Egusi Soup And Vibes

Someone said Egusi soup is a unifying factor in Nigeria and I completely agree. Hi dearies and welcome back to another wholesome and delicious episode of Foodie Fridays. Today’s special guest is Egusi soup. Egusi soup is a healthy and delicious Nigerian dish which is made from the seeds of . There are slight variations according to tribes and localities and even homes. Some prefer to fry the ground egusi in an aromatic mixture of thinly sliced onions and palm oil and others prefer to mold the ground egusi into balls and cook. However, regardless of the cooking method the result is often a delicious protein rich soup enjoyed with a swallow of choice most preferably pounded yam.

Ingredients
 4½ cups (600g) Egusi (Melon) seeds
 2 cooking spoons red palm oil
 Beef or goat meat (Mutton)
 Tripe also called shaki
 Dry Fish and Stock Fish
 3 tablespoons ground crayfish
 Pepper and Salt (to taste)
 pumpkin leaves (Ugu), spinach or bitter leaves
 stock cubes to taste.

Preparation:

1. Boil the beef or goat meat, shaki, stock fish and dry fish with salt, stock cubes till they are well done.
2. As soon as the shaki, fish and meat are done, add crayfish and pepper, stir and remove all the meat from the stock (water used in cooking the meat and fish) and place in a different pot or plate.
3. Add the ground egusi to the stock and stir. If the stock from cooking your meat and fish is not enough to give you a medium consistency, add some water to get the consistency of evaporated milk or a bit thicker. It will not be as smooth as evaporated milk though.
4. Cover and cook till the egusi cakes. Stir and add a little bit more water. watch it closely so that it does not burn.
5. Repeat step 3, adding only a small quantity of water at a time. After about 25 minutes, you will notice the clear egusi oil coming to the surface of the soup.
6. Add the red palm oil and bitter leaves (if it is your choice of vegetable), pepper and salt to taste and cook for about 7 minutes. You know it is good to continue when the palm oil and egusi forms a good blend of light yellow colour.
7. Add the cooked meat and fish. If using pumpkin leaves or any other soft vegetable, add it at this time and stir the soup.
8. Add salt to your taste, stir and leave to simmer for 2 minutes maximum.
9. Turn off the heat. Leave to stand for about 5 minutes before serving.
   The egusi soup is ready to be served with Garri (Eba), Semolina Fufu, Amala, Cassava Fufu or Pounded Yam.