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Groundnut Soup, also known as “Peanut soup” it’s a delicious soup that looks and almost taste like Egusi Soup.
This soup is a mainstay in most African cuisines, as well as several other cultures such as East Asia’s Taiwan and the United States Virginia. It’s comforting, nourishing, and flavorful. It’s also quite adaptable, making it appropriate for any season.
It is popular in the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria but in different ways. Groundnut soup is particularly common among the Etsako people of Edo state. It’s known as Omisagwe to the Estako’s.
Where Does Groundnut Soup Come From?
Maafe (Wolof, mafé, maffé, maffe), sauce d’arachide (French), tigadèguèna, or domoda are all names for groundnut stew, which is a staple meal in Western Africa. It comes from Mali’s Mandinka and Bambara ethnic groups.
What Is Groundnut Soup Made Of?
This Soup is made with groundnut (peanuts). It can be thick or watery, and it can be made with or without vegetable leaves. Bitter leaves are traditionally used in groundnut soup, however if Bitter leaves are unavailable, Ugu or Spinach leaves can be substituted.
Is Groundnut Soup Good For Health?
Yes it is! The presence of Omega-3 fatty acids in this soup helps maintain a healthy heart. The low-carb legume is also surprisingly rich in antioxidants, which reverse the ageing process and help rejuvenate hair and skin.
How To Prepare Groundnut Soup
The west African peanut soup has a wonderful combination of flavors, and it’s loaded with a lot of protein from the Peanuts! This recipe couldn’t be easier to make and it can be prepared with additions of Meat like Chicken, Beef or Lamb, Fish, and vegetables.
The ground peanuts take the soup up a notch with that punch of flavor and it also serves as a thickener.
Notes
- The stock recovered from the beef will be used to season our soup so be generous with the water. If the sock tastes too light feel free to add more seasoning
- I used Roasted Peanuts for this recipe, however, you can choose to use raw peanuts and roast your peanuts by yourself.
- It is advisable to leave the nuts to become warm before blending them so as not to damage your blender.
- You can blend the nuts with a coffee grinder, spice blende dry mill grinder or simply use a small mortar and pestle to pound it.
- In Africa, we tend to like some texture retained in our meat, hence the 30 to 40 minutes cook time. However, if you want your meat slightly more tender feel free to boil it for a longer time.
- Keep an eye on the stew and check about every 5 minutes or thereabouts after adding the nuts because the stew has the tendency to burn faster at this point.
- After the peanut soup is done, feel free to adjust the thickness to your desired consistency. You can add more stock to lighten it up or cook it for few more minutes for a thicker consistency.
Groundnut Soup
Groundnut Soup, also known as "Peanut soup" is a delicious soup that looks and almost taste like Egusi Soup. It is popular in the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria but in different ways.
Ingredients
- groundnut
- crayfish
- bitter leaves/pumpkin leaves
- efirin/basil leaves optional
- onion
- scotch bonnet (ata rodo)
- bouillon cubes
- assorted meat
- dry fish
- stock fish
- palm oil
- uziza seed
- salt
Instructions
- Boil the meats first, the tougher meats first, put them into a pot and place on a cooker on medium heat. Add water to cover, add onions, seasoning cube and salt. Boil till slightly tender.
- Add the softer meats, if you are using tough dried stock fish add at this time, add the atarodo (scotch bonnet) and the crayfish and boil till soft.
- At this point start preparing your groundnut paste. (Roasted groundnut will be preferred here).
- Put the groundnut into a blender or dry mill, blend till smooth.
- Add some of the stock into the blended groundnut, add the Uziza, onions and crayfish, blend till you get a thick fine paste and set aside.
- Wash and cut the pumpkin leaves into tiny pieces, if you are using bitter leaf, wash very well to reduce the bitter taste.
- This time, check on your meats, add the smoked fish, switch off the heat and leave the smoked fish to simmer in the stock for some minutes.
- Add water to reduce the heat to low.
- Add palm oil into the stock, leave to combine.
- Add the groundnut paste gradually, don't add much groundnut paste so as to control how thick or watery you want your soup to look, add seasoning cube and salt.
- Stir and combine, make sure its not clumpy, add the washed bitter leaves or pumpkin leaves (Don't add much).
- Switch off the heat and add the Efirin or Basil leaves.
- Add more palm oil and make sure it floats on top.
- Serve with any swallow of your choice.
Nutrition
Calories: 350kcal
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