miyar kuka — Northern Region, Nigeria

Miyar kuka is a soup thickened with ground baobab leaves, known as kuka, which give the broth a dark green color and a slightly stringy, mucilaginous body somewhat like okra soup. It is eaten as an accompaniment to a swallow rather than on its own. It is reported from the Northern Region of Nigeria, where baobab trees are common and their dried, ground leaves are sold as a staple pantry ingredient. The soup is prepared at home across the north and is generally paired with tuwo, made from millet, corn or guinea corn flour. A broth is first built by simmering beef and dried fish with onion and seasoning, then enriched with palm oil, locust beans and a little dissolved potash, which helps the leaf powder bind smoothly instead of clumping. The baobab leaf powder is sprinkled in gradually while stirring, thickening the broth into a soup with a texture close to that of okra soup. The amount of leaf powder used sets how thick and stringy the soup turns out, and the choice between beef, dried fish or a combination shifts the flavor from one pot to the next. Locust beans and crayfish are near-constant additions, giving the soup a savory depth that carries well over the swallow it is served with.