Egusi-(melon seeds soup) - SOUP 1- "TOP 4 TRADITIONAL SOUPS"

It's the soup edition and i'm super excited, not just for me but for my non-Nigerian friends that pester me to teach them how to make our local soups. I have no history to share on soups and if you are that keen on our soup history, you can always hit that google button. This first soup is locally called Egusi soup which is translation for dried and crushed melon seeds soup. I don't particularly remember how I perfected this dish but i know my journey with Egusi started somewhere in Bournemouth.

As far as i know, there are over 10 ways to make Egusi so don't limit yourself to my methods because i can only teach you 2 out of those 10. One method makes the Egusi come out in clusters, while the other makes the Egusi come out soupy. My intention is not to bore you s lets get cooking.

AYSUGGEST'S you can have Egusi

With Eba

With Amala

With Wheatmeal

With With rice

With Boiled yam

With Pounded yam


INGRIDIENTS (serves 8)

2 Cups of blended egusi

5 handfuls of chopped spinach

2 whisked eggs

1 cup of water

Quarter cup of palm oil

4 tomato’s, 9 red scotch bonnets, 3 big red sweet peppers, 1 large onion, 1cup of water(blend it together)

4 stock cubes

1 teaspoon of salt

2 table spoons of fermented melon seeds (iru)

20 dried prawn

5 teaspoons of periwinkle

Pre boiled meat and/or chicken (8 pieces each)

A wooden spatula for stirring



PROCESS

Get a clean bowl, pour in the dried Egusi, the whisked eggs, water and then mix them all together until the wet Egusi is lump free.

Place your palm oil in a pot and let it get really hot. Add your Egusi mix and stir continuously for about 1 minute (the Egusi will stick to the bottom of the pan because of the egg but that will change once we add our pepper). Let the Egusi fry for a further minute (don’t stir at this point as you want your Egusi to form little clusters) and then add the blended pepper. Mix the Egusi and the blended pepper together, carefully allowing your wooden spatula scrape the bottom of the pan. Cover the pot and let the mixture cook for 15 minutes. Take the lid of the pan and reduce the heat a little more, break your stock cubes in, add your salt, dried prawns, periwinkle, fermented lemon seeds, your pre boiled meats ; stir it all in and let the mixture cook for another 10 minutes. Stir your chopped spinach into the mix and leave it to cook for a further 3 minutes and then turn off the heat .Allow your Egusi to sit for about 15 minutes before you serve. Eat with any of the AYSUGGEST’S and thank me later

POUNDED YAM- YAM DISH 5-" 5 THINGS TO DO WITH YAM TUBERS"

Let me start by saying this dish is not easy to prepare. It requires strength, patience and most of all a hard-working spirit.

Considering the fact that i am none of the above, it surprises me that i can actually make this dish if i really put my mind to it. Growing up, pounded yam was considered one of the few luxurious meals around town, everybody would opt for pounded yam at parties and because it went so fast, we kids were rarely served pounded yam because culturally adults were always more worthy of this tasty dish than we were (kids were always served rice, like we don't eat enough rice at home..kmt.).

My mum tried to make pounded yam once in a while at home, but i think things finally got to her when she decided we were no longer worth the stress, and altogether stopped pounding yam. To be fair at some point she bought a pounding machine, but things were never the same. Her lack of sweat on  the meal was very evident, at least to me (yes i am very petty). Anyhoo lets get cooking.

AYSUGGEST'S you have pounded yam with
Egusi (spicy melon seed soup)
Ogbono ( err...dried african wild mango seeds)
Efo riro (spinach soup)


INGRIDIENTS
2 Yam (cut and peeled into thick chunks)
Pestle and mortar
3 table spoons of oil

PROCESS
Rinse the peeled yam under cold water and place in a pot. Fill up the pot with water until the yam is covered with water. Boil the yam for about 20 minutes until it is soft. Drain water completely from the yam and place chunks into the mortar and add the oil and pound until the mixture is smooth (this might take you longer than you anticipate). Once you are satisfied that your yam is lump free, serve with any of the AYSUGGEST'S or like i have done here with my Ugwu Egusi (see future post for recipe on soups)

WHITE YAM AND FISH SAUCE -YAM DISH 4- "5 THINGS TO DO WITH YAM TUBERS"

YAM DISH NUMBER 4: White yam and fish sauce

My  Yam and fish sauce dish is one of the major meals that gets me compliments.(both from home and from exes..yeah my ex boyfriends loved my cooking..maybe that's why they became boyfriends...who knows...but trust me, i was a serious attention seeker who reveled in how i had them licking plates and hands, after i was done destroying their palettes with my amazing dishes....well their word , not mine...hehehe..).

