Banga Stew

Banga soup (stew) has over the years topped the list of Nigerian stew recipes due to its uniqueness and blend of natural ingredients.

I learned that it is more advisable to make stew with palm oil than groundnut/vegetable oil.
This is entirely different from the Deltan version that is served with starch or eba. If that is what you are looking to make, here is the recipe – Delta Banga Soup
The Banga soup (ofe akwu) is very easy to make and very popular in the eastern part of Nigeria, almost every ingredient used in Making this stew could be gotten from the farm, that is why it is a little bit easier for folks in the rural areas while it remains difficult for people outside the country to find all the ingredients that are required.
This is another kind of Nigerian stew popularly eaten by the Igbos and some other parts of Nigeria; I would prefer this stew above Nigerian tomato stew any day. This is a delicious plate rice, served with banga stew (soup) plus a sprinkle of peas. (the peas was boiled for 3 minutes on low heat)

 

Here is a list of ingredients used in making Nigerian Banga soup (stew) ‘ofe akwu’, (as the Igbos like to call it). Most of these ingredients can be purchased from any Nigerian market or African shops in case you live outside Nigeria.
Ingredients: | Serving : 6×2 Persons
Banga (palm fruit) (9-10 cups)
2KG of Meat (I used goat meat while making the video below, you can use chicken, turkey or a combination of two)
1 sachet of ‘Onga soup’ spice
A cup of Sliced onions
2 cups of sliced fluted pumpkin(optional)
2 cubes of maggi
A cup of sliced Scent leave
Dried fish (500g)
Half cup of ground Crayfish
Fresh or dried pepper to taste
Salt to taste

“Onga soup” is a special kind of spice that I use in making Nigerian banga soup and few other Nigerian foods, You will find this in the video below. Onga is made by promasidora (Nigeria) LTD, I think the company is located in Switzerland.
Like I always say; there are lots of spices and flavors used in making Nigerian foods, most of which are also franchised in almost every country of the worlds. Take knorr cube for instance, this ingredient is available in almost every country of the world in different forms and shapes, knorr or maggi is used in almost every known Nigeria food recipe.
The good thing is that you can use almost any spice for Nigerian foods although there are just a few that are irreplaceable.
Below is the image of pounded palm fruit with a portion of the squeezed-out thick juice in a plate and then by the right is sliced onions, scent leaves in a plate

Soak the dried fish in hot water and wash thoroughly to remove sand and dirt,
blend the crayfish or blend together with dry pepper if you are making banga stew with dried pepper, although I prefer to use red fresh peppers.
Chop the onion and set aside in a plate, I like to make most foods with lots of onions just because of its health benefits.

How To Make Banga Soup (Ofe Akwu).

Cook the palm fruits (banga fruits) for 30 to 50 minutes then pound with a mortar and pestle, you will see how this is done in the video below. Pour water in a bowl, add the pounded palm fruit and try to squeeze out the thick syrup. The palm fruit juice is a major part of banga soup this can also be used in making Nigerian soups (then you wouldn’t need palm oil).
Pour the squeezed-out thick juice into a bowl and set aside.
Wash the meat with hot water and parboil with a separate pot till it is tender (be sure to add the ingredients – use the 2 cubes of maggi, a teaspoon of salt, half cup of onions.), It is possible to make a delicious meal with tasteless meat, that is the only reason I advise you to use lots of ingredients while parboiling the meat. Then very little or none while making the main foods, just use the meat stock (water from the meat) and you will be fine.
Add the squeezed-out palm fruit juice to the boiling meat on fire.
Add the (dried fish and crayfish) to the cooking pot and cook for about 10 minutes
Add your spices if it is not yet as tasteful as required. (Sachet of “onga soup” and/or a cube of maggi, knorr or royco). Stir and add the scent leave (chopped), sliced onions, salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and cook for another minute then add the chopped vegetables (optional), allow to simmer for another 3 minutes and you just made a delicious Nigerian banga stew (ofe akwu)
Serve with rice, yam or cooked beans
That is how to make banga soup (stew) in Nigeria, the Igbos call it “ofe akwu”.

