Soups & Stews

Abak Atama Soup

Name: Abak Atama Soup
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 600 g stewing beef (cubed); 400 g canned palm-fruit concentrate (unsweetened; not a bottle of palm oil); 150 g smoked fish (deboned); 100 g fresh atama leaves (washed, very finely sliced and pounded); 150 g cleaned cooked periwinkle meat (optional); 3 tbsp ground dried crayfish; 1 small onion (chopped); 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (crushed); 1 small piece uyayak (about 3 cm; optional); 1 stock cube (optional); 1000 ml water (plus extra as needed); to taste salt

A palm-fruit soup scented with finely prepared atama leaves and enriched with fish and beef. Abak atama names its defining palm-fruit base and atama leaves. It belongs beside Delta banga and Igbo ofe akwu in a wider family of palm-fruit dishes. Nigerian cooks distinguish it through its aromatic leaves, with fresh and dried atama both appearing in household practice. Cultural context: Particularly associated with Ibibio cooking and also documented in Efik kitchens. Palm-fruit soup traditions are shared, but their herbs and seasoning differ.

Abak atama soup with large fish portions

Abak_soup_16.jpg by Psalmbusy, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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25 minPreparation

90 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Simmer beef with onion, stock cube and 700 ml water for 50–65 minutes, until tender.
2
Prepare atama by rinsing and slicing finely, then pounding. For less bitterness, rub the sliced leaves in fresh water and drain.
3
Stir palm-fruit concentrate into the beef broth with the remaining water. Add the uyayak, if using. Simmer uncovered 15 minutes, stirring so the base does not catch.
4
Add fish, crayfish, pepper and cooked periwinkle. Simmer 5 minutes, then add atama and cook another 5–10 minutes.
5
Check salt and consistency, remove the woody spice, and serve with pounded yam, eba or another swallow.

A little kitchen wisdom

Palm-fruit concentrate contains fruit pulp and water; replacing it with the same amount of palm oil will not work. For dried atama, follow its soaking instructions and use a smaller amount. Timing: active preparation 25 min; cooking 90 min; additional passive time 0 min; conservative planning allowance 115 min. Some stages may overlap. Recipe status: Research draft; not kitchen-tested. Allergens and checks: Fish; Crustaceans (crayfish); Molluscs if using periwinkle; Check stock cube label

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Atama soup

Particularly associated with Ibibio cooking and also documented in Efik kitchens. Palm-fruit soup traditions are shared, but their herbs and seasoning differ.

Allergens: Fish, Crustaceans (crayfish), Molluscs if using periwinkle, Check stock cube label