Groundnut Soup aka Peanut Soup ( Ghanaian style )

This amazingly delicious and nutritious Ghanaian soup recipe was given to me by my dear friend Millicent. In Ghana peanuts are called groundnuts. We use to have this often when we were there. In India we have a similar version of this soup minus some ingredients.

I have changed the recipe just a little to make it more convenient for me. In the original recipe when you boil the water and peanut powder, you add the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and green chilies and let it boil along with the rest of the soup. When they are cooked, you pull out the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and green chilies and grind them to a smooth paste and add it back to the simmering soup. I used a shortcut method and ground everything first and cooked them later. You can grind the peanuts fine or leave them a little coarse for added texture. I prefer the latter.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 cup / 340 gm / 4.6 oz  roasted peanuts ( if they are raw, dry roast them a little )
3 cups / 24 oz  water
1 tomato, roughly chopped
1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 inch ginger piece, peeled
3-4 green chilies, remove the stalk
1 tsp tomato paste ( optional, adds a little color to the soup )
salt to taste


Method

• Grind the roasted peanuts to a rough powder consistency. In a medium saucepan add this powder along with 3 cups of water. Over medium low heat let this simmer.
• In a blender, blend the tomato, onion, garlic, ginger and green chilies to a fine paste. Add this to the peanut slurry along with the 1 tsp of tomato paste and salt. Bring it to a boil and the lower the heat. Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes on low heat. Check seasoning and adjust accordingly. Remove and serve over a bowl of cooked steaming rice.