Mannish water is a celebration soup — traditionally made with goat head and offal, simmered for hours into a powerful, restorative broth. This is an approachable home version using goat meat with bones for that same deep flavor, loaded with ground provisions and little flour dumplings called "spinners."

Ingredients

  • 2 lb goat meat with some bone, cut in pieces
  • 2 green bananas, peeled & chopped
  • 1 cho cho (chayote), diced
  • Yellow yam or potato, diced
  • ~1 cup pumpkin, diced (helps thicken)
  • Flour + water for spinner dumplings
  • 4 cloves garlic, 2 scallions, thyme
  • 1 whole scotch bonnet
  • 1 tsp ground pimento
  • Cock/pumpkin soup mix (optional, traditional)
  • Salt, black pepper, 12 cups water + juice of a lime to wash meat

Method

  1. Wash the goat with the lime and water, then drain. Add to a large pot with 12 cups water and bring to a boil. Skim any foam and simmer about 1 hour until the meat begins to soften.
  2. Add the pumpkin first (it dissolves and thickens the broth), then the yam, cho cho, green banana, garlic, scallion, thyme, pimento and the whole scotch bonnet.
  3. Make spinners: mix flour with a little water and salt into a stiff dough, roll pencil-thin pieces between your palms, and drop them into the simmering soup.
  4. Stir in soup mix if using. Simmer another 45–60 minutes until the meat is fork-tender and the provisions are soft.
  5. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Remove the scotch bonnet and serve piping hot.

🍲 Good to know

Mannish water is meant to be brothy, not thick like a stew. If it reduces too much, just top up with hot water. A squeeze of lime at the table brightens the whole bowl.