🇸🇳 Senegal, 🇬🇳 Guinea, 🇲🇱 Mali, 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire, and 🇬🇲 Gambia · Ivory Coast: West African savanna and coast

Soupou kandjaSenegalese okra soup

A West African soup of okra cooked in palm oil with fish (smoked or dried and fresh), sometimes meat, onion, garlic and chilli; 'kandja' means okra. Served over rice.

Origin and history

Soupou kandja, or soupe kandia (kandja means okra), is a Casamance dish described by Senegalese sources as much loved in Senegal and now eaten from Dakar to The Gambia. It is one of the best-known West African okra and palm-oil soups, cooked in Guinea, Mali and Ivory Coast as well. Saveur calls it the probable ancestor of Louisiana gumbo.

Make it at home

Makes: 6 servings
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Hands-on: 45 min

Ingredients

Metric US

2 tbsp neutral oil
250 g9 oz beef, cut in small cubes; optional
2 onions, chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
1.5 litres6 cups water, plus more as needed
500 g1.1 lb fresh fish steaks, firm white fish such as grouper, sea bream or catfish
100 g3.5 oz smoked fish, flaked, bones removed
30 g1 oz dried fish (guedj), soaked and rinsed; optional
150 g5 oz shrimp, shelled; crab pieces are traditional too
1 piece yet (dried fermented mollusc), optional; see notes
500 g1.1 lb fresh okra (gombo, kandja), tops trimmed, finely chopped or blended to a thick purée
1 fresh + 1 dried hot peppers, scotch bonnet and dried chilli
1 tbsp nététou (fermented néré seeds), or soumbala; see notes
3 cloves garlic
2 stalks green onion (scallion)
80 ml1/3 cup red palm oil, unrefined
400 g2 cups white rice, cooked, to serve
salt, to taste

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the yet (if using) and the beef and brown for 5 minutes.
2. Add the chopped onion and cook until it turns pale pink and soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Pour in the water, add salt, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the beef is nearly tender.
4. Add the fresh fish, the smoked fish, the dried fish, the shrimp and the whole fresh pepper. Simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes, taking care not to break up the fish steaks.
5. Pound the dried chilli, nététou, garlic and green onion to a coarse paste (the nokoss) in a mortar, and stir it into the pot.
6. Add the okra purée, stir well and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes so the thick, slippery sauce does not stick.
7. Pour in the palm oil, adjust the salt and heat, and keep the pot at a low simmer for 15 minutes more, until the red oil rises in a shiny layer on top.
8. Serve the soup hot, ladled over white rice, with the fish pieces on top. In Senegal it is traditionally served from a shared dish.

Notes

The usual accompaniment is plain white rice, put on a plate or in a communal bowl with the soup spooned over it.
Soupou kandja (also soupou kandia, soupe kandia, supukanj) is from Casamance and is now eaten from Dakar to The Gambia; versions also exist in Guinea, Mali and Ivory Coast. A meatless Wolof version uses fresh pounded okra, local eggplant (diakhatou), dried fish (guedj), yet and fresh fish, with only 2 tablespoons of palm oil at the end.
Nététou (fermented néré seeds, also called soumbala in Guinea and Mali) gives a strong savoury funk. It is sold at West African grocers. As a substitute use 1 tsp white miso or 1 tbsp fish sauce; the flavour is milder.
Yet is a dried, fermented sea snail. If you cannot find it, leave it out and use a slightly larger piece of smoked fish or a spoonful of dried shrimp.
Red palm oil defines the dish and gives its colour and taste; there is no true substitute. If you must, use neutral oil with 1/2 tsp sweet paprika for the colour, and expect a plainer result. Buy sustainably certified palm oil where you can.
Frozen okra works if fresh is unavailable. Chop it finely; the slippery texture is wanted, as the sauce is meant to be sticky and slow-cooked.
Not the same as Nigerian okra soup, which is eaten with a swallow, nor gumbo, though Saveur calls it a probable ancestor. It keeps 3 days in the refrigerator and is better reheated.

Adapted from Soupe kandia, Afrik.com, Recette du supukanj (soupe kandia), Au Sénégal, and Senegalese okra seafood stew, Saveur.