Ofe egwusi generally known as melon soup is one of the most enjoyable soup in Nigeria especially by the Igbo tribe. The Egwusi soup when cooked well is very sweet and tasty and today I will be teaching you the two great methods that you can use to cook melon soup, you will be needing the following ingridents;

1. Some cups of melon seeds

2. Palm oil (red)

3. Pepper & salt

4. Crayfish

5. 2 cubes of Maggi

6. Fish & meat

7. Vegetable leaves (ugu precisely)

8. Okpei

For the record there are two known methods of preparing the egwusi soup which are

1. The fired method

2. The boiling method

The fried method

• Get your melon ready by either grinding with electric blender or with moltar and pestle into a powdered form

• Get a very dry pot, put on fire and pour in your red Palm oil. Allow the red Palm oil to heat for some few minutes, if the oil have heated up, get your grinder melon and fry it with the oil and make sure you stirr the two very well so that it will not burn and this will also make melon to have a red- yellowish colour. Do the stirring for some minutes and then pour in some amount of water into the pot.

• When the soup starts boiling, you can now commence the addition of your ingridents like crayfish , pepper, salt, 2 cubes of Maggi, Okpei and your cooked meat or fish.

• Cut your vegetable leaves (ugu), wash it properly and add it into the boiling soup. Leave the soup for some minutes so that the vegetables can be cooked and soften , after this you can now put down your soup which is done and ready to be served.

The boiling method

• To cook your melon soup using this method, there will be no need for you to cook your meat or fish separately. The first step is to get your meat or fish on fire for cooking when it starts boiling and softening, get your grinded egwusi powder and add directly to the boiling meat/fish.

• Leave the mixture for some minutes before you can add your red Palm oil to it. Make sure you stirr soup well.

• You can now commence the addition of your ingridents like crayfish, 2 cubes of Maggi, pepper, salt, Okpei etc to improve the taste.

• Cut your vegetable leaves (Ugu), wash it properly and add it into the soup. Leave the vegetables to be cooked for some minutes before bringing down the soup from fire .