[Nigerians recipes ]How to make Delta State banga soup

Easy way to prepare delta state banga soup 

By Semilore Ifedolapo

Delta banga soup is best served with starch or eba. This is unlike the other banga stew that is native to the Igbos and popularly served with white boiled rice or yam.
This Banga soup is indigenous to the Deltans but
also loved and enjoyed by both People from Edo
state and all of the Niger Delta. If you are
looking to make the Igbo version please
This is not banga stew but they are both made
with similar ingredients. Banga stew is native to
the Igbos and usually served with boiled white
rice. While banga soup (as in this case) goes
with starch, eba or fufu.
The two are prepared the exact same way; the
difference is just the spices. This recipe will, in
the next few minutes shows you exactly how to
make banga soup like an itsekiri woman.
You can use any combination of meat for this
soup or just use plain red meat; I used a
combination of cow head, foot and red meat.
Ingredients | Serving: 12 Persons.
 Meat (1kg)
 Crayfish (half cup)
 Fresh prawn [oporo](one cup)
 Fresh Palm Fruits (Banga) (8 cups)
 Medium sized dry fish / smoked fish (1)
 Red scotch bonnet pepper “Ata rodo” (8)
 Ataiko (1 tbsp)
 Irugege (1 teaspoon)
 Oburunbebe Stick (Banga stick) (1)
 Dried Beletientien leaves (half cup) or
 Thinly sliced bitter leaves (half cup)
 3 cubes of knorr
 Periwinkles (1)
 Salt to taste.

These are pictures of some of the ingredients for
banga soup by the right hand side. All of these spices and ingredients
can be purchased from any Nigerian local
market. For the spices and banga stick, ask
those women that sell traditional roots and herbs
like zobo leaves and dogoyaro.
You should use crushed dried beletientien leaves,
also called atama leaf in Efik or thinly sliced
bitter leaves.
Start by grinding the spices. Add them all
together (ataiko, Irugege and a cup of crayfish),
blend to powder. Blend the pepper also. Wash
the dried or smoked fish and remove center
bones.

wash and precook the prawn, use half cup of
water, a cube of maggi and a pinch of salt.
I used already precooked meats. If your meat is
not precooked yet, do that now. Wash properly
and use two cubes of knorr and a pinch of salt.
Cook the meat until it becomes soft, easy to
chew and the water is almost dried. Add salt to
taste and allow another three minutes. Set aside.
Boil the palm fruit for 20 minutes, pound with a
mortar and pestle, transfer into a bowl, add
water and extract the juice. You will need about
7-10 cups of that palm fruit juice for this
cooking. It should be thick.
Use a sieve to strain the extract into your
cooking pot, allow to boil for 15 minutes with the
pot half-covered. It should be a lot thicker now.
Add the cleaned dried fish, ground (crayfish,
ataiko plus irugege), oburunbebe stick, precooked
meat, ground pepper and salt to taste. Cover and
allow another 10 minutes.

Add the crushed dried beletientien leaves or
thinly sliced bitter leaves, precooked prawn,
periwinkles and one cube of knorr. Stir, cover
and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. This is how
to make the popular banga soup that is loved
and made by the Deltans.
Serve with starch, eba,pupuru,Amala(white)or fufu.