Sauce Gnangnan (Vegan)

This recipe is a flavourful traditional Ivorian soup – gnangnan (bitter pea eggplant) that is vegan friendly. This dish is based on a popular Ivorian soup but has been modified for a vegetarian/vegan diet.

Ivorian and Ghanaian Food culture

Ivory Coast and Ghana share more than just a border. Many large ethnic and language groups span the two countries — the Akan and Gur. This similarity has always made me curious about Ivorian food as there are many foods we have in Ghana that are comparable to ivorian versions — foutou (in Ghana is fufu), foufou (in Ghana is eto), sauce clair (in Ghana is light soup), palcali and the list goes on. Unfortunately, because of colonization, English and French divide us from really learning more about each other. Thankfully my basic french skills has allowed me to learn more about Ivorian cooking, which I am very excited to bring to you all.

What is Gnangnan?

Gnangnan is a pea eggplant . I have a brief introduction to another indigenous African eggplant in a previous post (click here). Fruits from the eggplant family come in all shapes and sizes on the African continent and are key ingredients in many soups and stews. This pea eggplant variety is no different. These are consumed across West Africa as well as the Indian subcontinent and in some Southeast Asia cuisine. Not all pea eggplants are the same. Gnangnan is known for its bitterness and ripe yellow or red colour when the fruit has matured. There are other pea eggplant varietals that maintain a bright green colour when ready for consumption and are far less bitter. For my Ghanaian readers, gnangnan is known as nsusua (twi) where as the non-bitter variety is known as kwahunsusua/abedru (twi).

Health benefits of Gnangnan?

Many indigenous African ingredients arfe known for their medicianl purposes. Pea eggplants are known to be high in plant based iron and are usually given as bloog tonis. It is also traditionally given to breastfeeding mothers. My mother has mentioned that gnangnan is great for headaches and some use it as anti-malarial medication. Obviously, like many african ingredients, there is not much scientific interest in exploring the health benefits so these are usually detailed through word of mouth from our elders.

What you will need for this soup

• Mushrooms: Many west african soups or stews always start with a base of meat. In my case, mushrooms are a great alternative. Dried mushrooms help build a really rich flavour and you can boil them for a long time without turning to mush.
• Gnangnan: these are usually sold dried at different African stores. They look red and can easily be confused for peppercorns. There are canned pea eggplants but they are not the same, nor do they cook the same.
• Aromatics: Like many Ghanaian soups, ivorian soups have very similar aromatics. Onions, ginger, tomato and pepper are constant across both cuisines. Since this is an eggplant based dish, garden eggs are usually included. I ran out of garden eggs so i used a small purple eggplant
• Spices: To add some umami and balance out the bitterness of this soup, we will be using some miso paste, all purpose seasoning and better than bouillon seasoning
• Plant-based protein: A lot of the recipes i saw used a varity of smoked fish so to account for a smoky flavour, we will be using some smoked tofu. If you cannot find smoked tofu, regular extra firm tofu should do.

What to serve your sauce gnangnan with?

I highly recommend foutou banane which is made with ripe plantains. There are numerous recipes on youtube using the standmixer or food processor. Here is one I like.

Want to try more soups from accross West Africa?

• Ademe Detsi
• Efo Riro
• Wrewre Soup

Print Recipe

Sauce Gnangnan

Soup – Ivorian

By Afia – Serves: 5

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 1.5hours – Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 large handfuls of dried mushrooms (i used wood ear and tea tree)
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 small onions
• 1 thumb size ginger
• 1 hot pepper (I used scotch bonnet)
• 1 small purple eggplant cut into chunks
• 2/3 cups of dried gnangnan
• 2 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 tbsp of miso paste
• 1 tbsp of better than bouillon paste
• 1 cube of organic vegetable bouillon cube (optional)
• 1 tbsp of all purpose seasoning -- use whichever one you like
• water

Instructions

1

1. In a deep pot, boil the mushrooms with 2 cups of water

2

2. As the mushrooms are coming to a boil, in a separate pot cook the gnangnan with 1.5 cups of water. This should boil for about 10-15 mins or till the gnangnan is tender

3

3. In the pot with mushrooms, mix in your tomato paste.

4

4. Once the tomato paste has dissolved, add in the aromatics (tomato, onion, ginger, eggplant, pepper), an additional 2 cups of water and let everything cook together

5

5. When the skin starts to come off the tomatoes and the eggplant is tender, remove all the aromatics and blend with the gnangnan and the gnangnan cooking water

6

6. Add the blended mixture with 2 cups of water

7

7. Let everything come to a boil then add in your seasoning (all purpose seasoning, miso, better than bouillon paste, bouillon cube)

8

8. After adding seasoning, mix well and let the pot simmer for 30 minutes. If the soup is looking thick add some more water

9

9. Serve with foutou. I highly recommended foutou banane and igname (plantain and yam fufu)

Notes

Seasonings are incredibly adjustable. you can use veggie broth instead of water if you want to. If you use veggie broth, you do not need to add all the additional bouillon cubes. You can also season to your preference.