• my entry on traditional dish by @ngocbich

#INTRODUCTION
egusi soup is a traditional soup commonly prepared in Nigeria and across some parts of africa and it has so much nutrient it nourished the body, it is usually taken with pounded Yam or Eba which can otherwise be referred to as granulated cassava popularly called as GARI in nigeria.

INGREDIENTS I USED

well these are the ingredients i could get for this meal but this ingredients are not limited to this meal alone you can add other ingredients to give it a more sumptuous taste also

• GRANULATED EGUSI
  at this point the egusi should be granulated into this form so as for it to dissolve well while cooking

• ONION
  

• GARRI
  garri is other wise known as granulated cassava it can be prepared by adding boiled water on it then mixing it to form a mould just like my first image i posted
  

• GOAT MEAT
  you can use goat meat or beef or any kind of meat you like
  

• PUMPKIN LEAVE
  the pumpkin leave is usally added when the soup is steaming hot
  

• PALM OIL
  

• CAMEROON PEPPER
  you can use any kind of pepper this was the only pepper i could lay my hands on at home.
  

• CRAY FISH
  

• SALT TO TASTE
  

• CURRY POWDER
  

• STOCK FISH

you can also use other fishes eg cat fish, dry fish etc

• SEASONING
  you can use any form of seasoning here are some of the seasoning i used doh
  

Before you cook Egusi Soup

• Before preparing the soup, soak the dry fish or stock fish till soft. If you are using the very tough stock-fish, boil it for 20 minutes and leave in the pot with the hot water to soak for about an hour. If using the softer stock-fish, you can just soak them in cool water till you can break them apart with your hands.

• When the fish and stockfish are soft, de-bone and break them into sizeable chunks.
• Much closer to your cooking time, grind the egusi with a dry mill. Grind the crayfish and the dry pepper separately and set aside. you should grind it inform of the image i posted on the ingredient part
• Rinse the pumpkin leave( ugwu leave) or vegetables to be used and cut into tiny pieces. the vegetable leave should also be as the one on the ingredient section
• Cook the beef and fish with the stock with seasonings till they are well done. You should start cooking the toughest meat and fish first and add the others as they get done. If using a normal pot, I will start with stockfish, add beef or my goat meat after about 1 hour and cook till done. I can add the dry fish when all the other meat and fish are cooked because it is already cooked, you just need to cook it long enough till it is soft and integrated with the rest of the ingredients.
• Set all these aside.

PROCEDURE FOR COOKING THIS SOUP

• Pour the red palm oil into a dry pot and set on the gas cooker 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.

• stir the egusi for like 10 minute

• 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.

• 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 and meat or fish.

• 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!

THIS IS HOW IT LOOKS LIKE AT THE END

that is how to prepare this popular dish which is consumed mostly by NIGERIAN because of this contest i had to get this ingredients from the market so i can prepare it for my self and also show it to the world, if you have any Nigerian friend you can ask them about egusi soup and if you become familiar with the cooking process you can prepare this for them.

here is how to prepare the Eba ( grounded Cassava or garri ) that is normallly toped up with this Egusi soup

• put your garri (grounded cassava) inside a bowl
• put water on the gas to boil
• then add that boiled water into the garri and try to mix it until it gives you a mould shape but try and do it in such a way that the Eba( granulated Cassava) won't be too thick.
  here is the final result of my cooking

how to eat it

• cut some portion of the eba with your hand then use it to rub or fetch the soup and then swallow it.
• we in Africa we mostly eat swallowed food except for other food like fried rice that we chew or yam etc.

NOTE:

• all images are from me except the referenced ones
• EBA i referred it as granulated cassava, gari or grounded cassava they're still the-same thing. the Garri is a processed cassava, its from Cassava we get GARRI and its from GARRI we get EBA the EBA can be made by adding boiled water into the GARRI to form a MOLD which is called EBA
• This soup can also go with POUNDED YAM that's if you don't want to use GARRI me i love eating my EGUSI SOUP with POUNDED YAM but just that i was short on cash i couldn't get yam from the Market.

POUNDED YAM

In africa we do pound our yam locally in using a pestle to pound it inside a mortal just like the image bellow

• In case you want to warm the EGUSI SOUP the next morning you can add small water in it and allow it to steam.
• or you can stock it in your refrigerator then the Next morning you can make use of your Microwave to microwave it.

TRUST ME THIS MEAL IS ONE FAVORITE MEAL IN NIGERIA ONE OF THE SOUPS NIGERIANS TAKE