Groundnut Soup Extraordinaire

When I was in Ghana in 2010 I co-prepared groundnut soup on multiple occasions but I never prepared it solo so on this trip to Ghana I decided that I would leave knowing how to perfect groundnut soup.

While working in Koforidua in February I had Mama Augusta (who prepares all the meals for YCI Volunteers) show me again how to prepare the soup. It was difficult to write down the recipe as she doesn't measure anything, it's literally just "some" of this, "some" of that and a "little" of this!

I returned to Accra in March and attempted the first solo mission with my colleague, Danika. It was such a success and such a hit with everyone we lived with. Since then I have prepared it on 3 other occasions and I think I am now ready to share my recipe. 

Note: I've always prepared this dish in large quantities to feed upwards of 10 people so I'm not sure how to make this on a small scale! It's good for left overs though, or just invite all your friends who are willing to try something new...and delicious!

Vegetarian Groundnut Soup with Rice Balls

What you will need:

- 1 head of cabbage

- Garlic cloves (to your liking...I like a lot!)

- 1 large onion

- Ginger (also to your liking)

- Spices (Cayenne or similar)

- Onga (a substitute would be boullian cubes or soup flavouring)  

- Groundnut paste (a substitute outside of Ghana would be natural peanut butter)

- Tomato paste

- Rice

Groundnut Soup:

Mixing the groundnut paste and tomato paste

1. Finely chop the garlic, onion and ginger. If you have a blender or puree, that is even better and less time consuming!
2. Chop the cabbage into fair size pieces 
3. Add 1 cup of water to a pot and bring it to a boil
4. In a separate bowl, combine the groundnut paste and tomato paste. Stir until completely mixed
5. Add 1 cup of water to mixture and stir. Repeat with another cup of water.
6. Add this mixture to the pot of boiling water and stir
7. Add more water to the pot until desired consistency (ie: add more water if you want soup or less water if you want stew)
8. Add in spices and onga (or substitutes), stir
9. Add in garlic, onion, ginger puree, stir
10. Let boil for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally
11. Add in cabbage 5-10 minutes before you want to serve (to avoid soggy cabbage!)

Rice Balls:

1. When starting the soup, add desired amount of rice to a pot of water and let it boil (cover or uncovered)
2. Note: the trick to making rices balls is to over cook the rice so that it becomes sticky and can be formed into balls
3. When the rice looks almost cooked, add more water and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon
4. Keep adding small amounts of water and stirring until the rice becomes sticky
5. When you have sticky rice, take a fist size amount of rice and place it into a small bowl. Add a small amount of water to the bowl so that the rice doesn't stick to the sides. 
6. Swirl the bowl around until the rice forms into a ball
7. Repeat until all rice is formed into balls
8. Now you have "Omo tuo"

Serve rice balls in bowls and ladle soup into bowls. Or, go traditional Ghanaian style and serve in one gigantic bowl and eat communally...with your right hand, of course!

Enjoy :)

Danika makes her first rice ball!

Wasiu gets some airtime on his rice ball

Balls for all!

Two thumbs up!