Palm Nut Soup (Abenkwan)
Overview
Palm nut soup, called abenkwan in Ghana, is a rich, orange-red soup made from the pulp of oil palm fruits. The fruits are boiled, pounded and pressed with water to extract a thick, creamy cream that forms the base of the soup. It is then simmered with tomatoes, onion and fresh chilli and filled with goat, chicken or beef, often together with smoked or dried fish and sometimes crab or snails. The palm cream gives a deep, slightly nutty flavour and a glossy layer of red oil on top. It is usually eaten with fufu, omo tuo rice balls or banku.
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History
The oil palm is native to West Africa, and its fruit has been a central ingredient in the region's cooking for a very long time. Palm nut soup is made in many West African countries under different names, and in Ghana it is one of the classic soups for Sunday lunch and festive meals. Many families now use tinned palm cream instead of pounding fresh fruit. Recipes differ from household to household, especially in the choice of meat, fish and the amount of chilli.
Main ingredients
Palm fruit pulp, goat or chicken, smoked fish, tomatoes, onion, chilli. The soup is built on palm fruit broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Recipe outline serves 4 · ~120 min
Ingredients
- 1 kg palm fruits or 800 g tinned palm cream
- 800 g goat or chicken pieces
- 1 piece smoked fish
- 3 tomatoes, 1 onion
- 2 scotch bonnet chillies
- salt, stock cube
Allergens: Contains: Fish. Based on the typical recipe. Recipes and products vary; always check labels if you have an allergy.
Method
- Season and steam the meat with onion for 15 minutes.
- Boil the palm fruits, pound and press with water to extract the cream, or loosen tinned cream with water.
- Add the cream, blended tomatoes and chillies to the meat and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Add the smoked fish, cook for 15 minutes and serve with fufu.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.