WHEN I DROP YOU KNOW ITS AN ANTHEM
Strange lines for a post about soups rights. By now you our dear readers, you already know to expect the unexpected with enchanting naturals. Besides this sauce is actually an anthem in some peoples house. Some mother use it to welcome long lost children, those returning from travel or those returning from child birth. Something about it just comforts the soul and you cant help but feel bubbly while you eat it. Myself I would beg my mother while I was in High School (boarding house) to make it for me every time the holidays were close by.
When I moved some distance away for work I proceeded to use it to blackmail my siblings and sister in la as a reason to come home. Perhaps also because palm trees from which the fruit juice used to make this soup is extracted was traditionally used for gazebo and huts where people gathered with friends and families. That may be part of why the soup has a history of bringing people together in a welcome back home meal as well as rewarming the belly of newly delivered moms.
So while I sing to my song which is actually lines from Nigerian artist DML Fireboy song’s playboy, i will share the ingredients for our anthem soup. If making this soup to eat with traditional cassava flour, please see the other post on it. This one is meant to be eaten with rice and originates from south-south aka Niger-Delta region of Nigeria and the South- East (Ibo) region. However anyone regardless of place enjoys this special.
INGREDIENTS
Oil palm fruit juice-squeeze or buy the canned variant
Tripe meat- for flavour and fibre to replace the fibre in the cassava (garri) that the rice does not bring
Beef or Chicken
crayfish-this is like mini crawfish seafood. To be grind and added
Fresh pepper-grind
Traditional african scent leaf or basil (honestly scent leaf is the key in this stew but i opted for mint here as that was what i could find-a girl has got to improvise)
Banga soup spices (buy from an african store or main market). You can skip this if you cannot find it.
Perhaps the most iconic part of this meal is that its ridiculously easy to make. Back in Nigeria we hated being the ones to squeeze the palm fruit for juice but with the canned version? Ha! Best life ever!
So here’s how to:
Pour the oil palm juice in a pot.
bring to boil for a few minutes roughly 10 to 15.
cover halfway when boiling or it will attempt to boil out. Next add your tripe, meat and other protein. Please don’t add periwinkle sea food to the stew version. it doesn’t go well nor does fresh cat fish. That is for the soup version. Next add your seasoning salt, pepper and spices, and allow all to boil together for some minutes till you see some light oil palm start pooling together at the surface.
Then lastly add your vegetables. Some people like alot of scent leaf an yes, scent leaf is the sauce in this stew. So go ahead and add a lot! That is what stretches the new mummys tummy, and helps to burn belly fat.
If you dont have scent leaf then use the basil/other but not too much so it doesnt over power the original taste.
And let every thing simmer on low heat for 3 to 5 minutes and viola..serve with hot rice and chilled power wine. Welcome home my darlings and you can even pull an all night team to this stew.
I love it so much I used to travel around 35 minutes just to purchase it from traditional sellers when i was in western Nigerian and was too lazy or tired to make my own. Now i have a huge chunk consistently in my freezer…are you pulling up for this sauce? Better do so because the energy it brings is never low!
Did you try to make this? tag us at @enchantingnaturals or #enchantingnaturals…happy yumming…!
Recent Comments