Saturday, July 07, 2007

Egusi Soup in nigeria

Egusi Soup in nigeria is like burger in the US or Noodles in China, this is so simply because everyone in Nigeria eats egusi soup.

Outlined below is a classic recipe on preparing egusi soup that all nigerian desire and relish.

INGREDIENTS

Meat or fish (about 1 kg)
2 tomatoes
1 onion
4 peppers
2 magi cubes
Cooking oil
1 cup of ground egusi
2 cups or one medium branch of spinach.
Salt
Water


INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Boil the meat or fish until it is tender, and keep it aside.
  2. Chop the spinach if required.
  3. Ground the tomatoes, peppers and onions together (you will need to add some water).
  4. Place in a pot, add the meat, and the magi cubes, and about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, and the ground egusi, and the chopped spinach.
  5. Cook for about 20 to 30 minutes.
  6. Add salt and ground pepper to taste.
Eat with any of the dishes that have 'soup' with them.

How to make puff puff

What you need for Makes 40-60 balls

2 cups (or about ½ liter) flour
2 cups (or about ½ liter) water
½ cup (or about an eighth of a liter) sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
Some vegetable oil

How to Prepare Puff Puff
  1. Mix the flour, sugar, water, and yeast together until the batter is smooth.
  2. Wait until the dough has risen. About 2½ hours or so should do. (I've heard that if you use quick-rising yeast, you don't have to wait, but I have not tried it yet.)
  3. Put vegetable oil into a pot, until it is at least 2 inches (or about 5 centimeters) high (too little will result in flatter balls), and place on low heat.
  4. Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by putting a 'drop' of batter into the oil. If it is not hot enough, the batter will stay at the bottom of the pot rather than rising to the top.
  5. When the oil is hot enough, use a spoon to dish up the batter, and another spoon or spatula to drop it in the oil, sort of in the shape of a ball.
  6. Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown.
  7. Turn the ball over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.
  8. Use a large spoon or something like that to take it out of the oil. I usually place them on napkins right away to soak up some of the excess oil.
  9. If desired, you can roll the finished product in table sugar or powdered sugar to make it sweeter.
Courtesy: Motherland Africa