THE KITCHEN CORNER WITH SLEKMODUPE: OBE EFO ELEGUSI

This is my 5^th favorite Nigerian soup and as usually started swallowing this soup with pounded yam from a very young age, as mumsy cooks it for the whole family. Every house I went to while growing up always had the aroma of the delicious Egusi soup and its one of the most important soup loved by West Africa. For Nigerians, Yoruba, Igbo, Delta and other tribes of Nigeria, it’s a very common soup made from seed grounded melon “egusi” and cooking differs and different methods.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE OBE EFO ELEGUSI

Meat - 7 pieces.

Smoked fish -1 moderate size.

Stockfish head-1 moderate

Shoko leaves - a whole bunch 1

Fresh grounded tomatoes - like large 4 sizes.

Fresh grounded pepper - 4 large sizes

Egusi grounded - 2 cups

Onion grounded - a large one

Tatashe grounded - 4 large sizes

Iru - 1 small wrap.

Any cube of your choice - like 4 cubes.

Salt - for a tasty meal

Water - 2 liters

HOWTO PREPARE OBE EFO ELEGUSI

·        Wash and season the meat with the stockfish head with, onion any cube of your choice, pepper and salt and then steam for a while till the juice dries up.

·        Pour two (2) cups of water and continue cooking for another 20 minutes.

·        Then you pick and wash the shoko leaves and then cut it and blanch slightly then set aside.

·        Then wash the fish and De-bone it.

·        After the fish, heat the palm oil, then add grounded fresh tomatoes, onion pepper and tatashe.

·        It is to be fried for about 10 minutes.

·        Then add the smoked, stockfish, beef, iru and the stock.

·        Then let it be cooked for about 5 minutes.

·        Then grounded egusi to be added.

·        Do not stir for about 10 minutes and make sure it’s covered.

·        Put water and continue boiling for about 10 minutes.

·        Add any cube of your choice and stir.

·        Simmer for about 2 minutes and add salt to taste.

·        The shoko leaves to be added and allowed to simmer for another few minutes.

·        It is to be removed from the gas or whatever you are using and served with either fufu, eba and pounded yam.

      

      Till next time, enjoy the meal.