Egusi, or melon seeds, is a chief component in numerous West African dishes and makes a great thickening base for mists and stews. And start by resting the egusi into a thick paste, also add the meat and veggies and poach the haze until the meat gets tender. And there are numerous variations of egusi haze out there, so feel free to tweak the vegetables or the kind of meat you use to suit your particular tastes.
The Procedure to Prepare the Egusi SouP
The Ingredients:
- The 1.5 cups (350 ml) of water
- The ‘1 pound (450 g) of fresh vegetable, washed and chopped.
- The 3/4 cup (54 g) of egusi or melon seeds.
- 2 cups of Maggi
- The 1.5 pounds (680 g) of cubed beef stew meat
- The 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) of red oil
- The 1 small onion, chopped
- The fresh peppers, seeded and minced.
- Half cup of Crayfish and other local seasoning of your choice
(A) The Making of the Egusi Paste
>> Just measure out ¾ cup (54 g) of egusi or pumpkin seeds.
And in traditional Nigerian cookery, melon seeds called egusi are used as the base for this soup. And however, you can fluently use pumpkin seeds as a cover, If you ’re unfit to find egusi in your area. And egusi is used as a thickening agent for soups and stews.
>> Then blend the seeds on HIGH for 30-40 seconds.
Place the measured seeds into your blender and put the lid on tightly. Blend the seeds on HIGH until they ’re reduced to a fine paste.
>> Then add a little quantity of water until the mixture becomes a thick paste.
Melon seeds are naturally unctuous, so if your paste formerly looks veritably thick after blending, you don’t need to add more water. And however, add a little water and stir it in order to produce a thick, paste-like thickness, If your admixture looks a bit dry.
(B) The Cooking of the Beef
>> Then cut 1.5 pounds 680g of beef stew into 1 inch 2.5cm cells.
Give the meat a quick wash with water. And also, place the irrigated meat on a slice board, stroke it dry with paper and use a sharp cutter to cut it into 1 inch that’s 2.5 cm salt and other seasoning to cook. And you can make your cells slightly larger or lower, depending on your preference. And also try to make the cells roughly suck size.
>> Then season the beef with salt, maggi, place the meat on fire and steam.
Sprinkle regular table salt or over the beef cells. And you can use as important or as little salt as you like, depending on your flavor preferences and cook the meat very well.
>> Then add red oil to the pot of meat and cook for some minutes
Put the cooking oil in the boiling and cook the beef for a long time. And after, stir the meat sometimes so that all sides get browned unevenly. And you don’t need to cook the beef all the way through at this point.
(C). The Preparing and Serving the Soup
>> Then blend the onions, crayfish and pepper in a blender.
Wash up 1 small onion and place it in a blender, and add fresh pepper, crayfish and blend it. Then blend them together for about 30 seconds until the mixture looks invariant and smooth. And you can use a food processor rather than a blender if you prefer.
>> Again, add the mixture to the meat.
Remove the lid from the blender and precisely transfer the mixture to the large pot with the beef, cook and stir the constituents together until they are completely incorporated.
>> Then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 40-50 minutes.
Then as it is cooking, turn the heat down. And stir the mixture until the beef is tender together with the mixture which should take you about 20 minutes. Then taste the sauce first to know how it is, it’s from this juncture that you will know whether the sauce needs more spices be it maggi, salt, pepper etc.
>> Then add egusi paste and cook for 7-10 minutes and add your desired veggies
Then add your egusi paste you prepared, cover it and allow it to seemer for about 10minutes. Then prepare 1 pound (450g) of fresh vegetables and wash it up completely. Then, dice the vegetables, add them to the pot and stir the mixture. And again, cover the pot and cook the soup until the vegetable has wilted fully.
>> The Serving of the egusi soup
Open the pot and stir the soup over. Just stir and taste the soup at the same time, to check if the soup lacks any spices… If not, your egusi/melon soup is ready to serve, with your eba or fufu.
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