Egusi soup (Melon Soup) is Unarguably the most popular Nigerian soup everyone loves. It's quite versatile too as it's prepared by every single tribe in Nigeria though the methods of preparation might differ slightly. No matter how it is prepared, the end result still remains the same good old tasty soup. In the north it's known as Miyan Gushi, in the east it is known as Ofe egusi, in the west it is known as efo-elegusi. It could also be prepared with different leaves such as Ugu leaf "fluted pumpkin leaf", Onugbu "Bitter leaf, Afang "Wild spinach", water leaf e.t.c View full list of Nigerian leafy vegetables here - A different leaf means a different flavor. 

One of the reasons why i love preparing Egusi soup with bitter leaf is, with bitter leaf the soup tends to last longer without the taste changing while being refrigerated but when prepared with ugu leaves, it's best eaten within a time frame. Also, bitter leaf makes it fingerlicking good. 

How to make Egusi soup with bitter leaf

• Prep Time:  30 minutes

• Total Time: Over 45 minutes

• Serves :       6

Ingredients:::

• 2 Cups Melon Seeds "Egusi"

• 600g Red beef

• 1 medium sized Stock fish

• 2 Medium Smoked fish

• 1/2 Cooking spoon Cray fish

• 5 chili pepper "Shombo"

• 3 red scotch bonnet pepper "Ata rodo" 

• 1 medium sized onion

• 1½ Cup palm oil

• 1 Cup Bitter leaf - Pre-washed

• 3 Seasoning cubes

• Salt to taste

Directions:::

Step 1: The first step is to peel the egusi by removing the white Egusi seeds from the brown shell. Place the peeled Egusi in a dry mill (The smaller grinder that comes with the Cup blender) and grind till smooth. It might start to cake up but never mind, that's not a problem.

Step 2: Bitter leaf is always sold pre-washed in the Nigerian market. To be on the safer side and to avoid making your soup extremely bitter, it's always advisable to Boil and re-wash the already washed bitter leaf.

Place the pre-washed bitter leaf in an empty pot and add some water. Cook on medium heat for 10mins. Strain and rinse about 2-3 times more. Squeeze out the excess water and set aside for later use. Please taste it before adding to the soup (There's no remedy to Bitter Egusi soup - If you've got, please share below)

Step 3: Wash the chili pepper and scotch bonnet. Dice or blend into a puree - Set aside. Click here to view steps on how to make pepper puree

Step 4: For the Stock, you could use any type of meat or fish you choose to. For this particular recipe, i used a mixture of Stock fish, Smoked fish & Beef.

Wash the Beef, Stock fish and Smoked fish (remove the bone). Place the beef in an empty pot, add the blended pepper puree and Chopped onion (you could also blend the onion), Crushed seasoning cubes and just enough water to cover the content of the pot. Cook on medium heat for about 25 minutes. Add the salt, washed stock fish and smoked fish, Cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off the burner and set aside.

Step 5: In an empty pot, pour in the palm oil and ground Egusi. On medium heat, stir fry for about 3 minutes till it starts to dry up but don't let it burn. 

Step 6: Pour in the meat & fish stock in step 4 above, add the ground crayfish, Stir and cover the pot. Leave to cook for about 15 minutes till the Egusi swells and cakes up a little. By this time, the oil would have settled on top.

Step 7: Add the washed bitter leaf, stir and cover the pot. Leave to simmer for 5-7 minutes before turning off the burner. 

Serve with any "Swallow", Yam or Rice.

Recipe by www.dobbyssignature.com

I'm a food blogger and a professional dreamer, sometimes an artist but mostly a scientist. When the mood is right i get inspired to prepare a not too regular but traditional meal and whenever this happens, it tends to lift the spirits of those around which makes me glad every single time. Today i'd be going all traditional and since we're in a festive mood 'thanks to the holidays', i'd be sharing with you one of my secret recipes which was passed through generations down to my momma and then me. 
Whenever i prepare this dish, i usually make sure i have more than enough to go round because before i say 'Dorougba' the whole pot of sauce would have been emptied. You just can't get enough of Ugba sauce once it's served and like Oliver twist the fam would always ask for more. In the eastern part of Nigeria where it originates, it's known either as ukpaka sauce (Anambra) or ugba sauce (Imo, Abia, Enugu) . I love using yellow pepper for this dish because of the unique flavor it adds to it but you could actually use any type of pepper in the preparation.  Also, 200g of Ugba might look really small at first but when you combine the remaining ingredients and grind, the volume increases. Utazi is bitter on its own but most people love its appetizing taste (This should be added sparingly though). This sauce is mostly served with Boiled/Roasted yam or plantain. (Are you on instagram? Do follow me @dobbyssignature)

How to make Ugba /Ukana /ukpaka sauce
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time:15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Serves:        7

Ingredients:::

•200g Ugba (also Known as Ukpaka)

•1 medium sized smoked/ Dry fish

•2 Yellow scotch bonnet (also Known as Yellow pepper/ Nsukka pepper)

•4 Cooking spoon Palm Oil (Or Less)

•1 Cup whole crayfish

•1 Red Onion

•10 Utazi leaves"Gongronema latifolium" (Click to view full list of Nigerian leafy vegetables)

•1 Seasoning Cube

•1/2 tsp. Salt

Directions:::

Step 1: Wash the smoked fish with clean water, remove the bone and gut, rinse clean and set aside. Peel the Onion skin, rinse and set aside. Rinse the yellow pepper and set aside.