How to Make Banga

Delta banga soup is best served with starch or eba.
This is unlike the other banga stew that is native to the Igbos and popularly served with white boiled rice or yam.

This Banga soup is indigenous to the Deltans but also loved and enjoyed by both People from Edo state and all of the Niger Delta. If you are looking to make the Igbo version please click – Igbo Banga Stew.
This is not banga stew but they are both made with similar ingredients. Banga stew is native to the Igbos and usually served with boiled white rice. While banga soup (as in this case) goes with starch, eba or fufu.

The two are prepared the exact same way; the difference is just the spices. This recipe will, in the next few minutes shows you exactly how to make banga soup like an itsekiri woman.
You can use any combination of meat for this soup or just use plain red meat; I used a combination of cow head, foot and red meat.
Ingredients | Serving: 12 Persons.

• Meat (1kg)
• Crayfish (half cup)
• Fresh prawn [oporo](one cup)
• Fresh Palm Fruits (Banga) (8 cups)
• Medium sized dry fish / smoked fish (1)
• Red scotch bonnet pepper “Ata rodo” (8)
• Ataiko (1 tbsp)
• Irugege (1 teaspoon)
• Oburunbebe Stick (Banga stick) (1)
• Dried Beletientien leaves (half cup) or
• Thinly sliced bitter leaves (half cup)
• 3 cubes of knorr
• Periwinkles (1)
• Salt to taste.

 These are banga seeds (Mpuru akwu) they are the major ingredients for making this soup. Akwu is very abundant in Nigerian.

 These are pictures of some of the ingredients for this Itsekiri soup. All of these spices and ingredients can be purchased from any Nigerian local market. For the spices and banga stick, ask those women that sell traditional roots and herbs like zobo leaves and dogoyaro.

You should use crushed dried beletientien leaves, also called atama leaf in Efik or thinly sliced bitter leaves.
Start by grinding the spices. Add them all together (ataiko, Irugege and a cup of crayfish), blend to powder. Blend the pepper also. Wash the dried or smoked fish and remove center bones.
wsh and precook the prawn, use half cup of water, a cube of maggi and a pinch of salt.
I used already precooked meats. If your meat is not precooked yet, do that now. Wash properly and use two cubes of knorr and a pinch of salt. Cook the meat until it becomes soft, easy to chew and the water is almost dried. Add salt to taste and allow another three minutes. Set aside.

 Boil the palm fruit for 20 minutes, pound with a mortar and pestle, transfer into a bowl, add water and extract the juice. You will need about 7-10 cups of that palm fruit juice for this cooking. It should be thick.

Use a sieve to strain the extract into your cooking pot, allow to boil for 15 minutes with the pot half-covered. It should be a lot thicker now.
Add the cleaned dried fish, ground (crayfish, ataiko plus irugege), oburunbebe stick, precooked meat, ground pepper and salt to taste. Cover and allow another 10 minutes.

 Add the crushed dried beletientien leaves or thinly sliced bitter leaves, precooked prawn, periwinkles and one cube of knorr. Stir, cover and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. This is how to make the popular banga soup that is loved and made by the Deltans

Serve with starch, eba or fufu.
This is Delta state native soup.

How to cook Banga Soup (Ofe Akwu)

Nigerian Banga Soup or Ofe Akwu is native to the Niger Delta and the South Eastern parts of Nigeria. In the Niger Delta areas, Banga soup is commonly eaten with various fufu recipes: Starch, Pounded Yam, Semolina, Garri and Cassava Fufu. In the South Eastern parts of Nigeria, Banga Soup is referred to as Ofe Akwu where Ofe means Soup / Stew and Akwu means palm fruit and is used mainly as stew for Boiled White Rice.

The palm fruit oil extract used in cooking Banga Soup / Stew is quite different from the red palm oil used in cooking Nigerian food recipes. Palm Oil is pure oil extracted from the palm fruit pulp at high temperatures while the palm fruit oil extract used for the Banga Soup is extracted at a very low temperature and is a mixture of oil and water. Palm fruit oil extracted for Banga Soup contains less saturated fat than palm oils.

