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

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

Zobo drink also known as Zoborodo or Hibiscus drink is a popular nutritious healthy drink to make at home. It's an Ox-blood or red wine colored drink made from dry petals of the roselle plant (Hibiscus sabdariffa) which is a hibiscus specie. It goes by different names such as Rosella in Australia, Jamaican sorrel drink in the Caribbean, Sobolo in Ghana, depending on the region it's prepared. It's a rich and natural health drink filled with enormous benefits.

I love preparing my zobo drink with more of natural fruits including the peels of the particular fruit i use for the flavor I want but you may add artificial flavors and sweeteners such as Foster clarks, Nutri C, jolly juice e.t.c if you don't have the natural substitute. The Concentration of the juice also depends on choice as some like theirs concentrated while others like their’s less concentrated like me. Also, the more concentrated the drink is, the more likely it is to sour and ferment quickly. Traditionally, Zobo drink has been used for years and therefore seen as a herbal health drink which has been known to help several health issues including high blood pressure, loss of appetite, circulation, liver diseases, cancers, fevers, and as a gentle laxative and diuretic. Modern research also supports the fact that hibiscus has multiple health effects. This definitely makes it one of the top 10 healthy drinks to make at home.

How to make Healthy natural zobo drink:
•Prep time:   20 mins
•Cook time: Over 1hr

Utensils needed

• A Sieve
• A Large Pot
• A Sharp Knife

Ingredients::::

• 150g Zobo leaves 

• 7 Liters water

• 30g Dry ginger or Fresh ginger 

• 3 tbsps. Cloves a.k.a Konofiri 

• 1 Large Pineapple 

• Artificial flavors and sweeteners such as (foster Clark’s Pineapple flavor, jolly juice e.t.c) -Optional. 

• Sugar Cane or Honey - Optional (You can substitute with Sugar) 

Directions::: 

Step 1: Before peeling the pineapple, wash the skin thoroughly and rinse with clean water. You can use both the inner part and the outer skin to get added flavor. (P.S: Use the skin only if you are sure of how it was stored or if it's been thoroughly washed.) Peel and Dice the fruit - Set aside

Step 2: Wash the dry leaves of the hibiscus severally with cold water. This is because the leaves are often times dirty due to the way they are stored. Once you're done washing, place the washed leaves in a large pot and add the water and turn on your burner.

Step 3: Add the chunks of pineapple, ginger and Cloves (Konofiri). The taste of the zobo really intensifies when it's boiled with the ingredients unlike when its left to steep. Leave to boil for about 25mins.

Step 4: Sieve out the extract into a bowl and leave the drink to cool. The boiled leaves in the pot can still be reused till the red color of the zobo totally reduces. You'd know when the red color becomes less intense.

Step 5: This is supposed to be a health drink so i ensure i use only natural sweeteners and flavors like honey, sugar cane juice, pineapple juice etc. Alternatively if you don't have the natural juices, you can substitute with Artificial flavors and sweeteners such as Foster clarks flavor, Nutri C, jolly juice e.t.c. 

Step 6: Refrigerate and serve cold.

Nutritional and Health benefits:

• It has long been used traditionally as a natural diuretic and in the treatment of several diseases such as Urinary tract infections. It Promotes kidney functioning.
• Zobo drink is a veritable source of vitamin A
• According to nutritionists, it has been found to be very effective in the management of hypertension due to its anti-hypertensive properties.
• It also helps in lowering blood pressure as it contains an enzyme inhibitor which blocks the production of Amylase
• It’s good for diabetic patients
• It reduces the cholesterol in the body
• It aids in digestion and acts as a Natural health tonic
• It has Antibacterial properties
• It helps Decrease spams in the stomach
• It Soothes colds and provides similar cold relief obtained by consuming antioxidant drinks

Other names it is known as in different regions:::

• Zobo drink/Zoborodo- In Northern Nigeria
• Isapa - Yorubas in the South Western Nigeria
• Lumanda/Chibemba-Zambia
• Omulete-Namibia

• Sobolo - Ghana
• Bissap – In Niger, Senegal, Burkina faso, Benin, France, Congo and Guinea Bissau.
• Jamaican Sorrel- In Caribbean & Latin America
• Dah/Dah/Bleni- In Mali
• Karkade-Egypt, Sudan, & Saudi Arabia
• Flor de Jamaica- Mexico
• Womjo-Gambia
• Rosella/Rosella fruit-Australia
• Belchanda-Nepal
• Grosella- Paraguay

Recipe 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