Step 2: Rinse the Ugba 2-3 times with clean water and place in a blender. Add the smoked fish, yellow pepper, Onion and Crayfish.

Step 3: Blend everything together. It shouldn't be smooth but chunky.

Step 4: Pour the palmoil in a medium sized pot and heat it up on medium heat for about 2mins. Gently pour in the blended Ugba mixture into the oil.

Step 5: Add the salt, crushed seasoning cube and stir. Cover the pot and leave to cook on medium heat for 15minutes.

Step 6: While the sauce cooks, wash the utazi leaves. Place the leaves together and roll up. Cut off the stalk and discard. Then, chop the rolled up leaves into tiny slices and set aside.

Step 7: Once the sauce is ready, Turn off the burner and serve the sauce with boiled or roasted yam or plantain sprinkled with chopped slices of utazi leaves.

Bon Appetit!

Recipe by www.dobbyssignature.com 

Ayamase also known as designer stew is a tasty stew served alongside ofada rice. It's quite similar to the normal ofada sauce "Obe ata iru" except for some slight changes with the peppers used. It's a delicacy which is quite popular in the western part of Nigeria especially amongst the Yorubas. It also used to be a 'best kept secret' by the natives and popularized by Makeshift roadside restaurants popularly known as Bukkas /"Mama-put" but now common in most households. It's prepared with mostly green peppers and assorted meat or fish hence the name designer stew and like most Nigerian meals, it has got palm oil as a base.

Nigerian Ofada Rice and Ofada Stew/Sauce recipe
•Prep time : 30mins
•Cook time: Over an hour
•Region      : Western Nigeria
•Misc          : Serve Hot

Ingredients:::

•2 Cups Palmoil

•10 Green bell pepper

•1 Red scotch bonnet pepper(Ata rodo)/ Hanabero pepper

•2 chili pepper

•1 (Red Bell pepper a.k.a Tatashey)

•1 Cup Locust beans (Iru), rinsed

•500g Assorted meat : i used; Cow Intestines, Tripe a.k.a Sharki , Pomo

•500g Beef (Red meat), Cut in chunks

•Crayfish: 3 tbsp. Ground

•1 Red Onion, diced

•2 Seasoning cubes

•Salt to taste

Directions:::

Preparation of the assorted meat and beef stock:
Step 1: When using assorted beef, it's best to take out time to wash properly. If you intend using Pomo, scrape out the dirty inner part (which is usually Sandy & dirty) including the outer skin thoroughly. If you intend using intestines, turn inside out and remove the saturated fats there (most people keep it in though). If using tripe a.k.a Towel or sharki in the Nigerian local market, wash thoroughly.

Step 2: Rinse the Beef and Assorted meat with clean water and dice into small bits, place in a medium sized pot. Add the seasoning cubes, Salt to taste, a little diced onion and 2-3 cups of water. Leave to cook till tender for about 30 mins to 1hr till tender. Set aside.

Preparation of the pepper puree:
Step 1: Remove the seeds from the green bell pepper and the red bell pepper thoroughly with clean water. Remove the stalk from the red Scotch bonnet (Ata Rodo) and chili and place in a blender. Puree till smooth.

Step 2: Pour the pepper puree in an empty pot and cook till all the liquid evaporates leaving the puree concentrated puree. Set aside.

Preparation of the Ofada Sauce
Step 1: The first step is to heat up the oil till it becomes clear like vegetable oil. This process is known as bleaching. Bleaching is best done in a ventilated kitchen to avoid being choked by the smoke so ensure you open all the windows if you have to. 

To bleach, pour the oil in a dry empty pot. It's best to use an iron pot (preferably an old one) because bleaching tends to stain pots. Cover the pot and heat up on medium for about 10mins then turn off the burner. Leave the pot covered and do not open till the oil cools off. Please note that timing is very crucial during this process so you have to be careful to avoid the situation where the oil catches fire.

Once the bleaching is done, the palmoil would look more like vegetable oil.

Step 2: Once the oil cools off, turn on the burner again. Add the diced onion and fry for about 2 minutes. Add the pepper puree and Iru,stir-fry for about 5 minutes till the oil seperates from the puree (you'd see the oil settle at the top).

