If you are looking for one of the healthiest soups from Nigeria, you have to add miyar zogale to the list. Filled with peanuts, protein, and the star ingredient — moringa— this vegan/vegetarian friendly soup will get you so many key nutrients and vitamins in one serving.

miyar zogale

What is Miyar Zogale

Miyar zogale is a Northern Nigerian peanut based soup, where the star ingredient is moringa. Like many Northern Nigerian soups, the base is a mix of onions, a pepper tomato mix, broth and in this case, peanuts, before the greens are added. The process is very similar to another northern nigerian peanut based soup called miyan taushe, a recipe I referenced to build this one

I have a more extensive exploration of peanut based soups from West Africa and I highly recommend checking out the following recipes. 

moringa leaves

The Health Benefits of Moringa

I do not know if there is a more perfect plant than moringa. Moringa has many health benefits with leaves rich in calcium, potassium, zinc, magnesium, iron, copper, also have beta carotene, some folic acid, vitamin C and E, as well a long list of antioxidants. In many cases, moringa has been used to treat anemia in many instances while also supporting milk supply for lactating mothers. I am not sure what other plant rivals moringa.

Want to Try More Moringa Recipes

Moringa Lemon Tea: A great beverage to start the day with. Pairing moringa with lemon to enhance iron absorption

Moringa Lemon Cookies: A decadent alternative to the lemon tea.

Kwadon Zogale. A moringa peanut salad also commonly enjoyed in Northern Nigeria

miyar zogale

Ingredients you need to make Miyar Zogale

Broth

Mushrooms. To keep this recipe meat-free, we be using a mix of dried mushrooms and fresh mushrooms for a savoury base

Aromatics. Ginger, garlic and onion will make this broth flavourful

Vegetable Bouillon. To add savouriness, a vegetable bouillon is needed. I prefer Better than Bouillon paste vegetable-based paste, but use whatever you prefer.

Water

Miyar Zogale Base

Vegetable Oil. Either red palm oil or any vegetable oil of choice works.

Tomato Pepper Mix. A blend of peppers, scotch bonnet pepper and tomatoes are common in many Nigerian dishes.

Peanuts: We will be using raw, crushed peanuts for this recipe. This can easily be made by grinding peanuts in a blender or coffee/spice grinder

Seasoning. To keep this traditional, I add fermented locust beans but you can use whatever seasoning you prefer, as long as it is well seasoned.

Moringa. This recipe requires cleaned and blanched moringa

moringa leaves

How to prep Moringa for Miyar Zogale

Moringa prep is relatively easy, the leaves comes off the branches very easily. Moringa is sold in bunches.

  1. Separate branches from the main stem.
  2. Pinch your thumb and index fingers and drag along the small branches. The leaves will come off easily.
  3. Wash the moringa leaves.
  4. Blanch in boiling water for 2-3 minutes until wilted
  5. Remove and place in cold water
  6. Squeeze out excess liquid. It is now ready to use. You can freeze some for later or use directly in this recipe.

How to make Miyar Zogale

Make the broth

The broth is a combination of mushrooms (dry and fresh), bouillon paste, and aromatics, boiled for about 10 minutes until the dried mushrooms are hydrated

Make the stew base

Most Hausa based soups start with onions fried in oil, mixed with a tomato pepper blend. Once the tomato pepper blend is cooked down, you can add seasoning, peanut powder and the broth. 

Cook the soup

Once all the ingredients are in, the soup needs to cook for some time. This is also important because the peanuts need to be cooked. Once the oil separates to the top, you can add the greens

Greens

Blanched greens are added to the soup last to keep a bit of their freshness but cooked for about 10 minutes to help infuse flavour.

Serve and enjoy

miyar zogale
miyar zogale
miyar zogale
miyar zogale

What can I eat with Miyar Zogale

Miyar zogale goes well with plain rice or rice balls, known as tuwo shinkaafa or with masa (yeasted rice cakes)

How to store Miyar Zogale

This recipe stores well in the fridge for up to a week and in the freezer for months.

Print Pin
Course Soup
Cuisine Nigerian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Broth

  • a large handful of dry mushrooms
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 thumb size ginger
  • 1-2 cups fresh mushrooms preferably oyster mushrooms
  • 1 vegetable bouillon cube or one tablespoon of better-than-bouillon seasoned vegetable paste
  • 1 pack firm tofu awara
  • 1/2 cup water to blend onion garlic and ginger
  • 1 1/2 cups water for the broth

Soup

  • 1/4 cup red palm oil or vegetable oil
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 long red bell pepper
  • 1-2 scotch bonnet peppers or habanero
  • 1-2 teaspoons dadawa fermented locust beans
  • 1-2 teaspoons all purpose seasoning
  • 2/3 cup raw ground peanuts
  • 1 large bunch of moringa cleaned and blanched

Instructions

  • Blend the garlic, onion and ginger with 1/2 cup of water
  • In a pot, combine the blended garlic, ginger, onion mixture with the rest of the broth ingredients. Add the additional 1 1/2 cups of water, bring everything to a boil, then simmer at medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
  • In a separate large pot, saute the onions in the palm oil till soft.
  • Add the dadawa and saute for a few minutes until fragrant
  • Blend the tomatoes, long pepper and scotch bonnet pepper with 1/2 cup of water and add to the large pot. Let everything cook for 15 minutes at medium heat to cook off extra liquid and allow the oil to separate to the top
  • Add the peanuts, spices and extra 1.5 cups of water. Allow the soup to boil at medium heat for another 25 minutes or until thicken. Season with extra salt based on personal preference
  • Once the 25 minutes have passed, add the moringa and cook for 10 minutes. Taste for salt and ensure it is well seasoned.
  • Serve with tuwo shinkafa or masa