A thick, hearty soup of ground melon seeds cooked with leafy greens, smoked fish, and palm oil, a staple across Cameroon's diverse ethnic communities.
Ingredients
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1 cup ground egusi (melon) seeds
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300g beef, cubed
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150g smoked fish, deboned
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200g spinach or bitter leaf, chopped
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1/4 cup palm oil
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1 large onion, chopped
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2 scotch bonnet peppers
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2 tbsp ground crayfish
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2 bouillon cubes
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Salt to taste
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2 cups meat stock
Instructions
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1
Season and boil beef until tender. Reserve the stock.
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2
Heat palm oil in a pot, sauté chopped onion until soft.
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3
Add ground egusi seeds and stir continuously for 5-7 minutes until the seeds form clumps and absorb the oil.
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4
Gradually add meat stock while stirring to prevent lumps. Simmer 15 minutes.
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5
Add scotch bonnet peppers, crayfish, bouillon cubes, cooked beef, and smoked fish. Cook 10 minutes.
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6
Stir in chopped greens and cook 5 minutes until wilted. Serve with fufu or bobolo.
Did You Know?
Every Cameroonian cook has their own ratio of egusi to liquid, and getting the thickness exactly right is considered a point of pride.