GORUNDNUT SOUP AKA ‘NKATENKWAN’

There are certain soups that I can probably never get tired of eating and one of those is groundnut soup! I have so many memories of my childhood that I associate to ether the making of this soup, the eating or just the observing my mum make it. The versatility of this soup is one of the reasons why it still is such a staple in my house. I remember having it with rice balls, or plain boiled rice, with banku, fufu, and when we have left overs, add a bit of dried okra to go with Touzafi! Just thinking of it is making me salivate now!

The main ingredient in this soup is groundnut paste! And of course in my house we made it from scratch which I hated but in hindsight was such a fun process and worthwhile skill to have picked from my mum. I use homemade groundnut paste but you can use any store based paste just ensure that it is sugar free and with little salt. If you are a groundnut fanatic, you can use crunchy groundnut (peanut butter) or smooth. Okay let’s get cooking!

Ingredients (serves 2 - 3 people):

•  A cup of groundnut paste or substitute with sugar free peanut butter

• Choice of protein (In this case, Tenderized Mutton)

• 2 scotch bonnet or as desired

• Thumb of Ginger

• 3 Cloves of garlic (use as little or as much or optional)

• 2 large onions

• 2 medium sized tomatoes

• Salt to taste

• 3 Okra fingers (optional, I add it because I love it)

• Seasoning or bouillon cube (also optional)

Preparation (12 Minutes):

We will only be preparing the groundnut paste which will be steaming it. Kindly note that this is optional because you can skip this test, just that the soup will need to simmer longer to ensure that the groundnut is properly cooked. I cook it this way because that's how I was thought.

1. Blend 1 large onions, garlic & ginger into a paste. Take half out and add in the tomatoes and scotch bonnet to blend

2. Get a pan and add in the cup of groundnut paste and set on low heat

3. Add in the mixture of spices with tomatoes and scotch bonnet into the pan with groundnut paste and stir

4. Ensure that you continue to stir while adding in a bit of water in the process. You stir till the paste is all combined and you see a bit of oil rise to the top of the pot

Method (45 minutes - 1 hour):

1. Wash and place meat into a pan adding in the ginger, garlic, onion paste, salt and any other seasoning and bring to a boil for about 20 minutes.

2. Add in a cup extra water at this time if the stock is almost disappearing and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. If adding fish, add in now as we don't want to overcook it or break it into the soup.

3. At this stage, add in the groundnut paste we had steamed up into the pot of meat and add water. Remember this is going to simmer for another 20 - 25 minutes, and the water you add at this stage will be dependent on how thick you want your soup. For this amount of paste, if I were to have this with plain boiled rice, I will add about 2 cups of water and if not, maybe a little more.

4. After 25 minutes, taste for seasoning and if need be, chop up the okra and add in at this stage and leave for another 3 - 6 minutes.

5. Your soup should be ready when you see a bit of oil at the top and when you have a taste it, it doesn't taste like raw peanut butter paste. At this stage you are ready to enjoy it with anything you want to have it with. I enjoyed mine with my housemate and we had it with rice balls.

Right before turning the heat off, my mum will usually add whatever leafy vegetable we had at home or some chopped cabbage. No need for them to boil, they will cook with the residual heat. That was her way of sneaking extra vegetables into our meals!

Tag us on Instagram @ATasteofHomeAbroad if you try this out. If you've had groundnut soup before, what additional things do you add to yours?