Ye'llo Everyone,
Welcome back to my blog. so I'll revise my initial posting times to once a week. lol I did not factor
in how busy life can get. cooking once a week is plausible for me, I would say.
Today's blog will focus on the Nigerian staple soup, Egusi. mind you, I will be using Melon and Egusi Interchangeably.(which means thesame thing; Melon is the english name and the Traditional Nigerian name is Egusi). Many tribes refer to Egusi as Egushi, but I am Yoruba, we call it Egusi. According to wikipedia, Egusi seeds are taken from a certain Curcurbitaceae, which is of a cucurbits family. It consists of the squash, melon and gourd. The dried, and blended version is what we use in the melon soup. it's high in protein and fat, AND delicious. I have two different ways of cooking my Melon soup depending on how thick or tasty I want it to be. The method I opted for today is mostly used to eat swallows. It goes well with Eba, Amala, et. al. The frying method goes well with Rice. I will discuss that in later date. The frying method is usually refered to as "Egusi Ijebu" within the Yoruba Tribe. Which simply means Egusi made in Ijebu. (Ijebu is one of the cities in western part of Nigeria).
Enough, let's dive in.
Here are the ingredients:
2 cups of blended melon
pepper: Hebanaro (4)
Tomatoes (2) (optional)
Scotch bonnet (4)
Onions (3)
Garlic
Ginger
Meat: Goat meat
Shaki (tripe)
Smoked turkey
Mackerel fish
Blended cray fish
Smoked Prawns
Mushrooms
spineach
2 Eggs
Palm Oil (taking from palm Kernel)
(Mind you, You can use different types of meats and seafood in Egusi as you pleased. it tastes better too, but above are the ingredients i opted for) :)
Prepping stage:
(1) Blended 2 tomatoes, 4 hebanro pepper, 4 scotch bonnets, 2 onions, 1 clove of
garlic and 1 teaspoons of pasty ginger.
(2) After blending, I boiled the sauce on medium heat for 20 mins to get the water out or Until it becomes pasty. (This is optional. Usually in a nigerian home, you blend your egusi pepper using a grounding stone, so you wouldn't need that much water to begin with. but I am using tomatoes in this soup, thus i want to reduce the amount of water)
(3) I move to my meat. I have washed my goat meat and shaki (stripe), blended my onions, garlic and I teaspoon of ginger. Poured it in. ( I boil my shaki and goat meat together because they take longer to cook)
(4) I added 2 and half tablespoons of my Granulated Mushroom Bouillon, 2 table spoons of salt. (Mind you, This can be innacurate, so please spice based on how many goatmeat and shaki you're cooking)
(5) While my meat was boiling, I poured the I know some people are stunned about the egg method, but if you want your melon to rise and pulp, then egg is the way to go) (picture to the left)
blended crayfish into my B
lended melon, cracked two eggs in, and drained some of the meat stock, about 4 spoons of my meat stock into my melon then mixed. (
Cooking Stage:
(1) After 25mins of cooking my meat, I cleaned my smoked prawns, chopped up my mushrooms and mackerel right into the cooked meat. I let that sit in for about 10 mins. (picture to the right)
(2) Then, with a tablespoon, or clean hand (I usually use my hand), I moulded my melon into small ball like shapes then drop them into the cooking meat, then let that sit for another 10mins on low heat. (picture to the left)
(3)My egusi had risen, so I poured my pasty pepper sauce in to egusi, let it sit in for another 10mins. (you want to allow the pepper to properly cook with the melon and the meats)
(4) 10mins in, I mixed my egusi, then poured my rinsed spineach, mixed it. Let that sit in for another two mins.
(5) I bleached some palm oil in a small pot, then poured it into my egusi soup. mixed it and let it sit for another 10mins, still on low heat. (I can not really measure the amount of oil put in. This is based on preference)
(6) At this point, my Egusi looked great. I tasted it, still needed some seasonings. so I added a tablespoon of salt, and 2 spoons of Best Quality Chicken Powder.
It was Ready to be consumed! hehehe
So It's Thanksgiving Nextweek Monday, October 8. I may be Stuffing my Turkey. Lets see! I love festives, you guys.
