Atama Soup
Assorted beef and tripe, smoked fish and land snails come together in this beef β 70 minutes, 7 steps, and the kind of result worth repeating. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 7 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for large pot and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.
What you'll need
Shopping list (6)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Scrub the snails with lime or alum and a little salt to remove the slime, rinse thoroughly, then set aside with the cleaned beef and tripe.
- Season the beef and tripe with salt, one stock cube and chopped pepper, then boil in a little water until tender, about 40 minutes, adding the snails for the last 10 minutes so they are fully cooked through.
- Place the palm fruit pulp in a pot, cover with the water and boil for about 20 minutes until soft, then pound and sieve to extract a thick reddish palm extract, discarding the fibres and nuts.
- Pour the palm fruit extract into a clean pot and boil steadily, uncovered, until it reduces and thickens to an oily soup base, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Add the cooked meats, snails, flaked smoked fish, ground crayfish, the remaining stock cube and the rest of the chopped pepper, then simmer for 10 minutes so the flavours combine.
- Soak the shredded atama leaves briefly in warm water to soften their bitterness, drain, then stir them in and simmer for a further 5 minutes until just tender and the aroma is released, then check the salt.
- Serve the soup hot with pounded yam, fufu or eba.
You'll use: Large pot Β· Saucepan
Ingredient substitutions
- Lime
- lemon
Tips & common questions
How long does Atama Soup take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 7 steps and 11 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of lime?
Try lemon. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Atama Soup is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Eba served with Fresh fish banga soup in a clay pot.jpg by Justdifference, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.