Bambara Groundnut Soup By Chef Moyosore Oluwa Odunfa-Akinbo
Bambara groundnut is a nutrient dense crop that’s enjoyed in West Africa. It’s usually restricted to the preparation of a few dishes and enjoyed as a snack. I’m on a mission to explore the various ways Bambara is enjoyed across Nigeria and share as much as possible.
In the middle belt, Bambara is enjoyed as a soup to accompany various swallows or starches. I was inspired by this soup, and this is my version- based on local spices (uziza, alligator pepper, ehuru), seasoned with Iru (fermented locust beans), and in this case served with beef. It’s a hearty soup that is filling and can be enjoyed on its own- but true to culture, we decide to serve it with a yam purée inspired by Nigerian pounded yam. Feel free to swap out the beef stock with vegetable stock. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 250 g Bambara beans- soaked in water overnight
- 60 g palm oil
- 30 g beef fat or vegetable oil
- 3 large onions, sliced
- 3 rodo or scotch bonnet peppers (or 1 habanero)
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste or a small knob of fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon Iru or ½ teaspoon dawadawa (fermented locust beans)
- 1 teaspoon fresh uziza seeds
- 1 tablespoon toasted spice blend (made up of 1 teaspoon dried uziza seeds, 1 teaspoon alligator pepper seeds, 2 ehuru or calabash nutmeg)
- 100 g blended Tatashe peppers (or red bell peppers)
- 1 litre beef stock or vegetable stock (plus additional water if required)
- Salt, to taste (add only after the beans are fully cooked and the soup has reduced)
Method:
Rinse the Bambara beans thoroughly and soak them in water overnight or for at least four hours- this helps to reduce the cooking time and increase nutrient absorption.
In a medium pot, cover the beans with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes and leave to soak in the hot water for a further 20 minutes.
Pour away the soaking water and rinse the beans again.
Heat the palm oil and beef fat in a pot. Add the sliced onions and cook until caramelised- about five minutes on low heat.
Add the rodo (or habanero), Iru or dawadawa, ginger, and fresh uziza. Sauté until fragrant- about two minutes.
Stir in the blended Tatashe or bell peppers and simmer until reduced by half- for about 10 minutes.
Add the rinsed Bambara beans to the pot and mix well.
Pour in the beef or vegetable stock. Simmer until the beans are very soft, adding more water as needed. Taste periodically to monitor the seasoning, but do not add salt until the beans are completely soft and the soup has reduced to the desired consistency (this is to prevent your soup from ending up salty after the soup has reduced).
While the beans are cooking, toast the ehuru, alligator pepper, and uziza until aromatic. Grind into a fine powder.
Add the toasted spice blend to the soup and boil for 1 minute.
Turn off the heat and leave the soup to steep and cool down for about 30 minutes to an hour (if you’re in a rush, you can blend using an immersion blender, please don’t attempt to blend hot soup in a traditional blender as this can lead to burns and scalds).
Blend the soup until smooth, then pass it through a fine sieve to achieve a silky consistency.
Adjust seasoning if necessary and serve.
Our suggested accompaniments shown in the image below are: braised beef, yam purée, sliced uziza leaves and yam crisps. Feel free to serve with the vegetables or accompaniments of your choice. As a Nigerian soup, it is typically served with a form of swallow- in this case, a yam purée.