Until next time, au revoir!
Welcome back to my blog. so I'll revise my initial posting times to once a week. lol I did not factor
in how busy life can get. cooking once a week is plausible for me, I would say.
Today's blog will focus on the Nigerian staple soup, Egusi. mind you, I will be using Melon and Egusi Interchangeably.(which means thesame thing; Melon is the english name and the Traditional Nigerian name is Egusi). Many tribes refer to Egusi as Egushi, but I am Yoruba, we call it Egusi. According to wikipedia, Egusi seeds are taken from a certain Curcurbitaceae, which is of a cucurbits family. It consists of the squash, melon and gourd. The dried, and blended version is what we use in the melon soup. it's high in protein and fat, AND delicious. I have two different ways of cooking my Melon soup depending on how thick or tasty I want it to be. The method I opted for today is mostly used to eat swallows. It goes well with Eba, Amala, et. al. The frying method goes well with Rice. I will discuss that in later date. The frying method is usually refered to as "Egusi Ijebu" within the Yoruba Tribe. Which simply means Egusi made in Ijebu. (Ijebu is one of the cities in western part of Nigeria).
Enough, let's dive in.Here are the ingredients:
2 cups of blended melon
pepper: Hebanaro (4)
Tomatoes (2) (optional)
Scotch bonnet (4)
Onions (3)
GarlicGinger
Meat: Goat meat
Shaki (tripe)
Smoked turkey
Mackerel fish
Blended cray fish
Smoked Prawns
Mushrooms
spineach
2 Eggs
Palm Oil (taking from palm Kernel)
(Mind you, You can use different types of meats and seafood in Egusi as you pleased. it tastes better too, but above are the ingredients i opted for) :)
Prepping stage:(1) Blended 2 tomatoes, 4 hebanro pepper, 4 scotch bonnets, 2 onions, 1 clove of
garlic and 1 teaspoons of pasty ginger.
(2) After blending, I boiled the sauce on medium heat for 20 mins to get the water out or Until it becomes pasty. (This is optional. Usually in a nigerian home, you blend your egusi pepper using a grounding stone, so you wouldn't need that much water to begin with. but I am using tomatoes in this soup, thus i want to reduce the amount of water)
(3) I move to my meat. I have washed my goat meat and shaki (stripe), blended my onions, garlic and I teaspoon of ginger. Poured it in. ( I boil my shaki and goat meat together because they take longer to cook)(4) I added 2 and half tablespoons of my Granulated Mushroom Bouillon, 2 table spoons of salt. (Mind you, This can be innacurate, so please spice based on how many goatmeat and shaki you're cooking)
(5) While my meat was boiling, I poured the I know some people are stunned about the egg method, but if you want your melon to rise and pulp, then egg is the way to go) (picture to the left)
blended crayfish into my B
lended melon, cracked two eggs in, and drained some of the meat stock, about 4 spoons of my meat stock into my melon then mixed. (
Cooking Stage:
(1) After 25mins of cooking my meat, I cleaned my smoked prawns, chopped up my mushrooms and mackerel right into the cooked meat. I let that sit in for about 10 mins. (picture to the right)
(2) Then, with a tablespoon, or clean hand (I usually use my hand), I moulded my melon into small ball like shapes then drop them into the cooking meat, then let that sit for another 10mins on low heat. (picture to the left)
(3)My egusi had risen, so I poured my pasty pepper sauce in to egusi, let it sit in for another 10mins. (you want to allow the pepper to properly cook with the melon and the meats)(4) 10mins in, I mixed my egusi, then poured my rinsed spineach, mixed it. Let that sit in for another two mins.
(5) I bleached some palm oil in a small pot, then poured it into my egusi soup. mixed it and let it sit for another 10mins, still on low heat. (I can not really measure the amount of oil put in. This is based on preference)
(6) At this point, my Egusi looked great. I tasted it, still needed some seasonings. so I added a tablespoon of salt, and 2 spoons of Best Quality Chicken Powder.
It was Ready to be consumed! hehehe
So It's Thanksgiving Nextweek Monday, October 8. I may be Stuffing my Turkey. Lets see! I love festives, you guys.
Until next time, au revoir!
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