 This particular dish was one of my mums favorite and i grew up looking forward to Saturdays(that was the only day we had yam and fish stew).
The way she did it for us had my sisters and i scrapping burnt onions from the pot..i believe i might have even drank a bit of the fish oil left over (if you know Nigerians... you know we love to fry...and our oil is always seasoned enough to drink)...I cringe at the thought right now though..

Anyway....enough of my rant. Let me teach you how to make my own version of yam and fish sauce(a.k.a sardine stew as i call it)

INGRIDIENTS
Boiled yam ingredients
One whole yam tuber
3 table spoons of brown or white sugar
2teaspoons of salt
4 or 5 cups of water (based on how big the yam is)

Fish Sauce ingreidients
7 canned sardines in vegetable oil or 3 Deboned Boiled Titus fishes (clean fish, add 2 stock cubes, a dash of salt and a cup of water. Boil fish for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and break fish into tiny pieces, ensuring you get rid of all the bones)
1/4 cup of olive or vegetable oil.
3 stock cube
Quarter a teaspoon of salt
5 scotch bonnets , 3 tomatoes, 1 onion, 2 big red sweet peppers ( Blend all this with half a cup of water to give you a thick paste)
Some Diced onions ( maybe half a bulb)
Half a cup of crayfish (blended or whole)

PROCESS

YAM
To prepare the Yam, Slice the yam in rounds, and peel off the skin by cutting round the yam about half a centimeter deep, Once you have peeled everything, Further cut the rounds into 4 pieces each and rinse thoroughly under cold water.
Combine all the boiled yam ingredients, and boil for 20 minutes.
Test to see if the yam is boiled by putting a fork through some of the pieces. You want the yam to be very soft but not mushy. If you are satisfied by how soft it is, set aside. i prefer the yam to be left in the water, but if you prefer a firmer consistency, drain out the water from the yam and set aside.




FISH SAUCE
To prepare the fish sauce, start by heating oil in a pan for about 1 minute. Add the diced onions and allow that to fry for another minute. Throw in your blended pepper into the heated oil and then fry for bout 15 minutes. make sure you stir the fry up once in a while to ensure it is not burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan (decrease heat if you need to). Add your  crayfish ,stock cube and salt to the fried pepper and stir, then allow mixture to fry for a further 3 minutes before you add your deboned fish. Stir in the fish and allow mixture to cook for about 2 minutes more and then turn off the heat. Your Fish sauce is done.


Serve together.

SEASONED YAM CHIPS AND AY'S SCRAMBLED EGGS- YAM DISH 3- "5 THINGS TO DO WITH YAM TUBERS"

Yam chips has always been one of the best substitute for regular fries, not just because it is a very filling meal, but because the yam texture has more body which makes it more pleasing to the Palette. There is literally no introduction needed for Yam chips as it is another simple and straight forward meal that requires little or no thinking. Please refer to my previous post for my SCRAMBLED EGG RECIPE. One little tip, make this for that special someone and with their hearts light up, because where yam is involved, people tend to think there's a great deal of effort involved.

 INGRIDIENTS
One whole yam tuber (cut into rounds and sliced like chips)
1 table spoons of brown or white sugar
1 teaspoons of salt
4 or 5 cups of water (based on how big the yam is)
A deep fryer filled with vegetable oil (for frying the chips)









PROCESS
Cut chips like i have done above and soak in water with salt and sugar foe about one hour. Heat up the oil in the deep fryer at 170 degrees. Drain all the water from the yam and fry yam chips until it has a slightly brown color. Take out one chip and taste, it should be crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside. Once you are satisfied, repeat the process with the rest of the chips. Place fried yam on a kitchen towel to dry up excess oil and serve. You can serve with my AYSALSA or like i have done below with plantain and AY'S Scrambled eggs. Thank me later.