Ogbono Soup and Pounded Yam from Scratch – A tasty and hearty Nigerian soup made from Ogbono seeds (bush mango seeds) added with pre-cooked meat. And paired with smooth, tasty and filling Pounded Yam for an extraordinary African meal experience!
Ogbono soup is a hate or love it soup. No, I didn’t grow up eating it but quickly fell in love with it after moving to the U.S. It’s appeal? Chunks of meat and fish. Annnd it’s comforting and hearty.
But the draw? Yes, that’s the appeal for most folks. I know my son can’t eat this – I tell him he doesn’t know what he is missing.
So when my cousin brought home some ogbono seeds (a gift from his friend), I knew for sure what to do with it. It would only befitting to whip up a good Ogbono Soup paired with pounded yams shaped into bite-sized dumplings. I don’t know about you, but ever since I watched a documentary on TV about commercialized powdered yams, I started being more conscious about my yams.
I try as much as possible to make my own food from scratch. Not quite there yet. Still a work in progress.
This pounded yam is *THE* real deal. Wholesome yams made from scratch using a food processor. Comes together effortlessly.
What is ogbono made of?
For those few who aren’t familiar with Ogbono seeds, they are often times called wild mango, African mango, bush mango and dika. The trees bear edible mango-like fruits and the seeds (also called dika nuts) and are basically like nuts that can be eaten raw or roasted. Seriously I don’t know anyone who eats this as a snack but some say they do.
Who am I to say otherwise.
These are most often ground and used as a thickening and flavoring agent in soups and stews. It has a distinct aroma to it. Some find it appealing while others don’t.
Don’t ask my son. I do find them quite appealing. To each their own, I say.
How to make ogbono soup?
There are a couple of ways to prepare Ogbono Soup. Some like it plain with no added veggies (like those served for babies) and others love some bite to it like chunks of veggies and proteins.
I’m a carnivore – lots of protein. If meat is not your thing, go with smoked fish and shrimp. Yes, yes yes.
Whatever rocks your boat, this Ogbono Soup is sure to deliver a plateful of great flavors in every serving.
And oh, do you know that this Ogbono soup reheats well? Let it rest overnight and reheat the following day. You’ll be surprised at how the flavors have melded together. Pair it with some pounded yams or other choices of fufu for a more indulgent meal!
Watch How To Make It
Ogbono Soup and Pounded Yam
Ingredients
Ogbono Soup
- 1-2 pounds meat , (oxtail , stew beef , tripe and kpomo (cow skin) )
- 1 cup smoked fish
- 1 cup diced onion
- ½ cup ground Crayfish
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon (adjust to taste bud)
- 3 cups chopped greens (spinach, collard greens, kale, callaloo (African greens) )
- 1/4 – ⅓ cup palm oil.
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup ground egusi , optional
- 1/2 cup ground ogbono
- Salt and pepper to taste
Pounded Yam From Scratch
- 2-3 pounds African (Ghana yams)
Instructions
Ogbono Soup
- In medium –sized saucepan boil meat, season with salt and pepper until tender (approximately 30-60 minutes depending on the choice of meat). You can shorten this process in half by using a pressure cooker. Boil the cow skin and tripe together or you may do so separately until tender. Use best judgement . Remove cow skin, tripe and add to the pot of boiled meat. Add smoked fish, if using any.
- Be sure to have enough stock from the meat (about 3-4 cups).
- Mix ground ogbono with red oil, then add to the pot of boiled meat, followed by crayfish and scotch bonnet pepper, bring to a boil. Simmer and let it cook for about 10 minutes or more. Add chicken bouillon or cubes, if desired.
- Add more stock water as needed to get to desired thickness.
- Then add spinach cook for another 2-3 minutes, turn stove off and serve piping hot.
Pounded Yam From Scratch
- Peel the yam with a sharp knife, peeling away from your body carefully draw the paring knife down the body of the yam, being careful not to remove too much of the yam in during the process.
- Look for any spoiled spots, such as bruising and discoloration, in the yam as you peel. Remove the spots away with the tip of the knife.
- Cut into large chunks and wash immediately to prevent discoloration and leave them in cool water until ready to use.
- Add yams in a medium pot with water- enough to barely cover the yams salt to taste, if desired.
- Boil until tender, remove from heat and immediately drain yams thoroughly in a colander. Reserve some water from the yams to use for blending.