Ingredients for Banga Soup

• 1 kg Palm Fruits or 800g tinned Palm Fruit Concentrate
• Beef
• Dry Fish
• Vegetable: Scent Leaves for Ofe Akwu or dried and crushed bitterleaves for Delta-style Banga Soup
• 2 medium onions
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
• Salt and Chilli Pepper (to taste)
• Ogiri Okpei (Iru)
• 1-2 big stock cubes

Before you cook the Nigerian Banga Soup

1. Extract the palm fruit concentrate from the palm fruits. If using the tinned palm fruit concentrate, open the tin and set aside.
2. Cook the beef and the dry fish with 1 bulb of diced onion and the stock cubes till done.
3. Wash and cut the scent leaves into tiny pieces. The scent leaves give the Banga Stew (Ofe Akwu) its unique aroma and taste. If you are outside Nigeria, this may be hard to find, so you can use pumpkin leaves or any other vegetable in place of scent leaves. If cooking Delta-style Banga Soup for starch, you should either cook this soup without vegetables or use dried and crushed bitter leaves.
4. Cut the remaining bulb of onion. Pound the crayfish, ogiri okpei and pepper in a mortar and set aside. You can also grind them with a dry mill.     

1. Cooking Directions

2. Set the pot of palm fruit extract on the stove and start cooking at high heat. Leave to boil till you notice come red oil at the surface of the Banga Stew. If you think that the Banga Soup is watery, cook till the soup has thickened to the consistency you like for your stews.
3. Now, add the beef, dry fish and stock, the onions, crayfish and pepper and leave to boil very well.
4. Add the scent leaves or other vegetable and salt to taste. Leave to simmer for about 2 mins. The Banga Soup is done. Serve with White Rice or use the Delta-style Banga Soup to eat Starch, Garri, Semolina, Amala or Pounded Yam.   

Cooking Directions for those using tinned palm fruit concentrate

1. When the beef and fish are well done, add the palm fruit concentrate and add water to get the consistency you like for your stews. Leave to boil very well.
2. Add the onions, crayfish, pepper and ogiri blend and let it boil very well.
3. Add the scent leaves or other vegetable and salt to taste. Leave to simmer for about 2 mins. The Banga Soup is done.

If you used bitter leaves to prepare it, serve with Nigerian fufu meals especially Starch. If you used scent leaves to prepare it, serve with boiled white rice.

Using Flour as Thickener in Nigerian Soups – Best Practices

When cooking Nigerian soups in which we use pastes as thickeners, we usually boil the cocoyam corms (for Bitterleaf Soup, Ora (Oha) Soup) or pieces of white puna yam (for Nsala (White) Soup), then pound them into a paste before adding to the pot of soup.


But what if you live in a place where you cannot buy cocoyam corms or tubers of puna yam? You live in a place where you only rely on flour when cooking Nigerian soups. What is the best flour to use as thickener in these soups? And how do we add it to the soups?

The best flour to use as thickener in all soups where we use cocoyam corms (Bitterleaf Soup and Ora Soup) is cocoyam flour. You can buy cocoyam flour in Nigerian markets and in African and South American food shops outside Nigeria. Sometimes, you may be lucky to buy them in Asian shops.

The best flour to use as thickener in soups where puna yam paste is used as thickener is yam flour, of course. Yam flour is abundant in all African food shops all over the world because it is used to prepare “pounded” yam.

Cocoyam adds its own taste to Bitterleaf Soup and Ora Soup the same way that yam adds a unique state to Nsala Soup but if you can’t find cocoyam or yam flour, the closest I have used is Quaker Oats Flour. The next best after that is potato flour. Please note that “the next best” as used here does not mean that your Bitterleaf, Nsala and Ora Soups will have the traditional taste when prepared with potato flour but it is manageable and better than not preparing these soups at all.

