Auntie Kate: Plain Palm Nut Soup – Ngonya Mosaka (for 6-8 persons)

Culled from Idowu, K.E. Auntie Kate’s Cookery Book (3rd Edition). London; McMillam, 1985.

Ingredients

1 kg fresh palm nuts
1 cup crayfish
1 dried fish (large) or 1/2 dried fish, 1 1/2 stockfish
or 1 kg mixed beef
or 1 kg pork
or 1/2 kg fresh fish
or 1 chicken
1 onion (large)
or ¼ njangasnaga
or ¼ cup esekeseke (or less to taste)
or 1 – 2 leaves manjuweli
or 2 – 4 red peppers (large)
Salt to taste
1 litre warm water (4 cups)

Method

1 Wash and boil palm nuts until cooked.
2 Pound to separate fleshy pulp from the kernels.
3 Separate and wash the kernels in warm water. Remove.
4 Knead and squeeze the pulp in the same warm water and strain the fairly thick liquid into a pot.
5 Repeat as necessary, using the remaining warm water.
6 Bring the palm nut liquid to the boil. Keep the lid off to prevent the oily part of the liquid boiling over. Add salt.
7 Wash fish clean. Cut into required pieces.
8 Wash and grind onions or njangasanga, two large peppers and crayfish separately.
9 Add fish, pepper, onion and salt.
10 Cook for about 1/2 hour (over a steady heat), thus reducing the liquid to about half.
11 Mix ground crayfish with cold water td a thick paste and add carefully, leaving behind any sand.
12 Cook for about 10 minutes.
13 Serve with ekpang or timba na busa (sese-epang); boiled plantain pounded yam or cocoyam; garri; sese plantains.

p. 63

Comments

[Mojoko Ewusi]

I have never known known "Njangasanga" to be one of the spices used in the preparation of the "Ngonya Mosaka". Njangasanga to the best of my knowledge is used by the bakweri in pepper soup, "ngonya wembe", and for spicing of roasted meats or fish. However "jowe" is sometimes added to the leftover ngonya mosaka(we-koo)the next day to be eaten with "wolanga".
"Timba na mbusa" as people, even the bakweri most often call it, is the wrong way of saying "sese quacoco". "Timba-Mbusa" simply means forwards and backwards, coined from the forward and backward movement of the cut-up "quacoco" during the process of "Li sese". Rightly said, it is "Timba Mbusa".
"Ekpang" is another form of utilizing grated cocoyams: wrapped in cocoyam leaves, in tiny cylindrical shapes, and cooked with spices, fish and palm oil. It is totally different from the plain white equacoco that is eaten with the the "ngonya mosaka". So to serve "ngonya mosaka" with "ekpang" is totally mis-leading.
These comments are simply an effort to educate the many bakweri men, women and children who are still students of our culture.

[fanny namondo]

hi,i just like every thing about wana wa vako,its a tribe with pride,and cultured.Some times when i go out,i heard people saying?i am sawa,they want to be like us.They will never be like us,thats why am proud to be a bakwerian