- Add pounded yams into food processor. Start blending then pulse every 20-30 seconds to check for smoothness. I use a spoon to move yam around the food processor as necessary to ensure even blending. Add about 2 tablespoons or more reserved water as needed until you achieve desired texture. Pounded yam should be stretchy and soft.
- Wrap in a parchment paper (for the health conscious or plastic wrap).
- Serve with ogbono soup.
Tips & Notes:
- Most African soups use a plethora of meat and fish to cook soups - it all depends on the individual preference and pockets. Ogbono soup is no exception. I like to use a variety including smoked or dry fish.
- If using a variety, it’s best to boil separately because they each have a different level of toughness. And some are precooked. Use your best judgement when boiling and selecting meats.
- You can’t substitute ogbono seeds in this recipe. However, throw in some egusi and okra and you are good to go. And if you want the draw which is synonymous with ogbono soup then don’t forget okra.
- Where to find Ogbono Seeds under different aliases (apon, etima, odika anddika)
- African Markets
- Online is a good start
- Ground ogbono seeds also go by the names agbono, apon, etima, dika and odika. They can be hard to find if you don't have an African market near you. You can get some of the effect of their thickening power by doubling the amount of okra. Or try substituting ground pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for the ogbono
- For the greens use whatever you have on hand ( kale, African greens (callaloo), spinach, turnips, water leaf, etc.) Frozen greens work as well. Thaw completely before using. Use spinach, collards, turnip greens or kale.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
How to Make Ogbono and Pounded Yam From Scratch
Peel the yam with a sharp knife, peeling away from your body carefully. Draw the paring knife down the body of the yam, being careful not to remove too much of the yam during the process. Look for any spoiled spots, such as bruising and discoloration, in the yam as you peel. Remove the spots away with the tip of the knife.
Cut into large chunks and wash immediately to prevent discoloration and leave them in cool water until ready to use. Add yams in a medium pot with water- enough to barely cover the yams salt to taste , if desired.
Boil until tender , remove from heat and immediately drain yams thoroughly in a colander. Reserve some water from the yams to use for blending.
Add pounded yams into food processor. Start blending then pulse every 20-30 seconds to check for smoothness. I use a spoon to move yam around the food processor as necessary to ensure even blending. Add about 2 tablespoons or more reserved water as needed. You achieve desired texture. Pounded yam should be stretchy and soft.
Wrap in a parchment paper( for the health conscious or plastic wrap). Serve with ogbono soup (recipe below).
In medium–sized saucepan, boil meat, season with salt and pepper until tender (approximately 30-60 minutes depending on the choice of meat). You can shorten this process in half by using a pressure cooker.
Boil the cow skin and tripe together or you may do so separately until tender. Use your best judgement. Remove cow skin, tripe and add to the pot of boiled meat. Add smoked fish , if using any. Be sure to have enough stock from the meat (about 3-4 cups).
Mix ground ogbono with red oil.
Then add to the pot of boiled meat. Followed by crayfish and scotch bonnet pepper.
Bring to a boil. Simmer and let it cook for about 10 minutes or more. Add chicken bouillon or cubes, if desired.
Add more stock water as needed to get to desired thickness. Then add spinach cook for another 2-3 minutes, turn stove off and serve piping hot.
O says
I’ve eaten ogbono multiple times in the past but I’ve never attempted making it. After a friend told me he was cooking it yesterday, I started craving it and decided to cook it today.
I’m so glad I did cos it came out delicious.
The best part of this recipe is the fact that the ingredients are listed in weight. As a Nigerian who fell in love with baking before falling in love with cooking, it’s absolutely great to find Nigerian meal recipes with weight measurements.
Lack of weight measurements is a big reason why I don’t cook Nigerian meals as often; a lot of times, I can’t bring myself to simply estimate how much of each ingredient I need and a lot of Nigerian food blogs don’t list ingredients in weight.
All in all, this was easy enough to follow, the weight measurement for the ingredients made it so much easier for me and the soup was delicious. I will definitely be making this again.
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you, O!
Na'Keia Haynes says
Yes I am vegan and was wondering how to use substitutes to make African stews and soups. So thank you dear. I’ll be cooking this soon.
Imma Adamu says
Thanks for sharing, Na’Keia! Enjoy it
Bella says
Hi, Ogbono was one of my favourites growing up, the recipe looks great and I will definitely try it, but one thing, you mentioned the use of diced onions in the ingredients but didn’t mention it in the instructions, I assume the onions will be added to the meat when cooking, but do they need to be removed once the meat is cooked (before the ogbono/palm oil mix is added?? I’m a little confused as I don’t recall seeing onions in previous ogbono/Egusi dishes I have had.
