How to make Akwa Ibom's Abak Atama soup

Abak Atama soup is a dish popular amongst the Ibibios in Akwa Ibom.

The palm fruit used for the Abak Atama Soup is extracted at very low temperatures and is a mixture of oil and water.

The name Abak Atama is derived from the two dominant ingredients palm fruit and atama leaves. The palm fruit extract used in cooking Abak Atama Soup is quite different from the red palm oil used in cooking Nigerian food recipes.

The palm fruit used for the Abak Atama Soup is extracted at very low temperatures and is a mixture of oil and water.

Ingredients

Beef

Smoked fish

Pomo (Cow skin)

Stockfish

Periwinkle in shell

Atama leaves

Palm fruit

Ground crayfish

Uyayak (local spice)

Seasoning

Water

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Step 1: Wash periwinkles, then wash and boil the palm fruits for 30 minutes.

Strain off the water and pound the palm fruit until the pulp/fibre separates from the nuts.

Step 2: Boil some water and add to the pounded palm fruit, then mix thoroughly to separate the oily extract from the rest of the pulp, then strain.

Step 3: Wash, cut up and season your meat with salt, seasoning and pepper, then steam for about 5 minutes on low heat. Then add about 1½ cups of water and the stockfish and continue boiling for about 20 minutes till the meat is almost cooked, and remove from heat.

Step 4: Cut the Atama leaves into tiny pieces. Pound them for about 10 minutes till the leaves are finely pounded. Then place the palm fruit extract on the burner and allow to boil for about 5 minutes to remove all moisture.

Step 5: Add cooked meat, smoked fish, meat stock, periwinkle, crayfish, pepper, seaoning and Uyayak. Stir and allow to boil for about 10 minutes.

Step 6: Add the atama leaves and boil for another 10 minutes. Step 7: Stir and add salt to taste. Allow to cook for 10 minutes or until slightly thick.

Remove from heat and serve.