Ogbono Soup

Ogbono Soup is a super tasty, nutrient-dense, and hearty Nigerian soup made with ogbono seeds (African wild mango seeds), classic West African spices, and your choice of meat and fish. It's reminiscent of okra stew and goes really well with tasty, filling pounded yams for an extraordinary African meal experience!

Course Main

Cuisine African

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 5

Total Time 1 15

Servings -6

Calories 849kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

Ogbono Soup

1-2 pounds meat, oxtail, stew beef, tripe, and kpomo (cow skin)
1 cup smoked fish, shredded
1 cup onion, diced
½ cup ground crayfish
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon, adjust to tastes
3 cups greens, chopped (spinach, collards, kale, callaloo-African greens)
¼-⅓ cup palm oil
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
½ cup ground egusi, optional
½ cup ground ogbono
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Cooke the Meat and Make Stock

In a medium-sized saucepan, boil meat and season with salt and pepper until tender (approximately 30-60 minutes depending on the choice of meat). You can shorten this process in half with a pressure cooker.
Boil the cow skin and tripe together or separately until tender; use your best judgment. Remove cow skin tripe and add to the pot of boiled meat. Then add the smoked fish to the pot if using it.
Reserve enough stock from the meat (about 3-4 cups).
Mix ground ogbono with red palm oil, then add to the pot of boiled meat, followed by crayfish and scotch bonnet pepper. Bring to a boil. Then simmer it for 10 minutes or more. Add chicken bouillon or cubes if desired.
Add more stock or water for the desired thickness. Then add spinach (or other greens), cook for 2-3 minutes more, turn the stove off, and serve piping hot.

Notes

Mix the ground ogbono with the palm oil to create a smooth paste that dissolves in the stew better.
To reduce the ogbono's viscosity, you can fry it before adding it to the soup.
If using a variety of meats, it's best to boil each separately because they take different times to cook. And some are pre-cooked. Use your best judgment when cooking and selecting meats.
Where to find Ogbono Seeds under different aliases (apon, etima, odika, and dika): African Markets, online (Amazon, etc.), 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 effects 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 (spinach, collards, turnip greens, kale, African greens (callaloo), turnips, etc.) Frozen greens work as well. Thaw completely before using.
Please remember that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used.

Nutrition