Egusi soup is one of those Nigerian soups that doesn't belong to just one tribe. However, I've noticed that it can be cooked in a lot of ways and this can differ based on the person cooking it or how a tribe cooks it. The choice of protein to accompany it with is endless, from seafood egusi to goat meat  egusi (best one) to plain ol' chicken (I'm sorry chicken). Also, the choice of green vegetable is based on preference and also optional especially for Egusi Ijebu (Hello my Ijebu family). Due to my current location, I can only get spinach and but I prefer to use Ugwu. Today I will be pairing mine with chicken and gizzard, let's get cooking.

Ingredients

Meat of choice (boiled,fried or grilled)
180g Egusi (grounded)
2 Onions
2 Bell Peppers
2 Tomatoes
3 Scotch Bonnets (you can adjust this according to your taste bud)
4Tbsp Palm Oil
3Tbsp Cray Fish (grounded)
350g (frozen) Spinach
450ml Stock and extra 3tbsp
1 Bullion Cube (Maggi)
1/4 tsp Salt


(NB: My recipes are measured so you can achieve a tasty dish because knowing how to cook depends on how you season/spice your dish alongside the steps. For this recipe, I didn't need the maggi
and salt because my stock was well seasoned)



Video

• Blend the bell peppers, tomatoes, one onion and scotch bonnet. It doesn't have to be smooth. 

• Pour into a pot and let it reduce. This will give the pepper a rich taste.

• Heat up the palm oil in a pot and chop the remaining onion.

• Add your chopped onions and crayfish into the hot palm oil. Stir for 1 minute. 

• Add the boiled pepper and let it fry for 4 minutes

• Add the stock, cover the pot and bring to a boil.

• In a bowl, pour the egusi, add a pinch of salt, one maggi cube and any spice as you wish. Put the 3tbsp stock and combine to form a paste. If the consistency is not right, adjust by adding more egusi to thicken or more stock to thin it.

• To the boiled sauce, form egusi balls and drop them in. Cover and let the egusi cook for 10-15minutes.

• At this point you can taste and adjust as you like. Add the meat, stir and cover for 5 minutes

• Add the greens, stir and don't cover the pot (You don't want to overcook the vegetable). Leave it on low heat for 3minutes, afterwards, stir and taaadaa, party egusi is ready.

• Serve with staple of choice or rice as you please. 

Egusi Soup