Please am from Ikwerre clan in Rivers state, and I would like my fellow patriotic citizen of Federal republic of Nigeria to tell me the procedure of preparing this popular Ibo Stew called Ofe akwu, I will be eternally grateful if you guys can give me the correct procedures,

thanking in advanced.

Ingredients for Banga Soup
• Palm Fruits – 1 kg
• Beef
• Dry Fish
• Vegetable – Scent Leaves
• Onions – 2 medium bulbs
• Crayfish – A handful | 2 tablespoons of ground Crayfish
• Salt and Chilli Pepper – to taste
• Seasoning – 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes

Before you cook the Nigerian Banga Soup
1. Wash and cook the palm fruits till done. A good sign that the palm fruit is done is that you will notice cracks on the flesh of the fruits. The palm fruit is also soft to the bite.
2. Pound the palm fruits in a mortar with a pestle till all the flesh are separated from the nut to form a smooth pulp as shown in the photo.
3. Cook the beef and the dry fish with 1 bulb of diced onion and the 3 Maggi / Knorr cubes till done.
4. While you have the beef cooking, extract the palm fruit oil from the palm fruit pulp by washing it in warm water. Small quantities of the palm fruit pulp should be washed in as small quantity of warm water as possible. If the palm fruit oil starts getting too thick, pour the liquid into another container through a sieve to prevent the palm fruit fibres from entering into the oil that will be used in cooking the Banga Soup. Repeat this till all the palm fruit pulp has been washed.
A more efficient extraction process can be achieved by separating the palm nuts from the pulp before washing the pulp in warm water.
During the extraction process, if you think that there is still some oil on previously washed palm fruit pulp; re-wash these when you change the water before washing new palm fruit pulp.
Water should be used sparingly during the extraction process so that at the end, the extracted liquid will have the consistency of evaporated milk or tomato juice bearing in mind that you still have to add the beef stock.
5. Leave the extracted palm fruit oil to stand for some time then slowly pour this into the pot that will be used to cook the Banga Soup / Stew, taking care not to pour the tiny pieces of fibre that have settled at the bottom.
6. Wash and cut the scent leaves into tiny pieces. The scent leaves are what gives the Banga Soup its unique aroma and taste. If you are outside Nigeria, this may be hard to find, so you can use pumpkin leaves or any other vegetable in place of scent leaves.
7. Cut the remaining bulb of onion, grind the crayfish and pepper and set aside.

Cooking Directions
1. Set the pot of palm fruit oil on the stove and start cooking at high heat. Leave to boil till you notice come clear oil at the surface of the Banga Stew. If you think that the Banga Soup is watery, cook till the soup has thickened to the consistency you like for your stews.
2. Now, add the beef, dry fish and stock, the onions, crayfish and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the scent leaves and salt to taste. Leave to cook for 2 mins. The Banga Soup is done. Serve with White Rice or use the Banga Soup to eat Garri, Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.

^^ no one could have said it better, job well done

Nice, wish i could cook it, but this one would take two days to cook ooo,

hmmmm! i'm sure akunta will love this thread!