Good day guys!

I discovered that I have not blogged on food and health for quite some time now, so I had plans for making such posts. Luckily for me, I stumbled on a post by @healthsquared; it was a prompt for a contest centering on food and health. I thought to myself, "this is it, tell them about the food you cooked today!!"

So, today , I want to show you how to make ready a delicious, palatable and sumptuous MELON SOUP!!

(The Cooked Soup)

This post is my entry for The Steemit Weekly Health Challenge #4 and it also serves as a guidance to those who would love to learn how to cook Melon Soup. I know there are many people who do not know how to prepare this meal. Lucky are you if you are such person cause I'm going to be teaching you this for free. If you are a non-Nigerian and you would have loved to have a taste of this delicacy, all you need do is follow the steps laid down below.

But before I proceed to showing and telling you how to prepare this recipe, I will certainly like you to know the following about MELON SOUP :

• Melon Soup is a soup prepared using melon seed as the major ingredient. That's why it is being called Melon Soup.

• It is mostly and commonly referred EGUSI SOUP.

Egusi is the name for the fat and
protein rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants (squash , melon, gourd), which after being dried and ground are used as a major ingredient in West African cuisine .

• The Nigerian Egusi Soup which is prepared with melon seeds can be prepared in many different ways by most tribes in Nigeria. It is known as Ikoñ in Ibibio, Ofe Egusi in Igbo, Miyan Gushi in Hausa, and Efo Elegusi in Yoruba.

• Egusi soup is also one of the most popular soups, if not the most popular in Nigeria.

• Melon soup is one of the most delicious soups in Nigeria. The soup seems very easy to prepare but I tell you that it is very technical. A slight mistake could go a long way in altering the taste of the soup as well as the general outcome which could eventually cause one not to enjoy the meal. Hence, extra care is needed.

There are several ways to prepare melon soup, there's the caking method, the frying method, the boiling method, and then there are series of other methods.

But since I love exploring other ways of doing things, I didn't use the normal and usually method everyone uses in preparation of the meal. The goal is to yield the expected result.

Without much ado, I will first and foremost list the necessary and required ingredients and then I will proceed to the step by step procedures in cooking Melon Soup.

Leggo!

INGREDIENTS

• Melon (desired quantity, depending on the number of the consumers)

• Meat/Fish/Cow Skin

• Vegetables (bitterleaf leaves)

• Fresh pepper

• Stock Fish

• Periwinkle

• Cray Fish

• Maggi

• Onions

• Salt

• Palm oil

• Water

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PREPARATION

• Grind the melon into a smooth powder. Soak in water and then proceed to whisking so as to achieve a smooth paste. This process is to ensure that the left-over particles are being screened out properly.

• Wash the meat/cowskin/stock fish. Season with pepper,onion, salt and maggi. Cook it separately via steaming. Set it aside from the stock when it is done.

(The washed cow skin)

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• Wash and prepare the smoked fish and keep it separately. Do away with all the bones in it.

(Smoked fish, perewinkle)

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• Wash and cook the periwinkle and set it aside too. This is optional as you may decide to put it like that in the soup with cooking it.

• Slice your onions

• Grind your crayfish and pepper.

• Grind also a little portion of the sliced onions.

• Pick the vegetable leaves, wash it thoroughly and then slice it into smaller portions.

(The Picked Veggie Leaves)

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(The Sliced Veggie Leaves)

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When the necessary preparations have been made and achieved, you are just a step away from getting your delicious Melon Soup ready. I love to prepare everything for my cooking before I start ( this is known as mise-en-place); this makes cooking very simple. So ensure everything is within reach.

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PROCEDURES

• Place a soup pot on fire. Empty the smooth melon paste into the pot. Add the already cooked meat with the stock. Also add the washed smoked fish and periwinkle.

• Add very little water. (You do not need a lot of water in preparing your melon soup. You would notice that I added a water cause of the stock from the meat. More of the water will only make your soup watery and you wouldn't want that or would you? ?🤔🤔)

Your cooker or whatever you are using as the heat source should be on low heat so as to prevent the melon from getting burnt before it gets done. The low heat will also enable the melon to cook properly.

