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Egusi with Efo

Egusi with Efo is a traditional Nigerian recipe for a classic stew of meat, vegetables and greens in a tomato-based stock flavoured with hot chillies that's thickened with ground pumpkin seeds (egusi). The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Nigerian version of: Egusi with Efo.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

55 minutes

Total Time:

75 minutes

Serves:

6

Rating:

Tags : Chilli RecipesBeef RecipesNigeria Recipes

Efo is the Nigerian for 'stew' (or 'soup' in West African parlance). The recipe given below is for the basic vegetable stew, flavoured as most West African stews are with dried smoked fish and hot chillies. Egusi seeds are a variant form of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus) seeds with a fleshy pericarp, commonly called egusi seeds which is extensively cultivated in Nigeria for the high protein and carbohydrate content of the edible seeds. They are often added, pulverized to a powder, as a thickener to stews.

Ingredients:

1kg cubed Meat or fish (or a mixture)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 bell peppers, sliced
2 Scotch bonnet chillies, pounded to a paste
2 Magi or stock) cubes
Cooking oil
200g egusi seeds (substitute pumpkin seeds) ground to a powder in a coffee grinder
400g shredded spinach
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:

Add the meat (and/or fish) to a large pan with a little water, bring to a boil then simmer until done (about 20 minutes). Take off the heat and set aside until needed.

Pound the chillies to a paste in a pestle and mortar then add the onion and pound to a paste. Finally add the tomatoes and pound in. Add a little oil to a pot and fry the chilli paste for about 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to break down. Add the meat/fish to this along with the Maggi cubes the ground egusi and the chopped spinach. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 25 minutes.

Season with salt and black pepper then serve immediately on a bed of rice.