EGUSI PEPPERSOUP

Egusi pepper soup  is a popular pepper soup variation in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. It's simply a spicy peppersoup thickened with egusi and can be enjoyed with rice, pounded yam, eba or any swallow of your choice and its particularly delightful to have on a cold day.
If u ever needed something to warm your innards and keep the cold at bay on a cold evening, this soup is for you.

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This soup can be cooked with any meat or fish of your choice but to give it a kick I'll recommend goat meat or catfish. To take it to the next level simply add some dried catfish or any good quality dried fish. The flavor profile simply does things to your brains and you just don't want it to end!
I didn't have any dried fish on the day I cooked it though, being a sunday evening after church and a couple of visits, I just couldn't be bothered to leave my house again to pursue that but it did come out awesome!!!

Ingredients:
Goat meat about 10 medium cut pieces
Knorr cubes (not pictured)
Delta Peppersoup spices (african nutmeg, ehuru,eriérié) Or any good quality peppersoup spice blend*
1 tablespoon dried pepper
1 cup of egusi blended dry (a wet blend can also be used)
1 tablespoon ground dried crayfish
1 teaspoon dried bitter leaf*

*Even when I use a storebought pepper soup mix I also add some of mine at home to achieve my desired taste. Pictured is one bought fro Ebeano stores in Lekki, Lagos. I'll say its one of the best store mixes I've tried.

*Other leaves that can be used are ukazi and scent leaf.

 fresh goat meat

 spices, seasonings and egusi.

 store bought peppersoup mix

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Season your meat with the knorr cubes (or any bouillon/stock cube of your choice, avoid anything too exotic as you don't want to disrupt the peppersoup taste).
Cook for about 45 minutes or until your meat is soft enough for your preference.

Begin adding the other ingredients. First goes in the pepper...

Next your ground crayfish...

 Add your peppersoup spices after you have removed the shells and crushed or blended. Stir it all.

Now add the egusi and stir again. The amount of egusi you use shouldn't be too much. This is meant to be a slightly watery soup but not too watery either.

EMERGENCY!!!
Unfortunately at this stage, I discovered my soup was slightly salty!!! I threw in some slices of sweet potatoes to help absorb some of the salt! This rescued my soup, whew!!!
Allow the soup cook for about 10 more minutes after adding all your ingredients and its ready to eat.

Here's the soup served with some semovita. This is one soup to try if you've never eaten it before. Switch things up a little and enjoy!!!