Creole
Pindasoep: thick peanut soup with tom tom
Surinamese pindasoep is a thick, creamy soup of ground peanuts with chicken or salted meat, almost always served with tom tom: balls of pounded green plantain. A bowl in a Paramaribo Creole eating house typically costs SRD 90 to SRD 180.
Flavour and texture
Full, creamy, nutty and salty. Often firmly peppered.
Street price, indicative SRD 90–180
The soup is West African in origin, related to the groundnut soups found from Ghana to Nigeria. In Suriname it has grown thicker and acquired tom tom alongside it.
Tom tom are balls of boiled, pounded green plantain. They carry little flavour of their own and exist to scoop the soup, much as fufu does in West Africa.
Peanut soup is the clearest West African thread in Surinamese cooking. The peanut itself is a South American crop that reached West Africa along Portuguese trade routes, but the soup, ground peanut as the thickener with a pounded starch beside it, was developed there and crossed to this side of the ocean with the transatlantic slave trade.
Tom tom is accordingly the Surinamese fufu. Green plantain is boiled and pounded in a wooden mortar into a smooth ball, exactly the technique that stands next to the same soup from Ghana to Nigeria. A bowl in a Paramaribo Creole eating house costs SRD 90 to SRD 180.
It is a heavy dish and classic Sunday food. Anyone planning an afternoon nap has chosen well.
Frequently asked questions
What is tom tom?
Tom tom are balls of boiled and pounded green plantain served with Surinamese peanut soup. They are fairly bland on their own and exist to scoop the soup, comparable to fufu in West Africa.
Does peanut soup contain peanuts?
Yes, ground peanut or peanut butter is the base, so it is unsuitable with a peanut allergy. Peanut appears in far more Surinamese dishes than this soup alone, so always declare an allergy in advance.
Where does peanut soup come from?
From West Africa, where the same groundnut soup is eaten from Ghana to Nigeria. The peanut is originally South American and reached West Africa on Portuguese trade routes; as a soup it came to Suriname with the transatlantic slave trade.
When do people eat pindasoep?
Usually on Sunday, as the midday meal. It is a heavy plate: ground peanut, chicken or salted meat and tom tom of pounded green plantain, at SRD 90 to SRD 180 in a Creole eating house.