Best practices when preparing and using flour as thickener in Nigerian soups:

1. Turn the flour into paste.

If you add the flour directly into the soup in its powder form, the soup will become mushy and depending on how hot the soup is when the flour is added, lumps may form.

2. Do it over a stove.

The process of mixing the flour with water to form a paste should be done over a stove on low heat. This helps make the paste as elastic as possible. Thickeners for Nigerian soups should be soft and a tad sticky. If you simply mix the flour with warm or hot water in a bowl, what you will get is a mass of dough which may not dissolve naturally in the boiling pot of soup.

3. Do prepare only the quantity you will use in one go.

Yes, the first time you make the paste, you may not get the quantity exactly right. The best thing to do is to ensure you mix enough or more than you need then store the excess in the freezer. But you will find that this thickener does not store very well in the freezer, it loses its elasticity so much you will need to mix the frozen one with a new batch for it to regain its elasticity. With time and experience, you will master how to prepare the exact quantity you need for a particular quantity of soup.

4. Add the thickener in lumps.

Just like with all paste thickeners for Nigerian soups, this thickener should be added to the soup in small lumps. This is so the thickener has more surface area which makes it easier for it to dissolve in the soup.

5. Add all the thickener you need at the same time (in lumps).

As with all paste thickeners for Nigerian soups, all the thickener (derived from flour) you need to cook a pot of soup should be added to the boiling pot of soup at the same time. If you add some, cook for some time and add more, the lumps of thickener added later may not dissolve.

In the first video below, I cooked Ora Soup with cocoyam flour. Watch how I turned the cocoyam flour into paste before adding it to the pot of soup. In the second video, I cooked the soup with Quaker Oats. Enjoy!

What is your own best practice when using flour as thickener? Do you know any great alternatives to cocoyam flour and yam flour? Please share with us in the comments below.

 

Ogbono Soup: Easiest Recipe?

You may find the Ogbono Soup recipe detailed on this page easier than the other recipe where the ogbono is dissolved in palm oil before adding other ingredients. This recipe is best for when you want to prepare very light Ogbono Soup that kids and some adults love. I prefer light Ogbono Soup to conc. ones any day
Also check out the recipe of Ogbono Soup cooked with okra.
Your Ogbono Soup does not have the perfect elasticity when done? Check out: Ogbono Soup: Frequently Asked Questions.

Ingredients for Ogbono Soup

• 8 tablespoons ground Ogbono
• Meat
  • Cow Ribs
  • Shaki (cow tripe)
• Dry cat fish
• 3 cooking spoons red palm oil
• 2 handfuls crayfish
• 1 flat round ogiri okpei (Iru, Locust bean)
• Habanero pepper (ose oyibo, atarodo)
• 1 onion
• 2 big seasoning cubes
• Ugu (Nigerian pumpkin leaves): alternative spinach
• Salt (to your taste)

For grinding the ogbono seeds, you will need:

A spice/coffer grinder

Notes on the ingredients

1. With most Nigerian recipes, especially Nigerian soups recipes, we go freestyle when it comes to the quantities of ingredients. The quantities of all the ingredients listed above can be adjusted to your taste.
2. Feel free to add ponmo (Kpomo) and stockfish to your own Ogbono Soup. I used ribs because that part of beef is very tasty and makes Ogbono Soup more delicious. The quantities and varieties of meat and fish to add to your Nigerian soups is entirely up to you. The only meat we don't normally use for Nigerian soups is chicken. Goat meat, Beef, Lamb etc go well with Nigerian soups.
3. Add palm oil to your liking.
4. For vegetables, add the quantity you like. Some people do not even add vegetables to their Ogbono Soup and they love it that way. Watch the video below for more information. If you are in Nigeria, use Ugu (Nigerian Pumpkin leaves), outside Nigeria, use spinach (I prefer frozen spinach to leafy spinach for my Nigerian soups). Some people even add bitter leaves.
5. You can use cayenne pepper (fresh or dry) or Scotch bonnet peppers instead of habanero peppers.

