Nigerian Egusi Soup Recipe

The Nigerian Egusi soup, prepared with melon seeds, is prepared by most tribes in Nigeria in many different ways. It is known as Miyan Gushi in Hausa, Ofe Egusi in Igbo and Efo Elegusi in Yoruba.

Egusi soup is also one of the most popular soups, if not the most popular for all Nigerians and non-Nigerians that like Nigerian fufu recipes.

The recipe detailed on this page is what I call the Caking Method of cooking Egusi Soup (the Egusi Before Oil method).

Other methods are:

• Fried Egusi Soup: where the Egusi is fried in palm oil before other ingredients are added. I also call this one the Oil Before Egusi Method.

• Akpuruakpu Egusi: where the ground egusi is molded into balls and cooked in the soup such that you will be eating the egusi balls like meat while enjoying the meal. The surrounding egusi in the soup is prepared using the caking method. Go check it out.

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 (traditional locust bean seasoning: optional)

Important cooking equipment

Spice grinder for grinding egusi (melon) seeds: Krups Twin Blade Grinder

Before you cook Egusi Soup (Caking Method)

Before preparing the soup, soak the dry fish for about half an hour. If you are using the very tough stockfish, boil it for 20 minutes and leave in the pot with the hot water to soak for about an hour. If using the softer stockfish, you can just soak them in cool water till you can break them apart with your hands.

When the fish and stockfish are soft, debone and break them into sizeable chunks.

Much closer to your cooking time, grind the egusi with a dry mill. Grind the crayfish and the dry pepper separately and set aside. Wash the vegetable to be used. Cut into tiny pieces.

Boil the shaki, stock fish and dry fish in 1 litre of water with the stock cubes till they are well done. First sign of a done shaki is that the cuts will start curling on itself.

Wash the beef to be used for the soup, add it to the pot and cook on medium heat till done.

Cooking Directions:

Caking Method 

This method produces a healthier egusi soup as there is no frying involved. It requires less oil too.

In this method, as soon as the shaki, fish and meat are done, remove them from the stock (water used in cooking the meat and fish) and place in a different pot or plate.

Add the ground egusi to the stock and stir. If the stock from cooking your meat and fish is not enough to give you a medium consistency, add some water to get the consistency of evaporated milk or a bit thicker. It will not be as smooth as evaporated milk though.

Cover and cook till the egusi cakes. Stir and add a little bit more water. watch it closely so that it does not burn.

Repeat step 3, adding only a small quantity of water at a time. After about 25 minutes, you will notice the clear egusi oil coming to the surface of the soup.

Add the red palm oil and bitter leaves (if it is your choice of vegetable), pepper and salt to taste and cook for about 7 minutes. You know it is good to continue when the palm oil and egusi forms a good blend of light yellow colour.

Add the cooked meat and fish. If using pumpkin leaves or any other soft vegetable, add it at this time and stir the soup.

Add salt to your taste, stir and leave to simmer for 2 minutes maximum.Turn off the heat. Leave to stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

The egusi soup is ready to be served with Garri (Eba), Semolina Fufu, Amala, Cassava Fufu or Pounded Yam.

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Nigerian Moi Moi Recipe

Moi Moi (also Moin Moin) is a great dish accessory in Nigeria. It is commonly seen accompanying Jollof Rice, Fried Rice, Fried Plantain, Custard, Akamu (Pap, Ogi) etc. It can even be eaten alone as a snack with a chilled soft drink to wash it down.

Due to its popularity, Moi Moi is often served at parties, dinners and other special occasions.

Ingredients

I usually cook Moi Moi in a large quantity and store in my freezer so the following quantities of ingredients make 12 aluminium bags of Moi Moi. Each bag weighs 420g.

• 3 cigar cups or 750g Beans (Brown/Black eyed)
• 5 tablespoons ground crayfish
• 4 big stock cubes
• 1 habanero pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 3 tatashe peppers or 800g watery tomato puree (sold outside Nigeria)
• 2 big onions 20cl vegetable oil
• 2 litres of cool or warm water Salt (to taste)
• Moi Moi Accessories

Add any of the following to the Moi Moi

Hard boiled eggs: Cut the eggs into small pieces.
Bone Marrow: Cook the bone marrow with spices and herbs till done then add to the Moi Moi at the mixing stage.

