Nigerian Eguisi Soup
Egusi soup is unarguably the most popular Nigerian soup of all time. And even though this soup has it's origin in the South Eastern parts of Nigeria, different recipes exist across different Nigerian ethnic groups.
The Yorubas make efo elegusi while the Igbos make ofe egusi, all with similar ingredients but with slightly different approaches.
This is how to make egusi soup with lumps… the kind you only get to eat when you visit a 5-star restaurant or hotel.
Ingredients
For 12 Serves
|
Beef |
2.2 lb |
|
Cups of Eguisi |
4 |
|
Roasted Fish |
1 lb or 500g |
|
Ground Crayfish |
Half cup |
|
Handful sliced Ugu (fluted pumpkin) leaves |
1 lb |
|
Seasoning cubes |
2 |
|
Salt to taste |
|
|
Pepper to taste (scotch bonnet). |
|
|
One medium-sized Stock fish head (okporoko) |
|
|
Dawadawa or opkei (local ingredients) |
20 g |
The above-listed ingredients will make a large pot of egusi soup. See the bottom of this page. This soup will serve a family of 4 persons three times. You can always refrigerate leftovers.
Preparation
Step 1
Grind the four cups of egusi with a dry blender or hand-grinding machine and set them aside in a bowl. Add about a cup of water to it and stir to make a very thick paste, as you can see below.
Step 2
Parboil the meat with all the ingredients, it is advisable to parboil meat with some ingredients before adding them to the principal food, this improves the taste of the meat.
Step 3
Parboil for about ten minutes, then add water and cook till the meat is tender and the stock (water) is about to dry. Use two seasoning cubes, a teaspoon of salt and a half cup of sliced onions.
Step 4
Pour hot water over the stockfish in a bowl and wash thoroughly to remove sand, then set aside. Also, remove the center bone from the roasted fishes, wash and set aside too.
Step 5
Set your cooking pot on the fire and add 300ml of palm oil (red oil), allow to heat for a minute but don’t allow to bleach. Add the egusi paste and keep stirring for the next eight to ten minutes to form seed-like crumbs. See the image below.
Then transfer the already cooked meat into the pot, stir.
Step 6
Add the washed dry fish, stockfish, ground crayfish, a seasoning cube, ground scotch bonnet pepper, and 2 cups of water. Then cover halfway and allow boiling for the next ten minutes.
Step 7
Stir occasionally to avoid burning. One spoon of ground dawadawa (local ingredients), and a taste for salt and pepper.
Add a handful of sliced utazi leaves.
Allow to simmer on low heat for 2 minutes, stir, and you just made a delicious pot of egusi soup
