How To Make Ghanaian Palm Nut Soup With Fresh Palm Fruit

The Ghanaian palm nut soup is a popular soup in Ghana that most forms of swallows in the country can eat. It is a delicious and nutritious soup when it is well prepared. The soup can be prepared on any budget. 

The Akan people of Ghana call this soup ‘abekwan.’ It is mostly made from the oil extracted fresh from palm nuts. Aside from this oil, there are also other ingredients added to this soup to make it rich and nutritious. As stated earlier, it can be eaten with a wide range of swallows, and it can also be eaten with rice. 

Preparing and cooking this soup may take time, but when it is ready, the taste makes the tongue crazy. What are the ingredients used for Ghanaian palm nut soup?

Preparation Time: 2 hours 

Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes 

Ingredients

1. Palmnuts or Palm cream/soup base 

2. Goat meat/any other meat 

3. Dried fish

4. Fresh fish 

5. Ginger 

6. Habanero pepper

7. Garlic 

8. Shallot 

9. Anise seeds 

10. Bay leaf

11. Seasoning

12. Salt 

13. Onions 

14. Fresh tomatoes 

Preparation Process of Ghanaian Palmnuts Soup

There are several preparation steps you should take before you start cooking this soup. These steps are: 

1. Preparing the Palmnuts

The first preparation step you should take is getting good and fresh palm nuts to be used in cooking the soup. The quantity of the palm nuts should be according to the size of the soup you want to make. When you get them, you wash them. Then, you pour them into a pot, fill the pot with some amount of water, and then let the pot boil until the palm nuts are soft. This can take up to an hour or more. 

When the palm nuts are soft, you get a mortar and pestle. You pour the palm nuts into the mortar and slowly grind the palm nuts to extract the oil. After grinding till the husks of the palm nuts are all out of the nuts, pour water into the mortar to extract the oil. 

Ensure you sieve out the husks and nuts properly to have a fine and good palm oil soup base. It is with this palm oil base that you will cook the meal. 

2. Prepare the Meats and Fish

Next, you wash and boil your meats and fish. You can wash the goat meat, pour it into a pot, add seasoning, add a little water, and boil for some minutes. When it has gotten soft, you add your fresh fish. If these are done, you get the pot down. Get out the fish and meat from the pot, and keep the stock. 

3. Prepare the Other Ingredients

You should also wash, prepare, and grind the other ingredients like garlic, ginger, pepper, shallot, fresh tomatoes, and anise seeds. You can grind the tomatoes, pepper, ginger, and garlic together so they serve as thickeners for the soup. Then you grind shallot and anise seeds together. In addition to all of these, you should ensure you pick the dried fish and remove the bones. Slice onions as well. 

How to Make Ghanaian Palmnut Soup: A Step-by-step Guide

1. Put Palmnuts Soup Base

The first step is to put the empty pot on fire and put the palm nut soup base in the pot. When you have done this, you allow it to cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. 

2. Add Onions and Seasonings

The second step is to add the sliced onions and seasonings like salt and other seasonings. You allow it to cook for an additional 3 minutes. 

3. Add Meat Stock, Meat, and Fish

The third step is to add your meat stock, meat, and fish. When you add, you stir to ensure the ingredients get to everywhere. After adding these, allow the pot to boil for like 5 minutes. 

4. Put Tomato sauce and Bay leaf

The fourth step is to pour the tomato sauce and the single bay leaf into the pot. This should also include anise seeds and shallot. When you add, stir and cover to cook for another 5 minutes. After adding the tomato sauce, if the soup is too thick, you should add one to three cups of water to lighten the soup. 

5. Add Vegetables and Check for Taste

The last step is to add vegetables if you are using any and check for taste. If the soup doesn’t suit your taste or up to your standards, you should add more seasonings. When you add the vegetables, it shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes for your soup to be ready for consumption. 

Conclusion

Ghanaian palm nut soup is delicious and nutritious when it is well-made. It is a versatile soup that can be eaten with any swallow or rice. It is a very important and iconic soup in Ghana.