Corned beef: separate into small chunks and add to the moi moi during mixing. You can also add to the moi moi after dishing then into cooking bowls or foil bags.

Moi Moi Containers

Aluminium foil or
Plastic Bowls or
Uma Leaves (Thaumatococcus Daniellii)
Jacket Moi Moi

Tools I used

Cooker
Deep Pot
Spatula
Chopping board
Blender
Knives

Notes about the ingredients

The tomato puree gives the Moi Moi its classic peachy colour. If you are in Nigeria, the best ingredient to use is tatashe pepper. I do not like the taste of red bell peppers in my Moi Moi hence I do not recommend it but you can try it and see if you like it.

Nutmeg gives the Moi Moi its classic taste. If you've ever eaten Nigerian Moi Moi at a party and wondered why it tastes better than the ones you make, it is probably because you do not add nutmeg to your Moi Moi.

2 litres of water is the exact quantity of water that gives me the perfect texture of Moi Moi that I and my family love. Please note that this qauntity includes the water used in blending the beans. If using bone marrow, the quantity of stock should be part of the 2 litres of liquid you will use in mixing the Moi Moi. If after using this quantity and you are not happy with the texture, adjust the quantity of water accordingly. It is best to use cool or warm water when mixing Moi Moi. You do not want to use hot water for this purpose as it may cause the mix to be lumpy.

Using the right amount of oil in your Moi Moi ensures that it has a good texture and rolls off the tongue when you eat it but feel free to use any amount of oil you want. And it is advisable to use tastless and odourless oils in your Moi Moi so that rules out olive oil.

Before you cook Moi Moi

About three hours before cooking the moi moi, soak and wash the beans to remove the coat. When the entire coat has been removed, place the beans in a bowl and pour enough water to cover it. Leave to soak for three hours. This is so that the best consistency will be achieved when you blend the beans.

It is advisable to use one of eggs, bone marrow or corned beef, not the three at the same time. If you will use eggs, cook till hard boiled, cut into small pieces and set aside. If you prefer bone marrow, cook it with salt and Maggi / Knorr cubes and set aside the stock. If it is corned beef you will go for, open the can and separate the beef into small lumps. Now go ahead and prepare the moi moi containers.

Next ...Wash the tatashe pepper (if using it). Ensure you remove the tatashe seeds as they have a tendency to give meals a bitter taste.Cut the onions into pieces, grind the crayfish with a dry mill. If using the heavy duty grinder in Nigerian markets, these won't be necessary.

Crush the stock cubes and set aside. Wash the habanero/scotch bonnet peppers and set aside.

Now that the beans is soaked (the bean seed is tender when you pinch it), it is time to blend it. It is very important that you use a very good blender for this purpose. The taste and feel of your Moi Moi depends so much on the consistency of the blend. If in doubt, put a small quantity of bean seeds in your home blender and grind to the best of its ability using as small quantity of water as possible. Feel the resulting paste with your fingers and if you notice any tiny pieces at all, then the blender is not good for Moi Moi. At this time, you may consider using the commercial heavy duty mills at your local market if you are in Nigeria. Yes, you have your health and hygiene concerns but most of the mill operators actually keep their mills clean. And they let you bring your own water and containers. So there you go!

Cooking Directions

Blend the beans, tatashe or tomato puree, onions, crayfish, habanero pepper and ground nutmeg together with some of the water and pour the mix into a big enough bowl. Add the vegetable oil and the bone marrow stock (if this is what you have chosen to add to your moi moi). Slowly add the remaining water and stir the mixture at the same time till you get a good mix of all the ingredients. Add salt to taste and stir very well.

Note: Moi Moi is one of the Nigerian food recipes that is prepared cold. All the mixing and adding of ingredients is done off the stove. That is to say, once you start cooking, there is no going back! You cannot decide to add more salt or seasoning or a new ingredient later. So getting it right at the mixing stage is very important.

