KFB Foodie Talk: How to make Egusi (melon) Soup with Ugu

For our newbies, the KFB foodie talk column - handled by Dobby of Dobbysignature - is basically for ladies and 'guys' that are interested in learning how to cook better ;). Today Dobby discusses how to make Egusi soup with Ugu.

 

Egusi with ugu leaves is one of my favorite Nigerian soups and also the most common too. This is probably due to the fact that most tribes in Nigeria have it on their menu although the methods of preparation may vary slightly. I'm a huge fan of ugu leaves because of the healthy nutrients it contains. click here for ugu juice + benefits

Egusi (melon) seeds contain lots of oil in it so it's advisable to use palm oil sparingly when preparing it. To brighten the color of the egusi soup, you could use tomapep puree which is a mixture of tomatoes and a blend of peppers to get the desired look and flavor.
It could also be prepared with different leaves such as uziza 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. I think the two common various for me would be to cook it with washed bitter leaves or Ugu leaves.

How to make Egusi soup with Ugu leaves
• Prep Time:  30 minutes
• Total Time: Over 45 minutes
• Misc :          Serve hot with "swallow", Boiled white rice or yam

Ingredients:::

• 2 Cups Melon Seeds "Egusi"

• 600g Red beef

• 1 medium sized Stock fish

• 2 Medium Smoked fish 

• 1/2 Cooking spoon Cray fish

•2 plum Tomatoes 

• 5 chili pepper "Shombo" 

• 3 red scotch bonnet pepper "Ata rodo" 

• 1½ Cup palm oil 

• 1 bunch Pumpkin leaves 

• 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: Wash the pumpkin leaves (Ugu) with salt water to kill the germs and rinse with clean water. Chop the leaves and set aside

Step 3: Wash the Tomato, chili pepper and scotch bonnet. 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 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. if you like your egusi soup a little bit lumpy, skip frying as shown in this step. Instead, add the ground egusi into the stock and cover the pot(don't add the palmoil)- don't stir. Leave it too cook till the egusi absorbs most of the stock in the pot, swells and cakes up. After this , you can add the palm oil and other ingredients before moving to step 7.

Step 6: Pour in the meat & fish stock in step 4 above, add the pepper & tomato puree including 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 chopped ugu leaves, stir and cover the pot. Leave to simmer for 5-7 minutes before turning off the burner. Serve with your favorite "swallow",Boiled white rice or Yam

KFB Foodie Talk: How to make 'Amala' with Microwave oven

For our newbies, the KFB foodie talk column - handled by Dobby of Dobbysignature - is basically for ladies and 'guys' that are interested in learning how to cook better ;).


We have however got a guest for today's food lesson - Media personality Matse Uwatse Nnoli to discuss how to make Yam flour (Amala) eith microwave oven.
 

Amala has never been easier and you can do it in 5 minutes. Aint that Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-ly cool. I made several mistakes while trying to make Amala with my microwave oven. Unlike the Microwave oven Eba that is so easy to make, the microwave oven Amala took a lot of experimenting until I got it right. Yipee!

 The first person I saw make Amala with a micro-wave oven was actually my cousin Alero Uwatse -Edukugho several years ago. It didn’t cross my mind to replicate the process until I became a food blogger willing to share ideas and tricks. This will make your life so easy. It requires less washing, less stress,  giving you perfectly made Amala that is almost lump-proof. Oh yes! 
Let me show you how to do this.
 
Now, get a deep bowl. Pour in the Amala powder.
Add water to the bowl.
 
Mix with your fingers until it is well blended with no lumps within it.
 
Cover and pop into the oven for 2 minutes. Yep yep!
This is what it will look like after 2 minutes.
 
Mix nicely with a wooden spatula since it is hot. Mix until it smoothens out. This stage helps you to get rid of any lump forming. Cover once more and pop back into the oven for 3 minutes.
Uhum this is what you get after 3 minutes. See how smooth and good it looks?
Grab the wooden spatula and blend some more. Looking good huh? Ayayaaaa!
Aaaand because I love my Amala extra soft and smooth, I sprinkled some more water on it, blended it nicely and put it back into the oven for 1 more minute…you can leave it longer if you want the “drawy”  effect.
 
See how lovely and stretchy it is? Voila! If you want it even more supple. Add more water, blend in properly and  pop back into the oven and blend  after heating for a few minutes with your wooden spatula. Simple, clean,  easy, well made  Amala in minutes.  
Microwave oven made Amala

KFB Foodie Talk: How to make Beef and Potato Soup

For our newbies, the KFB foodie talk column - handled by Dobby of Dobbysignature - is basically for ladies and 'guys' that are interested in learning how to cook better ;). 

Today, Dobby discusses how to make Beef and Potato soup.

 

There's this restaurant i go to eat in once in a while located not too far from where i stay. They've got a lot of tasty meals on the menu but one meal that stands out for me is this beef and potato soup. At first, i probably got attracted by the colors but then it takes more than colors to keep me coming back for more. So, instead of enjoying this meal alone i decided to start making it at home for the fam.

 

This recipe is very much inspired by their beef and potato soup creation...although I do not know their recipe and this isn't exactly a "copycat" version per se. This is just an easy way to make something similar at home for everyone to enjoy and i think it tastes even better ;).

How to make beef and potato soup
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1hr:15mins

Ingredients:::

• 500g Beef

• 600g Irish Potatoes

• 3 tbsp. Flour (to thicken)

• 3 Large Carrots

• A bunch Spring onions

• 1 large Red bell pepper

• 1 large Green Bell pepper

• 1 medium sized Red onion

• 2 Seasoning cubes

• 1 tsp. Curry powder

• 1 tsp. Thyme

• Salt to taste

Directions:::

Step 1: Dice the beef into smaller bits, rinse and place in a medium sized pot. Add just enough water to cover the content of the pot and some salt. Cook for about 15 minutes till the meat softens.

Step 2: Peel the Irish potatoes and cut into small chunks. Rinse the potatoes and add it into the pot with cooked beef. Pour some more water (just enough to cover the potatoes in the pot). Add the crushed seasoning, check for salt and add more if needed, add the curry powder and thyme. Place the pot on the burner and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes. While the potato cooks, move to step 3.

Step 3: Wash and slice the carrots, spring onions (cut lengthwise), red bell pepper(cut lengthwise), green bell pepper(cut lengthwise) and Onion. By now the potatoes in step 2 should be soft. In a separate bowl, add a little water into the flour and stir quickly making sure it doesn't form clumps. It's ready when it is of dropping consistency (like melted ice cream).
On low heat, gently add the flour liquid into the pot, while stirring continuously to ensure it mixes properly and does not clump. Leave it to thicken for 3-5minutes.

Step 4: Gently add the chopped vegetables and mix to incorporate. Leave to cook for about 5 minutes more before turning off the burner.

Serve alone as a meal or accompanied with boiled white / curried rice