Egusi Soup
Egusi soup is a Nigerian soup thickened with ground melon seeds, known as ofe egusi in Igbo and miyan gushi in Hausa. The seeds give it a rich, nutty body that carries palm oil, crayfish, locust beans and leafy greens. Cooks choose between a frying and a boiling method depending on tribe and habit. Serve it with pounded yam, eba, amala or fufu, and use the swallow to scoop up the thick soup.
Instructions
Wash the meat, stockfish and ponmo well. Season them with granulated pepper, onions, salt and seasoning, cover the pot and simmer for about 25 minutes to make a flavorful stock and cooked meat.
Blend the egusi powder with the seasoning, salt, fresh pepper, tomato and part of the onion until you have a thick paste.
Heat the palm oil in a pot, add the remaining sliced onion and fry for a few minutes. Mix the paste with a little warm water, add it to the onions and stir over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.
Add the locust beans, cooked meat, dried fish, crayfish and stockfish. If the soup looks too thick, loosen it with a little water or some of the stock from boiling the meat.
Let the soup cook on low to medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the sliced vegetables and cook on medium-low heat for another 10 minutes.
Taste, adjust the salt and serve hot. The source also gives a boiling method: add the palm oil, ponmo and dried fish to the boiled meat, stir in the paste and boil for 5 minutes, then add the crayfish, locust beans and vegetables and cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes before adjusting the salt.
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