Before you cook Ogbono Soup

1. Grind the Ogbono with a dry mill.
2. Soak the dry cat fish in some cool or lukewarm water. When soft, clean thoroughly and debone.
3. If using frozen spinach, cut it when it is not completely defrosted. It is easier that way. Then when completely defrosted, squeeze out the excess water.
4. If using Ugu, pick and cut into thin slices.
5. Grind the crayfish and ogiri okpei with a spice/coffee grinder.
6. Cut the onion into big chunks. I use chunks of onion when I want the taste of onion but not pieces of onion in what I am cooking.
7. Grind or pound the pepper.
8. Boil some water and set aside, you may need it.

Cooking Directions for Ogbono Soup

1. Cook the assorted meat with the seasoning cubes and onion. Remember to start cooking the toughest part of meat first (eg shaki), then add beef when almost done.
2. When the meat is done, turn off the heat, remove the chunks of onion then take out the meat from the beef stock.
3. Add the ground ogbono, spreading over the meat stock as you add. Then stir very well with a slotted spoon to ensure that they mix with the beef stock without lumps.
4. When happy, cover the pot, turn on the heat to very low and start cooking. Yes, you can cover the pot while cooking Ogbono Soup and the elasticity will not be affected. There are a few reasons why your Ogbono Soup does not have the perfect elasticity but covering the pot is not one of those reasons. See below.
5. Stir the soup very often as you cook so it does not burn.
6. After 15 minutes, add the crayfish and ogiri okpei blend, habanero pepper, deboned dry cat fish, salt and palm oil in no particular order and continue cooking. Remember to stir often.
7. After 5 minutes (a total of 20 minutes of cooking), add the remaining ingredients: the boiled meats we took out earlier and leafy vegetables. You can add more salt if necessary. For vegetables, I add, stir, add, stir till I am happy with the ratio of the vegetables to the soup. This is how I add vegetables to almost all Nigerian soups.
   
   Note:
   You need to cook Ogbono for at least 20 minutes for the delicious taste and flavour to come out. You will know when you have cooked it long enough because you can even smell this delicious aroma when it happens. If you have ever wondered why your Ogbono Soup does not taste as delicious as that one you ate somewhere else, it may well be that you are not cooking yours for long enough.
8. Cover the pot and at the first sign of it boiling again, it's done!
   
   Take the soup off the stove immediately and pour into another pot (cold pot) or the container(s) you will use to freeze it. This ensures that the vegetables retain their green colour. Though you have turned off the heat, if you leave the soup in the hot pot, the vegetables will continue to cook and will turn dark and unappetising.
   
   This is even worse if you have a vitro ceramic cooker (hot plate kind of cooker) that still has lots of residual heat long after you have turned off the heat. Pouring the soup into a cold container stops the cooking process.
   
   After pouring the soup into the new container(s), leave them on your kitchen counter to cool down completely before freezing.

Serve Ogbono Soup with any Nigerian Fufu meal. This easy and light Ogbono Soup is perfect for the little ones in your family.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ogbono Soup

My Ogbono Soup does not draw. Why?

There are 3 main reasons why your Ogbono Soup does not draw.

1. You bought the wrong seeds. There is another seed that looks so much like Ogbono and is sold as Ogbono seeds in Nigerian markets. First sign that you are buying the wrong seeds is if they are too cheap to be true. To confirm that the seeds are really Ogbono seeds: break the seed and rub the broken sides together, if they make a sap that draws, then you've got the real Ogbono seeds. In Nigeria, every open market seller should let you do this "drawing test", if not, please leave their shop and go somewhere else.
   
   For those living outside Nigeria, I guess you just have to pray that the Ogbono seeds in the pack you buy are the real thing :)
2. Another reason why your Ogbono Soup does not draw may be because you used packaged ground Ogbono, ground being the keyword here. This is especially the case for those who live outside Nigeria who do not have any choice than to buy the ground packaged Ogbono sold in African shops.
   