Pad the base of a big pot, pour some water and set on the stove. The depth of the water should be at most 1 inch. Dish the Moi moi mix into containers of your choice, add egg/bone marrow/corned beef to each container, seal/cover and set them in the pot. Add as small quantity of water as possible at a time while cooking the Moi Moi as detailed in preparation and use of moi moi containers so that the moi moi will not become watery when done. This is the case especially when using aluminium foil or uma leaves. The length of time you will cook your Moi Moi depends on the quantity and the Moi Moi container you used.

The Moi Moi that gets done quickest is the one wrapped in Uma or Banana leaves, followed by Moi Moi wrapped in aluminum foils then the one that takes the most time is Moi Moi cooked in aluminium or plastic plates.

But whatever Moi Moi container you use, it is advisable to cook your Moi Moi for at least 1 hour, before checking it. Confirm that it is done by putting a knife through it, if the knife is stained with Moi Moi paste, then the Moi Moi is not done, but if the knife just has a slight smear of Moi Moi, then it's done. Also, when you cut through the Moi Moi, the insides will be set and not watery.

If you are cooking a few wraps of Moi Moi in a small pot on high heat, then it will only take about 45 minutes to get done while when you are cooking a large pot of Moi Moi, it will definitely take more than one hour. Serve with chilled fruit juice or coconut juice. Serve as a side dish to Jollof Rice, Fried Rice or Fried Plantains. For breakfast, serve with Custard or Akamu (Pap, Ogi).

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Nigerian Breadfruit Porridge (Ukwa) Recipe

Nigerian breadfruit is in a food class of its own. I was not sure where to put it but finally settled for beans section because breadfruit seeds are most similar to beans. It is known as Ukwa in Igbo and the scientific name is Treculia africana.

Ukwa is such a versatile food with a natural delicious flavour. It can be cooked plain without any ingredient, not even salt and it will taste great especially when prepared with fresh Ukwa. It can be roasted and eaten with coconut or palm kernel. It can also be prepared as a porridge which is what this page is about.

Ingredients

• 700g Nigerian/African Breadfruit
• 2 medium dry fish
• 2 small stock cubes
• 7g edible potash Palm oil (enough to colour)
• 5-6 fresh bitter leaves Pepper & Salt (to taste)

Common additions to Breadfruit Porridge:

White Puna yam Corn/Maize, you can also use sweet corn

Notes about the ingredients

Freshly peeled ukwa or dried ukwa can be used for this recipe.

You can use stock fish instead of dry fish or both.

By fresh bitter leaves I mean bitter leaves that have NOT been washed and squeezed.

Always add enough palm oil to make your Nigerian meals look appetizing.

Edible potash acts as food tenderizer. Only a very small quantity should be used. If you are lucky to buy freshly dehusked ukwa seeds from the same tree, you will not need to use the food tenderiser. I do not know any alternative to edible potash.

Before you cook the Ukwa

If using dry ukwa, soak it overnight in plenty of cold water. If using fresh ukwa, skip this step.

The next day, soak, debone and wash the dry fish or stock fish and break into pieces.Wash the ukwa thoroughly in cold water. Stones and sand usually settle at the bottom so watch out for those.

Pound the pepper.

Rinse the bitter leaves and set aside.

Cooking Directions

1. Put the thoroughly washed ukwa in a sizeable pot. I used a pressure pot in the video below because it cooks the ukwa much faster.

2. Pour enough water to cover the ukwa. The level of water should be about 1 inch above the level of the ukwa.

3. Add the edible potash.

4. Add the dry fish or stock fish, cover the pot and cook till well done.

5. The ukwa is done when the seeds melt when pressed. You may need to top up the water while cooking so watch it closely. If using a pressure pot, top ups will not be necessary.

6. Add enough palm oil to the well done ukwa, add pepper, stock cubes and salt to taste.

7. Stir. Cover and cook on medium heat till the palm oil changes colour from red to yellow. This should take about 5 minutes.

8. Stir and add the bitter leaves. Cover and leave to simmer or till the leaves wilt but still green and the ukwa is ready to be served.

Cooking Ukwa with a Pressure Pot

If you have a pressure pot, ukwa is one of the Nigerian recipes that you should use it for because it cuts the cooking time by a lot.

For pressure pots, follow the directions above up till Step 2.Then for step 3, add edible potash, dry fish or stock fish, pepper, salt to taste, stock cubes and palm oil.

