Pudding Egusi (Egusi Pudding)

Ingredients:

500g beef, minced
200g dried and smoked fish
1kg egusi^** seeds, finely ground
150g dried crayfish (dried prawns)
1 large onion
salt, to taste
2 vegetable or beef stock cubes
8 plantain (or banana) leaves
hard-boiled eggs (optional)
hot chillies (optional)

Method:

Cut the dried and smoked fish into small pieces, removing as many bones as you can. Place in a bowl of warm water and set aside to soak.

Take half the onion and chop finely. Place in a pot with the beef and 200ml water. Bring to a boil. Crumble in 1 stock cube and season with a little salt. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the beef is almost tender.

Drain the fish and add to the pot. Cook for about 20 minutes more, or until the fish is tender. If the stock looks like it's going to dry out, add more water, as needed.

Place the finely-ground egusi seeds in a large bowl. Add the meat, fish and the stock to the bowl and mix with a large wooden spoon, until the mixture comes together as a dough (add more water, if needed).

Grind the hot chilli and the remaining onion half to a paste and slowly work into the beef and egusi mixture. Grind the dried crayfish and stir this into the egusi mixture.

Adjust the seasonings to taste with a stock cube and some salt (if needed). Remove the midrib from the plantain leaves then warm the leaf over a flame until they soften. Alternatively, use greaseproof (waxed) paper.

Bring a pan of water to a boil. Line a steamer basket with part of a plantain leaf (or greaseproof paper). Take one of the warmed plantain leaves (or a piece of greaseproof paper). Take a scoop of the egusi paste and place about 10cm from one end of the plantain leaf. Now wrap the egusi paste in the leaf by folding the end of the leaf where the paste sits over the paste and begin rolling until you reach the other end. Now fold the two loose ends of the leaf towards the centre such that the egusi paste is fully enclosed. Turn the 'bundle' over and place the underside of the bundle (side with the folded ends) in the steam pot such that the bundle stays in place and does not unravel or come undone.

Repeat the process with the remaining egusi paste. Once done, cover the steamer basket with a lid and place over your pot of boiling water.

Allow the egusi puddings to steam, topping up the pot beneath them with water as needed, so that it does not boil dry, for about 60 minutes, or until cooked through and firm.

Once the puddings have cooked, take the steamer basket off the heat. Allow to cool until the parcels can be handled. Unravel and slice the puddings before serving (they can be served hot or cold).

**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.