   Once you grind Ogbono, it starts losing its potency to draw and with time, it won't draw anymore. The exact time at which it completely loses its potency to draw will depend on: how dry the Ogbono was before the grinding took place and how well it is packaged amongst other things.
3. The third reason why your Ogbono Soup does not draw is that you fried it before adding the meat/fish stock. The ground Ogbono should only be dissolved in the palm oil NOT fried. The more you fry it, the more it loses its drawing ability till you've got no potency left. This happens even if it is the authentic Ogbono seed.

How can I cook Ogbono Soup so that it does not burn?

First, turn down the heat. Whatever you are cooking, turn down the heat to prevent burning. This is especially the case with Ogbono Soup which is very sticky. Always cook your Ogbono Soup at very low heat. If your cooker's heating ranges from 1 to 9, set the heat to 4.
Secondly, do not add crayfish or any other ingredients when cooking the Ogbono at first. Crayfish especially speeds up the burning. When you grind your Ogbono in Nigerian markets, they will tell you to use crayfish to make sure all the Ogbono comes out of the mill. If you decide to do that, make sure that they put the crayfish and that last bit of Ogbono in a different plastic bag for you and add the crayfish bit when you add the rest of the ingredients.
Also, use stainless steel or aluminium pots in cooking your Ogbono Soup. Non-stick pots are not the best for cooking Ogbono Soup even though it says non-stick lol!

My Ogbono Soup tastes bland in spite of all the ingredients I usually add to it. Why is this?

One reason Ogbono Soup will taste bland even after adding enough ingredients is that you did not cook it long enough. I have seen a lot of people cook Ogbono for only 5 minutes. That's not enough. Ogbono, once added, should be cooked for at least 20 minutes on low heat. This is the time at which the taste begins to come out and blend with the ingredients.

Another reason is maybe because the Ogbono seeds have gone mouldy in which case, it will have a slightly bitter taste too.

Ofe Achara with Akpuruakpu Egusi (Mgbam)

Ofe Achara with Akpuruakpu Egusi (Mgbam) is the most traditional way to prepare Egusi Soup. The akpuruakpu is molded egusi. This is not just ordinary molded egusi that scatters as you cook the soup. These disc shaped molds of egusi should be intact and solid by the time the soup is done such that the person enjoying the soup can bite into and chew them like meat.

Akpuruakpu and mgbam are dialects from Imo and Abia states of Nigeria. In my state (Anambra), we call it Egusi Ógbalóti. Yes, only correct Anambra boys and girls know it by this name. LOL
Other ways of cooking Egusi Soup:

• Egusi Soup (Caking Method): I also call this one the Egusi Before Oil method. No frying is involved, making is a healthier way to prepare Egusi Soup.
• 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.

Ingredients for Ofe Achara

For a decent pot of soup, you will need:

• 300g egusi (melon) seeds
• 40g ósú
• 1 handful sliced okazi leaves
• 1 cup broken pieces of achara (~15 stalks of achara)
• 2 cooking spoons red palm oil
• 3 pieces stock fish
• 1 dry cat fish
• 1 ogiri okpei
• 3 small stock cubes
• Habanero pepper (atarodo, ose oyibo, atarugu)
• 1 handful crayfish
• ½ teaspoon dry pepper
• Salt (to taste)

Important tool

Spice grinder for grinding egusi (melon) seeds, crayfish, Ósú and ogiri okpei

Notes on the ingredients and alternatives:

