EGUSI AND EBA

THE AUTHENTIC PAN AFRICAN FOOD

THE FOOD

Egusi soup and eba is the most popular Nigeria food.It comes with different recipes across the different Nigeria ethnic groups. The Yorubas make efo egusi while the Igbos make ofe egusi, all with similar ingredient but with slightly different approaches. This is a comprehensive recipe for the best kind egusi soup with lump. The kind you only get to eat when you visit a 5 star hotel or restaurant.

PREPARATION PROCESS 

There are several ways to prepare egusi soup. There is the caking method, the frying method, the boiling method and series of other methods. For the purposes of this article, I will use the frying method because people find it difficult using the frying method. A complete ingredients may include 2kg of meat, 4 cups of grounded  egusi, roasted or smoke fish (about two medium sizes), a cup of ground crayfish, 2 cups of washed bitter leaves, 2 seasoning cubes, 300ml of palm oil, about 2 liters of water,salt to taste, pepper to taste , Stock fish head and dawa dawa.

Set a cooking pot on fire and allow drying, add the palm oil and allow it to heat for 2 minutes but don’t let it bleach, dissolve the egusi seeds in a cup of water and add to the heated oil fry the dissolved its seeds in Palm oil for  8_10 minutes while it is stirred up to prevent it from burning.

Once the egusi is fried add 6 cups of water, the cooked meat stir add the roasted fish, stock fish, add the crayfish, a seasoning cube and pepper then cover and allow to boil for about ten minutes. Add the already washed bitter leaves one spoon of ground dawadaw, taste for salt and pepper, allow to boil for another ten minutes. Egusi soup and Eba is always served hot.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF EGUSI SOUP

Egusi does not just benefit your stomach, it is a healthy meal rich in iron, calcium, vitamin, and B, sodium, potassium, protein, and carbohydrate and low in fat , cholesterol, fiber, saturated far and sugar.

CHALLENGES OF THE FOOD

Egusi soup is one of the most delicious soups in Nigeria and Ghana, the soup seems more easy to prepare but I tell you that it is very technical, a slight mistake could go long way in altering the taste of the soup as well as the general outcome which could eventually cause one not to enjoy the meal ,hence extra care is needed.

CONCLUSION

From the above recipe, in preparing egusi soup and eba one can say this is sumptuous meal that should be patronize by all and not only Nigerians  because of it richness in nutritional benefit aside the difficulty in preparation.

Written by: Agorogo Joy Mawuena DCS 20660