Original name: Egusi soup
Origin: Nigeria
Ingredients
Ingredients for the preparation of the meat:
1 kg beef meat, cut in cubes of 2 cm
1 medium-size onion, chopped finely
2 small cubes of maggi (bouillon cube commonly used in Africa)
1/4 teaspoon of salt (for the meat)
0.5 liter of water
Ingredients for the preparation of the soup:
2 small packs of ground melon seeds (called Egusi, can be found in African shops)
3 tablespoons of water
100 ml palm oil (red oil)
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of chili powder
½ medium-size onion, chopped finely
1 handful of spinach, cut in 1 cm pieces (about 50 gr)
Ingredients for the preparation of semolina:
1 kg semolina flour
1 liter of water
3 tablespoons of corn oil
Preparation
Add all the ingredients for the preparation of the meat in a pot and cook it on medium heat until the meat is cooked for about 30 minutes. Leave it aside.
In the meanwhile place ground melon seeds in a small bowl, add 3 tablespoons of water and the chopped onion and mix them all.
Heat the palm oil in the pan, the color will change a bit after about 3 minutes. Add the ground melon mixture prepared in the previous step. Mix it continuously for about 3-4 minutes until it gets dry. Add 0.5 liter of broth of the cooked meat (if the broth is not enough, add also normal water to complete it to the 0.5 liter). Then add the chili powder, salt and spinach. After 5 minutes, add the rest of the broth and the meat. Then cook the soup on medium heat for 20 minutes.
To prepare the semolina, bring 1 liter of water and 3 tablespoons of oil to boil in a deep pot. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat, add the semolina flour, quickly and continuously mix it with a wooden spoon for about 3-4 minutes. When the water gets dry, you can remove it from the fire.
Serve semolina and the soup side by side.