1. Since most of the ingredients listed above come in different sizes, it is advisable to watch the video below to see the sizes of the ingredients I used.
2. I used only stockfish and dry fish in preparing this soup, no meat. But you can add meat if you want.
3. What is Achara?
   • Achara is elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum). The word achara is Igbo language and this one word means elephant grass, bamboo and sugar cane (also okpete in Igbo) but as far as this recipe is concerned, achara is elephant grass.
   • I asked on Facebook for other names for achara in other languages and I got: Achala (a variant spelling in Igbo), Ireke / Ireke Obo (Yoruba), Takanda/Kara (Hausa), Kangale saudu (Kanuri), Asara (Ibibio), Mbritem (Akwa Ibom). I have asked for confirmations from the contributors to make sure some of these names do not translate to sugar cane because the achara used in Ofe Achara is not sugar cane. I will update these names as I get more feedback.
   • Achara is NOT: sugar cane, lemon grass nor spring/wild onions.
4. Ogiri okpei is made with locust beans. It is known as iru in Yoruba. It adds a traditional taste to Nigerian soups that it goes well with such as Egusi Soup and Ogbono Soup. If you do not have it, use only crayfish.
5. Some people add achi or ófó (both are Egusi Soup thickeners) to this soup. You can achieve a similar effect using ósú. See video below.
6. Ósú is a binder for the molded egusi. It helps hold the balls together so that no matter how you stir the soup, the egusi balls will not disintegrate. Ósú is a naturally occuring parasitic plant that grows on trees. I do not know any other names for it.
7. If you can't buy achara where you live and you are dying to re-live the taste of Ofe Achara or try it, use asparagus as alternative. For now, that's the closest alternative that I know. The texture of Asparagus is similar to the edible inner tender shoots of achara and both taste almost the same; that mild almost bland taste. And when you cut up asparagus like I did the achara, you can pretend that you are eating achara, just call it Asparegusi Soup and not Ofe Achara. LOL
8. Okazi is afang leaf (Gnetum africanum).

Before you cook Ofe Achara

1. Soak the stockfish and dry fish with cool or lukewarm water to soften. When soft, clean thoroughly and debone.
2. Grind the egusi seeds and the ósú with a dry mill.
3. Grind the crayfish with the ogiri okpei, also with a dry mill or spice grinder.
4. Peel the achara by removing the coarse outer husk till you get to the tender part. Then break the tender part into 1 cm long pieces. Any part of the shoot that is not brittle (easily breakable), should be discarded. Rinse the pieces of achara and set aside.
5. Pound the habanero pepper with a mortar or grind with a hand blender.

Cooking Directions

1. Cook the stockfish with the stock cubes (seasoning cubes) till soft and pour some of the stock into a bowl. Yes, this has been soaked earlier but stockfish is quite tough and soaking alone does not get it as soft as we need it. The soaking is necessary so that it can be cleaned very well.
2. Pour most of the ground egusi (about 70%) into a clean dry bowl.
3. Season the egusi with dry pepper and some of the crayfish and ogiri okpei blend. It's important to season the egusi very well so that the mgbam will not taste bland when one bites into it.
4. Add some of the fish stock to the egusi and mix till a thick dough is formed.
5. Mold the egusi dough into flat discs, as big as a coin and set aside.
6. Boil some water and throw the molded egusi into the pot of boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.
7. Set the pot of stockfish on the stove. It should still contain some stock from cooking the stockfish. If not, add the water from boiling the egusi balls.
8. Add the deboned dry fish, habanero pepper and the remaining crayfish and ogiri okpei blend and bring to a boil.
9. Once it boils, take off the fish and set aside.
10. Add the remaining ground egusi to the stock, stir and cook till you see some clear egusi oil come to the surface. This should take 15 to 20 minutes. Stir the soup often so it does not burn. Add the water you used in boiling the molded egusi when necessary.
11. Once you are sure you see some clear oil at the top, add palm oil and cook for 5 minutes.
12. Add the boiled akpuruakpu egusi, achara, okazi and the fish we took out earlier.
13. Add salt to your taste, cover and once it boils again, it is done!

Serve with any Nigerian fufu meal especially Akpu (Cassava Fufu).

Nigerian Egusi Soup (Fried Method)

The Egusi Soup recipe described on this page is the Fried Method of preparing Nigerian Egusi Soup (Ofe Egusi / Efo Elegusi / Miyan Gushi). This is the oil before egusi method.

Other ways of cooking Egusi Soup:

• Egusi Soup (Caking Method): I also call this one the Egusi Before Oil method. No frying is involved, making is a healthier way to prepare Egusi Soup.
• 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.

If you have been with All Nigerian Recipes for some time, you will know that the fried egusi method is not my favourite way to prepare Egusi Soup. It is not my favourite because it involves frying the ground egusi (melon) seeds. This gives me heart burn. The soup also needs more palm oil than the caking method.

