Ghanaian

Konkonte with Palm Nut Soup

A deeply Ghanaian bowl of soft, earthy konkonte served with rich palm nut soup simmered until the red oil rises. Goat meat, smoked fish, pepper, and palm fruit give the soup its familiar home-style depth.

Ingredients

• Konkonte flour1 1/4 cups
• Water for konkonte2 cups, plus more as needed
• Fresh palm nuts500g
• Water for boiling and extracting palm nuts5 cups
• Goat meat, bone-in pieces300g
• Smoked fish, cleaned and broken into large pieces100g
• Onion1 medium
• Tomatoes2 medium
• Scotch bonnet pepper1
• Garlic2 cloves
• Fresh ginger1 inch piece
• Prekese1 small piece
• Dawadawa1 teaspoon
• Saltto taste

Method

1. Wash the palm nuts well, place them in a pot with 4 cups of water, and boil for 25 to 30 minutes until the skins soften and split slightly.
2. Drain the palm nuts, reserving the cooking water, then pound the nuts in a mortar until the flesh loosens from the kernels without crushing the kernels too much.
3. Add 1 cup of hot water to the pounded palm nuts, rub and squeeze the mixture well with your hands or a wooden spoon, then strain through a fine colander into a bowl.
4. Repeat the washing and straining with the reserved cooking water to extract as much palm liquid as possible, then set the strained palm extract aside.
5. Blend the onion, tomatoes, Scotch bonnet, garlic, and ginger into a smooth mixture.
6. Put the goat meat in a soup pot with half of the blended mixture, the dawadawa, salt, and 1/2 cup water, then steam over medium heat for 15 minutes.
7. Pour the palm extract over the steamed meat, add the prekese, and bring the soup to a steady boil.
8. Cook uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes, skimming lightly if needed, until the soup thickens and red palm oil begins to rise on the surface.
9. Add the smoked fish and the remaining blended mixture, reduce the heat, and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes so the fish stays intact.
10. Taste the palm nut soup and adjust the salt, then keep it hot while preparing the konkonte.
11. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a sturdy pot, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
12. Sprinkle in the konkonte flour gradually while stirring firmly with a wooden ladle to prevent lumps.
13. Continue stirring and folding until the mixture becomes thick, smooth, and stretchy, adding small splashes of hot water only if it is too stiff.
14. Cover the pot and let the konkonte steam on low heat for 5 minutes.
15. Beat and fold the konkonte again until smooth, then shape it into two balls using a wet bowl or ladle.
16. Serve each ball of konkonte in a bowl with hot palm nut soup ladled around it, placing pieces of goat meat and smoked fish on top.

Common questions