Lite Goat soup is a Ghanaian nationwide favorite meal, which originated with the Ewe Tribe in the northern Volta Region. It can be made with other meats, such as beef or lamb, even seafood. But traditional Lite Goat Soup uses goat meat.
(Photo Attributed to Author: sshreeves)
Lite Goat Soup Recipe-
Ingredients:
- 18 oz. diced goat or lamb, diced (You can also use chicken, but traditional Ghanaian cuisine uses goat or lamb)
- 6 whole tomatoes
- one Scotch Bonnet chili pepper – pepper (very hot!)
- 2 Maggi seasoning cubes, crushed (a must ingredient)
- ½ oz. ginger root, peeled and minced
- ½ oz. garlic
- 2 onions
- 2 oz. tomato puree
- Salt
- 6 Garden Eggs (The African version of the aubergine, or eggplant, they are smaller than the European or American eggplants – about the size of a turkey egg. You could substitute the more widely available Indian baby eggplants and get the same effect if you can’t get the true African Garden Eggs locally. You can also purchase them on our online store, just click here)
- Fufu, kenkye, banku or rice, to serve with
Directions:
- Wash ginger, garlic, chili, one of the onions and three of the tomatoes, drain, place in blender, season, and blend to a paste.
- Place the mix on the meat with and marinade for 10 minutes.
- Place the meat in a pan cook gently for 10 minutes.
- Add tomato puree cook for 10 minutes add water 17 oz. of water and simmer until the meat is tender.
- Dice and add the remaining three tomatoes, the diced aubergines, the crushed Maggi cubes, and the last chopped onion. Cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove onions and tomatoes and pass it through the blender, then add to soup again. and bring to a simmer. Season to taste.
- As is traditional with almost all Ghanaian meals, serve Lite Goat Soup with fufu, kenkye, banku or rice.
Note: This recipe is just one of hundreds of traditional, authentic recipes taken from our African Cuisine pages.
Sounds really good. Fortunately, I have a friend who raises goats and once in a while he slaughters one or two for profit, and usually gives me a couple pounds. What is the best cut of meat for this soup? I would guess loin or rump?
Mark, you are lucky! And yes, loin and rump meat would be best for this soup, especially for us Americans who prefer soft, juicy meats. Ghanaians will use neck, rib, just about anything, as they kind of enjoy chewing on gristle and bone as well.
I’m just turning on to African dishes, and so far I really like them. This Lite Goat Soup sounds pretty darn good. Not sure I can get goat meat where I live, but if not, you say lamb or beef would work, right? My guess is lamb would be closer to the authentic goat soup flavor – right again?
Bob, yes on both of your questions. You can make this soup with beef or lamb – even seafood – with excellent results. And, yes, lamb will produce the closest flavor to the more traditional goat meat version. The only real significant difference will be in the texture. Goat meat tends to be more gnarly and gristly than lamb meat. But the “gamey” flavor is very similar between the two meats.