How to prepare banga soup (Ofe Akwu)

                                    Before you cook Ofada Stew:

1. Wash and blend the peppers and the onion. Remember to remove the seeds from the green tatashe or the green bell peppers.
2. Grind the crayfish and the locust bean seasoning with a dry mill.

Cooking Directions

1. Cook all the meat and fish with the stock cube till well done.
2. Pour the pepper blend into a separate pot and cook on high heat till all the water dries up.
3. Pour the red palm oil into a clean dry pot and bleach till it turns clear. It should look like vegetable oil when done. It took me 12 minutes on low to medium heat to bleach the one in the video below. Your own time may vary depending on the type of heater you have and the quantity of oil.
4. Leave the oil to cool down a bit then add the boiled pepper puree. Fry till all the water has dried from the pepper.
5. Add the crayfish and locust bean seasoning, the orisirisi meat and fish and stir well.
6. Add salt to taste, leave to simmer and it is ready to be served.

Serve with boiled Ofada Rice. To get the full effects, line the plate with uma leaves. You can also use banana leaves.                                                                                        

Before you cook the Nigerian Banga Soup:

1. Extract the palm fruit concentrate from the palm fruits. If using the tinned palm fruit concentrate, open the tin and set aside.
2. Cook the beef and the dry fish with 1 bulb of diced onion and the stock cubes till done.
3. Wash and cut the scent leaves into tiny pieces. The scent leaves give the Banga Stew (Ofe Akwu) its unique aroma and taste. If you are outside Nigeria, this may be hard to find, so you can use pumpkin leaves or any other vegetable in place of scent leaves. If cooking Delta-style Banga Soup for starch, you should either cook this soup without vegetables or use dried and crushed bitter leaves.
4. Cut the remaining bulb of onion. Pound the crayfish, ogiri okpei and pepper in a mortar and set aside. You can also grind them with a dry mill.

Cooking Directions

1. Set the pot of palm fruit extract on the stove and start cooking at high heat. Leave to boil till you notice come red oil at the surface of the Banga Stew. If you think that the Banga Soup is watery, cook till the soup has thickened to the consistency you like for your stews.
2. Now, add the beef, dry fish and stock, the onions, crayfish and pepper and leave to boil very well.
3. Add the scent leaves or other vegetable and salt to taste. Leave to simmer for about 2 mins. The Banga Soup is done. Serve with White Rice or use the Delta-style Banga Soup to eat Starch, Garri, Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.