Groundnut soup
Nkatenkwan
Ghanaian peanut soup with chicken, tomato, ginger and chilli, thin enough to call soup and eaten with rice balls or fufu.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Nkatenkwan.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 10 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 1 hr 30 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Medium heat
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Nkatenkwan is a smooth, thin soup of peanut butter whisked into chicken stock with blended tomato, onion, ginger and scotch bonnet. The chicken is simmered first with its aromatics, the peanut paste is loosened with hot stock and added, and the soup cooks until the oil from the nuts rises in orange beads on the surface. Small aubergines go in near the end. It is soup, not a stew; it should pour. Served with omo tuo (soft rice shaped into balls) or fufu, and eaten with a spoon and your right hand.
What you'll need
12 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Soup
- Rice balls
Ingredients
Soup
- Chicken, jointed into 8 to 10 pieces, skin on1.2 kg
- Peanut butter, natural, unsweetened, smooth250 g
- Tomato, blended300 g
- Tomato purée30 ml
- Onion, one chopped, one blended2 medium
- Ginger, blended with the onion30 g
- Garlic3 clove
- Scotch bonnet, left whole, or blended for more heat1
- Eggplant, cut into chunks (optional)1 small
- Chicken stock, or water with a stock cube1½ l
- Salt7.4 ml
Rice balls
- Rice, short or medium grain, for omo tuo300 g
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Put the chicken in a pot with the chopped onion, garlic, half the blended onion-ginger and a teaspoon of salt. Add 500 ml of the stock, cover and simmer 20 minutes.
22 min
Step 2
Add the blended tomato, tomato purée and remaining onion-ginger. Simmer 10 minutes.
10 min
Step 3
Put the peanut butter in a bowl and whisk in hot stock a ladle at a time until it is a smooth, pourable cream with no lumps. Stir it into the pot with the rest of the stock and the whole scotch bonnet.
5 min
Tip: Lumps of peanut butter added straight to the pot never dissolve. Loosen it first.
Step 4
Simmer uncovered, stirring often so the bottom does not catch, until the soup thickens slightly and beads of orange oil float to the surface, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the aubergine for the last 15.
30 min
Watch: Peanut soup sticks and scorches. Stir down to the base every few minutes.
Step 5
For omo tuo, cook the rice with 750 ml of water and a pinch of salt until very soft and sticky, 20 minutes. Mash with a wooden spoon, then shape into balls with wet hands.
25 min
Step 6
Remove the chilli, taste the soup for salt, and serve a piece of chicken in each bowl with plenty of soup and a rice ball on the side.
3 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 717 kcal
- Protein
- 78 g
- Carbs
- 35.3 g
- Fat
- 29.5 g
- Saturated fat
- 6.5 g
- Fibre
- 5.4 g
- Sugar
- 10 g
- Sodium
- 1675 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Peanuts
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Chicken → Goat meat on the bone
Simmer the goat for an hour before the tomato goes in.
Tips
- If the soup is too thick, add hot water. It should be the consistency of single cream, not a sauce.
- A smoked fish head or a few dried prawns in the pot is the chop-bar secret. Add with the stock.
History & culture
Groundnut soup is Sunday food in Ashanti and across Ghana, the soup you serve guests and the soup that gets made when a chicken is killed. Chop bars sell it with fufu for lunch. The omo tuo pairing is northern in origin and now national. Goat and smoked fish versions exist; chicken is the most common.
Peanuts arrived from South America through Portuguese trade in the sixteenth century and replaced the indigenous Bambara groundnut in much of West African cooking. Peanut soups and sauces run from Senegal (mafe) through Mali and Ghana to Nigeria. The Ghanaian version is thinner and more tomato-forward than its neighbours'.
Traditional — Uses natural peanut butter rather than freshly ground roasted peanuts, and a small aubergine in place of Ghanaian garden eggs.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Groundnut soup take?
1 hr 30 min all in — 20 min prep, 1 hr 10 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 6 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Medium heat.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Peanuts. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Gluten-free.
7 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Stockpot, Blender, Mixing bowl.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1½ tsp.
What can I use instead?
Chicken → Goat meat on the bone. Simmer the goat for an hour before the tomato goes in.
What should I watch for?
Peanut soup sticks and scorches. Stir down to the base every few minutes.
Any tips from this recipe?
If the soup is too thick, add hot water. It should be the consistency of single cream, not a sauce. A smoked fish head or a few dried prawns in the pot is the chop-bar secret. Add with the stock.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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