Traditional dishes usually don’t have fixed recipes, they are passed on from generation to generation, and every person adds some new details.
Nigerian soup recipes have been changing like that for years, and egusi soup is one of them. Let’s take a look at some of the tastiest egusi soup recipes. And remember – you can change the recipe too, be creative!
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Most egusi recipes include such ingredients, as grinded melon seeds, red palm oil, beef, dry fish, vegetables and bouillon cubes.
Meat and fish with vegetables are boiled together with bouillon cubes, till the meat is ready, egusi is fried on a palm oil, then the ingredients are mixed and cooked until the soup is thick enough and the oil separates from the mix.
Here are a few more curious takes on how to cook egusi soup.
1. How to cook egusi soup with chicken
Ingredients
- 500g Egusi (Melon) seeds
- 3 cooking spoons red palm oil
- Beef: best cut and Shaki
- Fish: dry fish and stockfish
- 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
- Pepper and Salt (to taste)
- Vegetable: Nigerian pumpkin leaves, spinach or bitter lea
- 3 small stock cubes
- 1 small ogiri okpei (optional)
You can avoid using bouillon cubes by using the broth from the chicken, and you can use the chicken you’ve boiled instead of the beef.
Use parts of chicken, that have more fat, like legs. Breast cut will be too dry for a soup.
2. How to prepare egusi soup with lumps
Ingredients :
- 1/4 cup groundnut oil
- 1 cooking spoon palm oil
- 1 cup ground egusi
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup pepper sauce
- 2 bouillon cubes
- 1 tablespoon crayfish powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon locust beans
- 1/4 cup ede (Dried shrimps)
- Precooked meat and fish – choice quantity
In order to make soup more fun with making this original texture, you will need to mix your grounded seeds (egusi) with some water till you get a thick paste.
Then you can form lumps with it and fry it in the oil. Then, add broth and simmer the lumps for 10-15 minutes. After that, continue the cooking as usual.
3. How to cook egusi soup with tomatoes
Ingredients :
- 400ml chopped tomatoes (blended)
- 150ml vegetable oil
- Cooked Mix of assorted meat
- 4 tablespoon crayfish
- Dry fish
- Stockfish (cooked)
- Pepper
- Salt to taste
- Good quantity of Bitter Leaf
- 3-4cups of melon
- Bullion cubes
Onions and fresh pepper are usually the vegetables that are used for this type of soup, but other types of vegetables could be great with it too.
For example, fresh tomatoes will greatly compliment the beef you’ll use. But be careful, tomatoes’ taste is pretty strong, especially after you heat them, so don’t add too much of them.
4. How to cook egusi soup with spinach
Ingredients :
- 1/4 cup groundnut oil
- 1 cooking spoon palm oil
- 1 cup ground egusi
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup pepper sauce
- 2 bouillon cubes
- 1 tablespoon crayfish powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon locust beans
- 1/4 cup ede (Dried shrimps) (Optional)
- Precooked meat and fish – choice quantity
If you want to make your soup a little bit more green and healthy – use spinach! This vegetable is full of nutrients, vitamins A, C and K and is rich in iron.
You can add it to your egusi in the very beginning of your cooking or you can use it as a decoration to your final meal.
5. How to prepare egusi soup with waterleaf
Ingredients :
- 4 cups egusi
- 2 kg beef
- 1 stock fish head
- 1/2 cup ground crayfish
- 2 medium sized smokcatfishh
- pepper to taste
- 1 bunch waterleaf
- 1 tablespoonful palm oil
- 1 medium sized onion to steam the beef
- Salt to taste
Egusi soup with waterleaf is a very popular variation of the dish. And it is understandable, as waterleaf makes the soup softer and moister and really makes it overall more enjoyable.
You should add it in the very end and let it simmer with other ingredients only for about five minutes.
6. How to cook egusi soup without vegetable
Ingredients :
- 600g Egusi (Melon) seeds
- 2 cooking spoons red palm oil
- Beef: Best cut and Shaki (cow tripe)
- Fish: Dry Fish and Stock Fish
- 3 tablespoons ground crayfish
- Pepper and Salt (to taste)
- Vegetable: Nigerian pumpkin leaves, spinach or bitter leaves
- 3 small stock cubes
- 1 Ogiri Okpei
Meat and vegetables are the main things, that add taste to the soup, so it sounds weird, that you can completely get rid of one of those things. Nevertheless, it is possible to make tasty egusy soup without fresh vegetables.
One of the variations include using the tomato sauce instead. This way you will get the tomato taste and your soup will look much more colorful. Add it with shrimp instead of the fish to the fried egusi and simmer it for 10 minutes.
7. How to cook egusi soup without palm oil
Palm oil seems to be one of the main ingredients of almost all traditional Nigerian soup. But if you want to know, how to prepare egusi soup without it, the answer is actually simple – use tomato paste and groundnut oil (or any type of vegetable oil) instead.
You won’t get the same taste, but you won’t really regret your decision.
How to make Egusi Soup | Nigerian Food | Egusi Stew
http://www.kolawoleajayi.co.uk. This video will show you how to make Nigeria Egusi Soup. This Nigeria food is mostly enjoyed with Eba , Pounded Yam or Amala. Making Egusi soup is a must watch video for any one willing to try oine of nigeria food recipe. http://www.kolawoleajayi.co.uk.
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