• Allow the pot's content to boil for a while before adding other needed ingredients such as salt, pepper, maggi, onion, and crayfish.

• After that, taste the broth to ensure everything is in the right proportion and okay. Whatever you feel is lacking, you can always add.

• Pour in a sufficient palm oil quantity.

• Add your sliced vegetable leaves.

• Have added every necessary thing needed for the soup, allow it to boil for at least 4 minutes or less.

• Bring down the pot.

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And that's it, your Melon soup is ready.😍😍😍😍🙌🙌

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It can be served with garri, fufu, pounded yam, semovita, plantain flour or wheat. I prefer eating it with garri.

_Come let's dine... _

Lunch is Served!!

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Feel free to share in the comment box how you prepare your own Egusi Soup.

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Images taken and edited by @liltom

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BELOW ARE THE BENEFITS OF EATING MELON SEED AS WELL AS ITS SIDE EFFECTS :

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HEALTH BENEFITS OF MELON SEED (EGUSI):

• ANTI AGING :

Egwusi contains antioxidants and niacin which makes the skin healthy and also helps prevents aging. The alpha-tocopherol found in egusi is a component of vitamin E that helps in maintaining smooth young skin and good fertility. Vitamin E is active compound that participate in mopping up free radicals and also take part in oxidative stress.

_ GOOD FOR THE HEART:

Egwusi is made up of 78% unsaturated fats which is good for the heart. The seeds consist of 10 to 16% oleic acid, 9 to 12% palmitic acid, 67 to 73% linoleic acid and 5 to 8% stearic acid. 3 These fatty acids are important in protecting the heart. The high linoleic acid and low linolenic acid content of egusi melon oil indicates that it is a good source of table oil, cooking oil and frying oil, making it good for the fight against CHD.

• PROVIDE ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS:

Essential amino acids cannot be produced by the body hence it has to be obtained from food sources. Amino acids along with proteins form the building blocks of life. Egusi is an excellent source of some of these amino acids like arginine, methionine, tryptophan, Lysine and threonine. Arginine helps in regulating metabolism and improves the cardiovascular system. Lysine helps in the formation of collagen and connective tissues in the body.

• PREVENT MALNUTRITION:

The nutritional constituent of melon seed makes it a veritable tool in the fight against malnutrition. Thus Egusi could thus be a vital tool against marasmus, kwashiorkor, and other debilitations. Egusi-seed meal is compacted into patties that serve as a meat substitute for those that can’t afford meat. The egusi can also be an important supplementary baby food, helping prevent malnutrition. Blending the seeds with water and honey produces a milky liquid that can be used as formula if breast milk is unavailable.

• LOADED WITH VITAMINS AND MINERALS:

Egusi seed is packed with plenty vitamins and minerals. Daily intake of these seeds is equivalent to taking vitamin supplements. They contain B vitamins like riboflavin, niacin and folates, vitamin C and Vitamin E. The minerals in the seed include phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, manganese, sulfur, calcium, iron, and zinc. These nutrients carry out several roles in the body which include encouraging good blood flow, strengthening the immune system etc.

SIDE EFFECTS:

There will always be two sides to a coin. Everything that has advantages also do have a series of disadvantages. There are so many health benefits associated with egusi but it should be taken in moderation to avoid the following:

• EXCESSIVE WEIGHT GAIN:

Egusi is made up of 50% fat and can easily lead to weight gain if taken in excess. The basic Egusi soup with stock fish and two meat will contain roughly 700calories per serving. Egusi soup can be made healthier by Including plenty vegetables which will increase the amount of fiber, vitamins and minerals while decreasing the amount of egusi you consume.

• OMEGA 6 FATTY ACIDS DISEASE:

The highest fat group in Egusi is linoleic acid (67 to 73%) which is an omega 6 fatty acid. Excessive amounts of these vegetable oils, or linoleic acids , can contribute to inflammation and result in heart disease, cancer, asthma, arthritis and depression, which is one reason you need to keep your consumption moderate.

• AFLATOXIN:

If Egusi is not properly stored, it may be infested with fungi. Consumption of fungi infested seed may lead to food poisoning with aflatoxin. Aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on agricultural crops.

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Your comments and contribution will be highly appreciated and welcomed.

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Image created by @healthsquared