Step 3: Add the crayfish, cooked assorted meat and gently add the stock little at a time. Stir and taste to see if you need some more salt or seasoning. Add if necessary, Stir and cover the pot. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer for about 15 minutes.

Turn off the burner and serve with Ofada Rice a.k.a Abakiliki rice

Related Posts:::

• Ofada Rice sauce "Obe Ata Iru"
• How to make Ofada Rice a.k.a Abakiliki rice

Kitchen notes:
PLEASE BE WARNED! Heating Palmoil above it's smoke point (Bleaching) is a very DANGEROUS process which requires the skills of an expert. NEVER OVERHEAT PALMOIL OR IT WILL "CATCH FIRE" which would result in serious BURNS. 

• Also Note, Bleaching of palmoil is totally unhealthy. This is because, heating the palmoil above the smoke point increases the trans-fat levels thereby making it carcinogenic. 

• Also, taking the palmoil above its smoke point reduces its nutritional value i.e The carotene contained in it which helps in the formation of vitamin A, an essential vitamin in the prevention of cataracts, muscular degeneration which is age related, free radicals which cause cancer and night blindness is depleted thereby making the body susceptible to these diseases.

How to make Unripe plantain porridge
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Serves:       2

Ingredients:::

• 3 Green unripe plantains

• 1 red onion

• 1 tbsp. Chili/ Cameroon Pepper, Ground or 2 fresh Scotch Bonnets (Ata rodo), Ground

• A handful scent leaves

• 2 Medium sized smoked fish/ Fresh fish

• 1 Cooking spoon Palmoil

• 2 Seasoning cubes

• 1 Cooking Spoon Crayfish, Ground

• 1 tsp. Salt

• Water

Preparation:::

• Wash and chop the Scent leaves - Set Aside.

• If you are Using fresh fish, remove the intestines and wash thoroughly. If you are using smoked fish like i used in this recipe, Gently open and remove the bones, rinse and set aside. 

• Wash the unripe plantains, Remove the green skin and cut into bits - Set Aside

Directions:::

Step 1: Place the washed fish in a medium sized pot. Add the ground pepper, Part of the chopped onions, crushed seasoning, salt to taste . Add just enough water to cover the content of the pot and steam for 5 mins. if you are Using fresh fish, scoop it out into a separate dish and set aside. If you are Using smoked fish, leave the fish in the stock and move to step 2.

Step 2: Gently add the chopped plantain into the fish stock. Add just enough water to cover the plantain in the pot, The remaining chopped onion, crayfish and palm oil. Check for salt and seasoning if need be. Cook for about 35-40 minutes till it softens.

Step 3: Once the liquid in the pot reduces, turn the burner to the lowest. Plantain porridge tastes better if it's got more of the porridge part in it. To get more of that part, you could mash up the plantains a little bit in the pot.

Step 4: At this point, add your cooked fresh fish and chopped Scent leaves and leave to simmer further on low heat for 5 mins.

Turn off the burner and serve.

Recipe by:

www.dobbyssignature.com

Kunu drink is a popular drink made from whole grains of millet and sometimes sorghum or corn. Its quite popular in most parts of Nigeria especially the northern part where it originates. It’s got a spicy, nutty flavor and it’s packed with nourishing vitamins and minerals. It’s also rich in protein and high in fiber. Preparation of this drink takes about a minimum of 2-3 days. This is because for the first two days, it’s left to soak in water so as to trigger the process of fermentation.  Making Kunu at home is quite easy and requires nothing fancy. Here's how its done…….

De-hulled Millet

How to make "Kunun Zaki" drink 

Utensils:::

• Blender 

• Pap Sieve 

Ingredients:::

• 3 cups Millet (de-hulled)

• 1 medium sized Sweet potato, peeled- Optional

• 2 Medium sized Ginger, peeled

• 1 tbsp. Cloves (Konofiri)

• Sugar (To taste)

• Water 

Directions:::

Step 1: Soak the seeds in water for 48hours to allow the seeds ferment making sure you change the water every 7 hours. 

Step 2: Wash thoroughly with clean water and place the millet, Ginger, Cloves (Konofiri) & Sweet potato in a blender (You need one with sharp blades) and blend till you have a smooth paste making sure you add water while blending to enable it blend smoothly.

Step 3: Place the blend in a large bowl and pour cold water over the paste (This is to make it easier to sieve) and mix. Gently pour the slurry into the sieving bag and sieve the mixture. Discard the chaff 

Step 4: Leave the sieved out liquid to settle for about 7 hours, by then the clear liquid would be above the sediment (thick paste below). Sieve out the clear liquid leaving the settled mixture which should be thick.

