Ngwo ngwo goat offal pepper soup is a delicacy cooked in the Eastern part of Nigeria. The parts of the goat used are the tripe (stomach locally called towel), intestines, liver, kidney, heart, spleen, testicles and a bit of the flesh. Ngwo ngwo fills me with nostalgia because it always reminds me of the cool and dusty harmattan days spent in the village during Christmas as kids.

We would always wake up very early on Christmas morning especially if we travelled to the village. Our alarm clock was the desperate bleating of the Christmas goat or goats about to be slaughtered. You would jump off the bed and yell for others to wake up. All the kids will dash outside to watch. The goat must be clean and ready for cooking and everyone clean and ready for the Christmas church service all before 8.00 am.

The parts for the Ngwo ngwo will be separated from the flesh and head, though a little of the flesh is added to increase the quantity and improve the flavour of the pepper soup.

Ngwo ngwo parts can be bought on the open market as a complete unit, the male goat is usually better and softer. Each part has to be well cleaned but the tripe, stomach (towel) and intestines require special attention. This is one pepper soup I hardly eat outside my home and definitely not in any restaurant.

The different parts cook at different rates, the stomach takes the longest to cook. For most people, it is not an issue, everything goes in at the same time and you keep checking the towel until it softens. Ngwo ngwo liver is usually tough for this reason.

To prepare Ngwo ngwo goat offal pepper soup

750g Goat offal
1 medium onion
salt
2 seasoning cubes
2 Scotch bonnet
1/2 tablespoon ground crayfish
2-3 Uziza leaves
1 stick Uda
2 Ehuru (roasted)
2 Utazi leaves(or scent leaf)

Cut goat offal into slightly larger than bite-size (The pieces will shrink after cooking), the butcher should be able to do this in the market.

Wash very well. (See below how to wash tripe and intestines).

Put meat in a pot and add about 1 cup of water, add salt, seasoning cubes and some chopped onions.

Cover and cook until the tripe is soft. You can fish out the liver pieces in between and add them back later.

Meanwhile, grind together scotch bonnet, uziza leaves, uda, ehuru and utazi leaves.

Add your ground ingredients, crayfish and more water.

Stir cover and cook for 5 minutes. Taste and correct seasoning.

Cook for a further 5 minutes, take off the heat.

Enjoy your Ngwo ngwo with a drink, like my Virgin pina colada, Nigerian Chapman drink (mocktail), Afterglow Mocktail or any drink of your choice.

To wash tripe for Ngwo ngwo

Rinse tripe in water and place in a bowl, pour boiling water to cover it. Let stand for a few minutest. Use a dull knife to scrape off the topcoat. Turn the back and remove any unsightly bits of fat and gristle. Rinse and use.

To wash intestines for Ngwo ngwo

Rinse intestines in water, remove any unsightly bits of fat and gristle. Turn inside out and use salt to give some abrasion, rub to remove slim. You can also pour some hot water on it. Rinse and turn right side out. This is one of the reasons I am very selective where I eat Ngwo ngwo, cleaning is a bit tedious so many people cut corners.

Note

Cut the stomach and intestines much larger than you want the final size because they shrink a lot.
The intestines are sometimes braided after cleaning before cutting into pieces.
Because utazi is ground, the bitterness is more potent so you won’t need much.
The number of utazi and uziza leaves might vary depending on their size.

If you enjoyed my Ngwo ngwo goat offal pepper soup, you will also enjoy my Goat meat pepper soup, Nigerian Oxtail pepper soup, Homework, goat trotters in spicy sauce and Isi ewu, Goat head in spicy sauce.