Soups make up a large part of African cuisine. It’s safe to say that African soups are the main attraction of the continent’s cuisine.
African soups can be made from a combination of vegetables and ingredients sourced from the countries where they are most commonly eaten.
Very many African soups are usually eaten with other staples like rice, fufu, banku, sadza, garri, pounded yam and so on.
Below are some of our favorite soups from different African countries.
1. Okra Soup
Okra soup is a popular West African dish with okra as the main ingredient. It’s one of the quickest and easiest soups to make. The only task is to cut the two vegetables used to prepare the recipe. Although this delicious, slimy dish can be made with the local palm oil, it’s also a great choice for people who are keen on adding oil to their soups.
2. Abenkwan
Abenkwan is a Ghanaian soup made from palm nuts. The pulp is extracted from the palm fruits and cooked in combination with spices and preferred meat of choice.
Abenkwan has an earthy flavor thanks to the addition of palm pulp (which differs from palm oil). Serve warm with rice balls or cocoons and you’ll be happy to the moons and back.
3. Muriwo na Nyama
Muriwo na nyama is also known as leafy greens or high field stew. Native to Zimbabwe, it is highly nutritious and is usually served with sadza, a porridge made from cornmeal.
4. Pepper Soup
Pepper Soup is a spicy African soup that will make your taste buds tingle with excitement. The soup is made from the meat or fish broth. It’s also flavored with local ingredients, giving it an enticing aroma and flavor that will leave you hungry even after you’ve just had dinner.
For the best experience, have your pepper soup hot – not hot, of course – and thank us later.
5. Agushie / Egusi Soup
Agushie (Ghana) / Egusi (Nigeria) is a delicious soup cooked with peeled melon seeds. It is one of the most popular soups, if not the most popular of them all. The method of preparation may differ in the different regions where this soup is eaten, but ultimately involves the addition of leafy greens, spices, and palm oil. In Nigeria, it is best served with freshly squeezed yam.
6. Domoda
Domoda is Gambia’s second largest national dish to Yassa. It’s a delicious soup made with unsweetened peanut butter. It may also contain sweet potatoes. Domoda goes better with rice.
7. Beginning
Afang is a delicious and filling soup from southern Nigeria. It is similar to Erus soup in Cameroon. Both use the Afang / Okazi leaves. However, the catch leaves are beaten and used in addition to water leaves. Afangsuppe is rich in deliciousness and is best served hot with fufu and lots of meat.
8. Ndole
Ndole is another leafy vegetable soup native to Cameroon and is often considered the national dish of the Central African country. It is a creamy and nutritious soup made with mashed peanuts, bitter leaf, ndoleh and fish or beef. It may also contain shrimp or shrimp. The soup is traditionally eaten with plantain or cassava flour.
9. Afia efere / Oven nsala
In the Nigerian national languages, Annang and Igbo, afia efere and ofe nsala mean “white soup” in English. Technically, this deliciously spicy soup should be called “brown soup,” but where’s the fun in that? It’s apparently called “white” because no palm oil is used.
10. Ewedu soup
Ewedu is a Nigerian soup that is very popular among the Yorubas. It’s a leafy vegetable soup, but unlike other African soups, the greens (jute leaves) are mashed and cooked with nothing more than salt, carob beans, and often potash.
It is usually served alongside pepper stews (as pictured above) or gbegiri (bean soup). Yoruba love to eat this with amala, a starchy swallow made from yam husks and sometimes plantains.
Featured image: Chef Fregz