# Nigerian spicy melon soup
Melon soup is popular in Nigeria and it is best eaten with morsels or “swallow” preefrably with csaava flour or pounded yam as it’s popularly called. Egusi soup and pounded are top of the list.Growing up as a child this was my favorite meal and was always delighted when my mom prepares it. It was the first Nigerian soup i learnt to prepare wholeheartedly and as an adult i still enjoy the soup.
Nutritional Values of Egusi (Melon Seeds): Igwenyi et al., (2011) report that Citrullus colocynthus seeds contain about 50% oil, 8.28% potassium, 34.86% protein, 1.49% calcium, 42.29% oil, 3.37ppm copper and 162.76ppm sodium.
It contains other excellent source of nutritional minerals and vitamins such as carbohydrate, protein, fat, zinc, vitamin B1 (Thiamine),vitamins B2 (Riboflavin), dietary fibre, sulphur, magnesium, niacin and manganese.
# Ingredients
- 1 cups blended onions
- 300g melon (melon seeds,ground or milled)
- 1/2-1 cup palm oil
- 2 tbsp fresh locust beans
- 1 smoked fish (mackerel, titus)
- 1 tablespoon salt (to taste)
- Ground crayfish
- 7-8 cups stock (from cooked meat or fish)
- cooked meat and fish
- 500g waterleaf
- 1 large onions
- 2-3 red bell pepper
- 2 scotch bonnets (chili pepper)
- 1 cup chicken/beef stock
- 4 seasoning cubes
# Tools
- Cooking pot
- food processor
- Blender
- Knife
- chopping board
- corrainder
- mixing bowls
- colander
# Method
Egusi (Ground melon seed which is not the same as pumpkin seed) can be cooked in different methods.
Frying method: In this method you fry ground melon seed paste in palm oil first before adding the other ingredients.
Boiling method: this does not require any frying, i prefer this method as it is acclaimed to be healthier and thats the mthod used in this recipe.
Rinse the vegetables and leave to drain in the colander. If you would be using frozen vegetables, allow thawing before using. Squeeze out excess water and set aside.
In a blender, add red bell pepper, scotch bonnet chillies and onions with little water and blend till smooth. Empty into a bowl and set aside (you can blend the locust beans with the pepper if you want)
Add washed meat to another pot, add salt seasoning and chopped onions and bring to boil till tender, reserve stock for the soup.
Mix the ground melon with warm water to form a paste and set aside
Place a pot on a medium heat, add the meat stock and palm oil and bring to boil for about 5 to 10 minutes
Add the melon paste to the pot in bits and stir into the stock/palm oil mixture and stir gently to combine. Add the locust beans, add more water if need be and continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes making sure you stir intermittently till well cooked and almost lump free. Add the blended pepper and cook for another 5-8 minutes. Add crayfish, the meat, seasoning and salt
Add half of the smoked fish to the egusi soup and stir to combine and cook for another 5 minutes
Add the waterleaf to the egusi and stir to combine, add the remaining smoked fish and carefully stir into the soup and cook for another 5 minutes. Take it off the heat and Viola!!! "soup is ready" serve with swallow of choice or rice.
# Tips
Please be careful when adding salt to soup that contains stock as you might not be needing salt if the stock was well seasoned.
Melon soup is usually not thick, so add more water or stock to the soup to make it light if need be.
# Author
This recipe was contributed by Selina Kanu.