Cover, pressurize and cook for 30 minutes. I set the pressure on my pot to 1 and my cooker to heat 7 (my burner's heat settings range from 1-9).

After 30 minutes with the above settings, the ukwa should be well done. Depressurize the pot under running water and add the bitter leaves.

Cover and cook till the vegetables wilt but are still green. There is no need to pressurize the pot during this step.

Stir and it's done!

Note: Breadfruit Porridge gets thicker as it cools down so ensure you have enough porridge in the meal when done.

Serve with chilled palm wine, palmy. Awww! Or any other chilled drink.

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Nigerian Chin Chin Recipe

Chin Chin is a crunchy deep-fried snack that originated from Nigeria. It is an ideal light refreshment for you and your guests. The Nigerian Chin Chin can last for weeks if stored in an airtight container.

With no baking involved in this recipe, Chin Chin is one of the easiest Nigerian snacks to make.

To make some Nigerian Chin Chin, you will need the following ingredients.

Ingredients for Soft Chin Chin

• 1kg plain flour (all purpose flour)
• 150ml evaporated milk / 150g powdered milk
• 275g granulated sugar
• 250g margarine
• 2 medium nutmegs | 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• Tasteless and odourless vegetable oil (for frying)

If you want the Chin Chin really crunchy, use the following quantities of ingredients

• 1kg plain flour (all purpose flour)
• 75ml evaporated milk / 75g powdered milk
• 200g granulated sugar
• 125g margarine
• 2 medium nutmegs | 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• Vegetable Oil (tasteless and odourless)

Directions

Mix the milk and sugar in a bowl and leave to soak.

Note: If you are using powdered milk, mix the milk and sugar.

Then add 150 ml of water for soft chin chin (75 ml of water for crunchy chin chin), mix and leave to soak.

One way to get the sugar to dissolve fast is to grind it in a dry mill before mixing it with other ingredients.

In a separate bowl, mix the ground nutmeg and flour, then rub the margarine into the flour till it has mixed well with the flour, leaving no lumps.

Add the sugar/milk mixture to the margarine/flour mixture and mix by hand till a smooth dough is achieved.

Place the dough on a flat surface and start kneading gently with a dough roller.

When the dough is flat, cut into desired sizes.

Deep-fry in hot vegetable oil.

While frying, continuously stir the chin chin till you get a golden brown color.

Scoop the fried pieces onto a flat tray to dry and cool down quickly.

When the chin chin had cooled down completely, store in a dry, airtight container. Serve with a chilled drink.

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Nigerian Coconut Candy Recipe

There are many snacks/desserts referred to as coconut candy but the sweet chewy Coconut Candy discussed here is the one we make in Nigeria. Though some work goes to grating the fresh coconut meat into tiny pieces, the snack itself is very simple to make.

Ingredients

• 1 head fresh coconut with the juice

• 200g icing sugar (powdered sugar) Water

Before you make the Nigerian Coconut Candy

• Break the coconut, making sure to collect the coconut juice from it.

• Remove the meat from the shells and grate the meat into small pieces. I use the smaller openings on this grater for this task.

• Make sure to grate along the meat of the coconut rather than across it. This is so that you'll have long thin coconut pieces rather than a mass of grated coconut.

Directions

• Pour the coconut juice into the pot.
• Add the icing sugar (powdered sugar). Stir.
• Add the tiny coconut pieces and stir.
• Add water to the same level as the coconut pieces.
• Cover the pot and set to boil at high heat.
• Once the contents start boiling, stir continuously till all the water is just about evaporated.
• Reduce to low heat and continue stirring.
• At a time, you will notice that the contents have started sticking together. That is the sugar caramelising.
• Keep stirring till the coconut pieces start turning slightly brown.
• Turn off the heat and scoop the very hot coconut candy onto a flat plate and leave to cool down.

Notes:

The coconut candy should be sticky when cold. It should not be dry.

You can store it in the freezer for up to a month.

This is supposed to be a very sweet snack that is why all that sugar is used in the preparation but feel free to reduce the quantity of sugar.

The caramel from the sugar can be tough to wash off the pot when it has cooled down. The best way to wash this off very hot water as soon as you are done with making the snack.

Once cold, you can serve as dessert or eat it as a snack.

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