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.

How to Cook Nigerian Egusi Soup

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

• 4½ cups (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

Before you cook Egusi Soup (Caking Method)

1. 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.
2. When the fish and stockfish are soft, debone 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. Wash the vegetable to be used. Cut into tiny pieces.
4. 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.
5. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Cover and cook till the egusi cakes. Stir and add a little bit more water. watch it closely so that it does not burn.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Add the cooked meat and fish. If using pumpkin leaves or any other soft vegetable, add it at this time and stir the soup.
7. Add salt to your taste, stir and leave to simmer for 2 minutes maximum.
8. 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.

How to cook Nigerian Pepper Soup

The Nigerian Pepper soup is a popular Nigerian soup recipe. It is such a versatile recipe as it can be prepared with different types of meat and fish. Thus there is the Chicken Pepper Soup, the Catfish Pepper Soup (popularly known as Point & Kill), the Goat Meat Pepper Soup, the Cow Foot Pepper Soup and the Assorted Beef Pepper Soup.

 

People usually go to exclusive bars or restaurants to eat the Pepper Soup. This is because this Nigerian soup recipe is believed to be prepared with 'secret' ingredients that only the restaurant Madams know about. Yes, the Pepper Soup ingredient which gives this recipe its unique aroma and taste, is truly the best kept secret. But our job here at All Nigerian Food Recipes is to expose all Nigerian food recipes and cooking secrets so that you can prepare them right inside your own kitchen whenever you want to.

Ingredients for Pepper Soup

• 1kg Chicken or Cow Foot or Assorted Beef
• 4 seeds Ehu or Ariwo or Calabash Nutmeg
• Chilli Pepper (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons crushed Dry Uziza (optional)
• 2 medium onions
• Salt (to taste)
• 3 stock cubes
• 1 teaspoon of Thyme (for chicken pepper soup)

For grinding the ehu seeds, you will need:

A spice/coffer grinder

Before you cook the Nigerian Pepper Soup

1. If preparing Chicken pepper Soup, it is preferable to use whole chicken instead of drumsticks. The different parts of the chicken will bring variety to the pepper soup. So wash and cut up the whole chicken and set aside.
2. If you want to prepare Assorted Beef Pepper Soup then you should buy different parts of beef - best cut, offal (shaki, round-about, liver and kidney). Wash the offal thoroughly especially the round-about which should be turned inside out during the washing. Cut these into medium pieces, just big enough to be chewed in one go.
3. For Cow Foot Pepper Soup, just wash and cut the cow foot into medium pieces. In this case also, make the pieces just big enough that it can be chewed in one go.
4. Now it is time to prepare the 'secret' ingredient. Using an old frying pan, roast the Ehu seeds (stirring constantly) till you can smell it. Don't worry you will know when it is OK to take it off because it has a distinctive aroma. Another way to know that it is OK is to take one of the seeds and try to remove the outer membrane. If the membrane comes off easily, then the Ehu is done.
5. Peel off the membrane from all the Ehu seeds and grind with a dry mill.
6. Cut the onions into tiny pieces.
7. Rub the dry uziza with your fingers to break them into tiny pieces.

Cooking Directions

1. This cooking direction describes Chicken Pepper Soup. To prepare Goat Meat Pepper Soup, Cow Foot Pepper Soup or Assorted Beef Pepper Soup just substitute chicken with cow foot or beef and offal respectively.
2. Place the pieces of chicken in a pot and pour enough water to cover the contents of the pot. Add the stock cubes, thyme and onions and cook till done.

   Note: When cooking Assorted Beef Pepper Soup, you should cook the shaki for sometime before adding the other beef parts. Shaki is tough and will take longer to cook than the other beef parts.
   Cow foot is a tough part of meat so when cooking Cow Foot Pepper Soup, you should use a pressure cooker if you have one. This will save you some gas or electricity.

3. By now, you will notice that some of the water has dried. Add more water to bring it to the level of the contents of the pot.
4. Add the ground Ehu, dry uziza, chilli pepper and salt to taste. Ehu has some spicy taste so you should add chilli pepper with care. Even though it is called pepper soup, you still want to be able to taste and enjoy the recipe itself. Too much chilli pepper will ruin it for you.
5. Cover the pot and leave to boil for 5 minutes and the pepper soup is ready.

Pepper Soup should always be served hot. It can be eaten alone with a chilled drink by the side. You can also eat it with Agidi, White Rice or Boiled Yam.

Nigerian Goat Meat Pepper Soup

This recipe explains the Nigerian Goat Meat Pepper Soup. For other Nigerian Pepper Soup recipes,Assorted Meat Pepper Soup and Catfish Pepper Soup (Point & Kill).


Goat Meat adds a special traditional flavour to the Nigerian Pepper soup recipe.

Ingredients for Goat Meat Pepper Soup

• 700g Goat Meat (with skin)
• 4 seeds Ehu or Ariwo or Calabash Nutmeg
• Habanero Pepper (to taste)
• A few scent leaves or 2 table spoons dry uziza
• 2 medium onions
• Salt (to taste)
• 2 big stock cubes

For the Agidi:

• 120g corn flour. You can also use Akamu/Ogi/Pap

Note: You can add white yam to Goat Meat Pepper Soup to get Goat Meat and Yam Pepper Soup. In that case, peel the yam and cut into big pieces and add them when the goat meat is almost done, some time between steps 2 and 3 under cooking directions below.

Before you cook the Nigerian Pepper Soup

1. If you will eat the Goat meat peppersoup with Agidi, prepare some and set aside to cool down and set.
2. Peel and grind the 'secret' ingredient (ehu seeds) with a dry mill. You can also roast it with an old frying pan before grinding them. Roasting is known to improve the flavour.
3. Cut the onions into big chunks. If you want pieces of onions in yours, cut into tiny pieces.
4. Pick and wash the scent leaves. If using dry uziza, rub with your fingers to break them into tiny pieces.

Cooking Directions

1. Wash the goat meat and put in a sizeable pot. Pour water to cover the meat and then some. I love lots of water in my pepper soups.
   Goat meat is tough so use a pressure cooker to cook it if you have one.
2. Add the stock cubes, ground ehu seeds and the chunks of onion and start cooking.
3. When the meat is done, remove the chunks of onion.
4. Add pepper, scent leaves or uziza leaves.
5. Cover the pot and leave to simmer for 5 minutes and the pepper soup is ready.
6. Serve piping hot with the agidi.

Pepper Soup should always be served hot. It can be eaten alone with a chilled drink by the side. You can also eat it with Agidi, White Rice or Boiled Yam.