But since I have been receiving requests for how to prepare it, here we go!

Ingredients

• 4 cups (500g) Egusi (Melon) seeds
• 3 cooking spoons red palm oil
• Beef: best cut and Shaki (cow tripe)
• Fish: dry fish and stockfish
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
• Pepper and Salt (to taste)
• Vegetable: Nigerian pumpkin leaves, spinach or bitter leaf
• 3 small stock cubes
• 1 small ogiri okpei (optional)

Important tool

Spice grinder for grinding egusi (melon) seeds

Notes on the ingredients

1. To be honest, I may have put 3 cooking spoons of palm oil up there but you will need more. You want the quantity of palm oil that will turn every grain of the ground egusi yellow. See video below. If the ground egusi is not well coated, it will burn during frying and the resulting Egusi Soup will be dry and have a burnt taste. If you are concerned about the quantity of palm oil you will used for this soup, it is best to prepare your egusi soups using the Caking Method.
2. The best meat for Nigerian soups for swallows is red meat with beef being the most common. You can also use goat meat. I have seen some people cook Egusi Soup with chicken, that's fine but the elders will not like it. :D
3. If you use chicken, please do not use dry fish and stockfish because those two cannot co-exist with chicken in the same Nigerian pot. ;)
4. If using bitter leaves, add it a bit earlier because it is a tough vegetable (see the cooking directions below). Remember that they need to be washed to remove all the bitterness unless your family prefers it with the bitter taste.
5. Ogiri okpei is made with locust beans. It is known as iru in Yoruba. It adds a traditional taste to Egusi Soup.

Before you cook Egusi Soup

1. Before preparing the soup, soak the dry fish and stock fish till soft. 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.
2. When the fish and stockfish are soft, de-bone and break them into sizeable chunks.
3. Much closer to your cooking time, grind the egusi with a dry mill. Grind the crayfish and the dry pepper separately and set aside.
4. Rinse the vegetables to be used and cut into tiny pieces.
5. Cook the beef and fish with the stock cubes till they are well done. You should start cooking the toughest meat and fish first and add the others as they get done. If using a normal pot, I will start with stockfish and shaki, add beef after about 1 hour and cook till done. I can add the dry fish when all the other meat and fish are cooked because it is already cooked, you just need to cook it long enough till it is soft and integrated with the rest of the ingredients. With a pressure pot, I do it differently but that is a process for another post.
6. Set all these aside.

Cooking Directions

1. Pour the red palm oil into a dry pot and set on the stove to heat. As soon as the oil melts, add the ground egusi and start frying. If the oil is not congealed, add the egusi as soon as the oil is translucent. Mix the ground egusi with oil till every grain of egusi turns yellow.
2. Start stirring the egusi on low to medium heat. Keep stir-frying for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the meat/fish stock (water from cooking the fish and meat) little by little while still stirring the egusi. So you add a bit of the stock, stir-fry for some time, add another, stir-fry and so on. When the stock is exhausted and you feel that the soup is still too thick, you can start adding hot water in the same way till you get the consistency you want. If your choice of vegetable is bitter leaf, add it at this time.
4. Cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes, stirring at intervals. Also, top up the water when necessary. If you don't stir it, it will burn. It takes 30 minutes to cook egusi properly else the soup will not taste nice to someone with authentic Nigerian taste buds. Also, egusi that is not cooked long enough may cause upset stomach. The egusi is done when you notice that the oil has separated from the mix.
5. Once you are happy that it is done, add the ground crayfish and pepper. Stir and add the Nigerian pumpkin leaves or spinach (alternative).
6. Stir very well and add the cooked stockfish, shaki and meat.
7. Add salt if necessary. If it is too thick, add some water to bring it to a consistency you like.
8. Cover and leave to simmer and it is done!

The perfect swallow for Egusi Soup is Pounded Yam. You can also serve it with Eba (Garri), Agidi, Amala, Semolina Fufu, Tuwo Shinkafa or Cassava Fufu.