Egusi soup - the most popular Nigeria soup.

Yesterday my family visited my grandma and guess what she prepared for us, it was my favorite soup called egusi soup. What you find below is a delicious plate of egusi soup, served with pounded yam.

Egusi soup also called melon seed soup, is a healthy and easy dinner soup that you don't want to do with out for a week. Below are the ingredients

ingredients

4 cups (500g) Egusi (Melon) seeds
3 cooking spoons red palm oil
Beef: best cut and Shaki (cow tripe)
Fish: dry fish and stockfish
2 tablespoons ground crayfish
Pepper and Salt (to taste)
Vegetable: Nigerian pumpkin leaves (my grandma used pumpkin leaves), spinach or bitter leaf ( if your choice is bitter leaf ensure it is properly pounded and washed to reduce the bitter taste.
3 small stock cubes
1 small ogiri okpei- a local ingredient made with locust beans.(optional)

Cooking Directions.

My grandma prepared fried egusi soup, so I will write on fried egusi soup.

Pour the red palm oil into a dry pot and set on the fire to heat. As soon as the oil melts, add the ground egusi and start frying. If the oil is not congealed, add the egusi as soon as the oil is translucent. Mix the ground egusi with oil till every grain of egusi turns yellow.

Start stirring the egusi on low to medium heat. Keep stir-frying for about 10 minutes.
Add the meat/fish stock (water from cooking the fish and meat) little by little while still stirring the egusi. So you add a bit of the stock, stir-fry for some time, add another, stir-fry and so on. When the stock is exhausted and you feel that the soup is still too thick, you can start adding hot water in the same way till you get the consistency you want. If your choice of vegetable is bitter leaf, add it at this time.

Cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes, stirring at intervals. Also, top up the water when necessary. If you don't stir it, it will burn. It takes 30 minutes to cook egusi properly else the soup will not taste nice to someone with authentic Nigerian taste buds. Also, egusi that is not cooked long enough may cause upset stomach. The egusi is done when you notice that the oil has separated from the mix.

Once you are happy that it is done, add the ground crayfish and pepper. Stir and add the Nigerian pumpkin leaves or spinach (alternative).

Stir very well and add the cooked stockfish, shaki and meat.

Add salt if necessary. If it is too thick, add some water to bring it to a consistency you like.
Cover and leave to simmer and it is done!
For my friends who have not eaten it before why not try it, I promise you it is going to be a wonderful experience.

I want to thank my grandma for the time she took to prepare this meal.