Miyan Fari

Ingredients

• Half a medium chicken or well-marbled beef, cut into pieces
• 3 big cooking spoons of groundnut paste (natural peanut butter, unsweetened)
• 2 cooking spoons of groundnut oil
• 1 tablespoon of dawadawa
• 3 big handfuls of ground dried crayfish
• 1 to 2 mild fresh chilli peppers or 1 teaspoon of white pepper only — do not use red peppers
• 1 big onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon of ground ehuru (calabash nutmeg) — optional Northern touch
• 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
• Salt to taste
• 5 glasses of chicken or beef stock

Method

1. 01

   Cooking the Chicken or Beef. Season with salt, 1 seasoning cube, onion and a little ginger. Cook in 5 glasses of water for 30 to 35 minutes until very tender and the stock is rich and fragrant. Remove the meat and reserve the stock.

2. 02

   Frying the Base — Keep It Light. Heat 2 cooking spoons of groundnut oil in a wide pot. Add the sliced onion and fry gently for 2 minutes — do not let it brown significantly. Add the dawadawa and fry for 1 minute. Add only 1 to 2 mild chillies or white pepper. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes gently — do not let the base darken.

3. 03

   Adding the Groundnut Paste. Add the groundnut paste and stir into the light base for 2 minutes. Add the ground ehuru if using.

4. 04

   Building the White Soup. Add the reserved chicken or beef stock gradually, stirring as you pour. Add the cooked meat, ground crayfish, remaining seasoning cubes and salt. The soup should remain pale golden-white — if it darkens too much, the chilli was too much or the frying too heavy. Simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring regularly.

5. 05

   Final Seasoning. Taste and adjust salt. The soup should be creamy, mildly spiced, rich from the groundnut and deeply savoury from the stock and dawadawa. Serve hot.

More soups & broths

• Egusi Soup90 min
• Efo Riro75 min
• Gbegiri60 min
• Ewedu Soup25 min
• Ogbono Soup60 min
• Obe Ata60 min