Step 5: Divide the thick paste into two bowls (Let’s say bowl 1 & 2). Pour boiling hot water over the content of bowl 1 and stir (As if you are preparing pap). Add the content of bowl 2 into bowl 1 and stir some more. At this stage you can add as much water as you want depending on how thick or watery you want your kunu. It’s usually thick though.

Step 6: Sweeten with sugar, Refrigerate & Serve Chilled. 

"Kunun Zaki" drink with Ice cubes

Recipes by

www.dobbyssignature.com

I learnt how to prepare ofe akwu from one of my closest and dearest friends. As a typical Igbo family with core traditional values, it wasn't unusual to hear the thumping sounds of mortar and pestle pounding away the flesh of the Akwu every Sunday afternoon in her family house. During my uni days whenever there was a short break, i remember travelling all the way from Enugu state where my school was located down to her house in Anambra state to spend the weekend just so i could enjoy this native dish with white rice which was usually well prepared from scratch. This is definitely one of the tastiest igbo soups i've come across and a favorite among many.
Ofe Akwu which simply means Palm nut soup in igbo language is a native Nigerian soup, popular in the eastern part of Nigeria.  It's quite similar to Banga soup which is also palm nut soup but native to the people of the south-south with the only difference being the type of spices and herbs used in preparation. For Ofe akwu, you could either use just Nchuawun as i did in this post or a combination ofNchuawun (Scent leaves) and Ugu "Pumpkin" leaves . When you go to buy Palm nuts "Akwu" it's always best to pick the right types to get the best result. There are usually two types of Akwu sold by the traders: The "Agric''(which is fleshy and therefore would give you more oil extract) and the "Native"(looks smaller but is known to be sweeter). It's always advisable to combine both to get the maximum benefits. Ofe Akwu is mostly used as a stew for white rice in the east but in some other parts, it's used as a soup and taken with "Swallow" i.e Garri/eba, Semolina, Fufu, wheat meal, corn meal e.t.c. For me, i love taking mine with both rice and swallow ;). 

How to make Ofe Akwu (Igbo palm nut soup)
• Prep Time:  30 minutes
• Total Time: Over an Hour
• Serves :      10-15 people

Ingredients:::

• 1800kg Fresh Palm Nuts (2 Derica cups)

• 800g Beef (Red meat), Cut in chunks

• 400g assorted meat :Cow Intestines, Tripe a.k.a Sharki

• 1 Red Onion, Whole

• 1 Cooking spoon Crayfish, Ground

• 2 medium sized Dry fish / Smoked Fish

• 1 medium sized Stock fish "Panla" a.k.a.Okporoko (i skipped this)

• 2 Seasoning cubes. Crushed

• 2 Red scotch bonnet pepper (Ata rodo), Ground

• 1 Ogiri Okpei (Substitute: Dawadawa)

• Salt to taste

• A handful Scent leaves "Nchuawun"

• A handful Pumpkin Leaves-(I skipped this) (View full list and pics of Nigerian leafy vegetables)

Preparation of ofe akwu

Directions:::

Step 1: Rinse the palm nuts 2-3 times with water then place in a medium sized pot. Add clean water just enough to cover the palm nuts in the pot and cook on the burner for 15-20 mins till the nuts get soft. you can check this by biting into one of the nuts. if it's soft, then its ready. Strain the liquid used in boiling out and place the palmnuts in a mortar and pound with a pestle till the skin separates from the kernel. Scoop the pounded nuts into a clean bowl and add water into it. Squeeze and strain the palm oil into a bowl

View the full palm kernel oil extraction with pictures HERE

Step 2: Wash and place the Beef and assorted meat in a different pot. Add the Crushed seasoning, chopped onion, Pepper, Salt and water just enough to cover the meat in the pot. Cook till the meat gets tender leaving the concentrated meat stock within. 

Step 3: Prepare the ogiri okpei by placing it in a small bowl of water. Mash it up to dissolve -Set aside.

Step 4: Prepare the stock fish (if using any) by soaking it in hot water to soften for 10 minutes then rinse with clean water. For the smoked fish or dry fish, all you need to do is open it up from the middle, then remove the bone and gut. Rinse and set aside

Step 5: Pour the extracted palm nut liquid in a medium sized pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Gently add the Beef and assorted meat (Including the stock "Meat water").

Step 6: Pour in the Ogiri okpei liquid, Add the Smoked fish and stock fish (if you are using any), Add the ground crayfish. Stir and leave to cook with the pot covered for 25-30mins.   

Step 7: Place the Scent leaves together and thinly slice with a knife. Repeat the same for the pumpkin leaves "Ugu" if you are using any. Add the chopped leaves into the pot of soup and leave to simmer for 5 mins.

Turn off the burner and serve with Boiled rice or your favorite swallow.

Recipe by

www.dobbyssignature.com