Thanks!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Bella! You are right, the onions are added to the meat. You could choose to either take them out once the meat is cooked or you could just leave it. It will still taste great. 🙂
Alicia says
I love the idea.im vegan so I think I’ll make this with a twist.replace 1-2 pounds meat , (oxtail , stew beef , tripe and kpomo (cow skin) ) with vegan bacon bean curd and or soy chunks with Seitan,
1 cup smoked fish with hearts of palm or jackfruit
½ cup ground Crayfish with mushroom that taste like crab to get fishy taste
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon ( with vegan chicken stock
As you may tell I’m also putting notes to myself. Thank you for sharing
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for sharing your vegan variation with us. Am sure many readers would love these variations.
Na'Keia Haynes says
Yes I am vegan and was wondering how to use substitutes to make African stews and soups. So thank you dear. I’ll be cooking this soon.
Mary says
Does this freeze well?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Mary. Yes, it does!
Janice Becton says
I made this for my husband he is from Cameroon and he absolutely loved it, the kids as well. Wonderful recipe. Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
That is great, Janice! I am so glad it was a hit with your family. Thanks for stopping by!
Sade says
Please what type of food processor did you use, I would love to get one for myself. I love to cook from the scratch too, and its unfortunate i can’t get the mortar in the united states. Thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Sade,
I hear you! I use this one Cuisinart DFP-14BCNY 14-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless Steel – Silver. Got it from Amazon.
Shannan says
They’re movies, like Hollywood or Bollywood. You can go on YouTube and type in nollywood. Personally, I like Netflix or Prime, they are better quality. A good movie as a reference is the “Wedding Party”.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for sharing .
Amina Abubakar Tanko says
This looks amazing,will definitely give it a try
Monty says
chhajedgarden.сom delivers Forestry, Trees, Shrubs,
Herbs Seeds іn India as wеll as internationally.
Kobena says
I’ve mostly heard of this food mentioned in Nigeria movies ,and Wonder it’s made up of.
Thanks for the recipe. Keep it up.
imma africanbites says
Thank you too for dropping by! 🙂
CHARLOTTE JONES says
Where do you watch Nigerian Movies at
Is it like a cooking show
Lolo says
Hello Imma. Thanks for the recipe. However, you forgot to put the link of where to buy the ogbono online. Also, can i ask about the documentary for the powdered yam flour? Do you know any website where i can buy yams online?
majii says
I bought my recipe items from African Market.com on line. Good prices, and only a $7.95 standard shipping cost. Another site wanted to charge $44.00 just for shipping. Going forward, I’m using African Market.com for my items/orders. I got everything on the recipe list for a much lower price overall, including shipping, than that from the other site. Hope this helps. My S/O is Nigerian, and I want to cook this for him as a surprise.
Kay says
I’m trying to do the same thing. Valentine’s Day surprise. Hopefully it turns out well. Good luck hun.
Rose says
This took me back to my home in Limbe (Cameroon).I like Ogbono soup, I ate this soup almost every week while growing up.Ogbono soup is also eaten by people from Mamfe(cameroon) and it’s one of their main commercial crop. Thanks Imma for sharing this and especially how to make real pounded yam.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Rose, Thanks for taking time out to share your thoughts . The real pounded yam can’t be beat, nothing like the commercialized version.
Jeanette says
Looks scrumptious! Would definitely give it a try. If using Egusi, it should be added before the ogbono/palm oil mixture right?
ImmaculateBites says
right, add before the palm oil and ogbono mixture.
gregory anderson says
Migerian students I roomed with in College used to make semolina fufu to eat a boiled chicken & tomato stew. We ate that probably 4 times a week. We’d take a blob, scoop some stew chunks up and eat away. Fun finger food, great memories.
gregory anderson says
Oops. Nigerian students, and this was back in the early 80s.
Bolanle says
Looks so delicioussssssss. I could eat it through my phone.
Ngozi Daniel says
Am delightful surprised to see my fav here… Great Job Ma’am..i give you 98/100’%.
ImmaculateBites says
That’s an A+. Thank you so much!!!!
YKJ says
WOW! I never thought of making pounded yam (fufu) this way, definitely going to try it.