweetened groundnut paste (peanut butter), 2 large onions, 4 to 5 cloves garlic, 2-inch piece of ginger, 3 large tomatoes, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 to 4 scotch bonnet peppers, salt to taste, water. Optional: okra, garden eggs or mushrooms.
