There is no limit to the verities of the African cuisine and with each delicious delicacy is probably the attachment of a culture or tradition. Note that none is superior to the other but that the importance attached is solely dependant on its yribal origin.
So, it is no suprise that Edikaikong , a grandly celebrated pumpkin based vegetable stew is one of such with the effic speaking tribe in Nigeria as it’s notherland. To my thinking, the ausomeness of this soup is mainly the fact that it is so vege endowed and handsomely rich in essential minerals and can nicely travel into the stomach with just about any accompaniment you please.
It is very easy to prepare and always a pleasant site at the table, providing nourishment to all ages and pallet friendly.
The ingredients to preparing tgiz soup , like most other meals, can be adjusted to suit your requirements on all grounds and this you will see as we progress so let head to the market for our condiments.
- I like to add stock fish to my edikaikong soup so am getting it.
- The there is the meat you like, I go for game here, mmm. You can decide on beef, goat, poultry, pock, seafood, a combination or no meat at all. Your choice.
- A dried cat fish, this I will break to bits in the soup so each spoon full will have little bits of dried fish in it.
- Some cryfish, the more the better.
- You may like to add shrimps and, or any other seafood.
- Don’t forget periwinkle, we need the inescapable already picked out of there shells. Hmm, what a rich meal.
- Scotch bonnet peppers will also be needed.
- So also grind dried chemeroon peppers. Vegetables tends to accommodate heat but wach it for your preference.
- I will like to use fresh palm oil to get a better taste.
- Then fresh pumpkin leafs,
- Slightly dried water leaf. The water from thus leaf almost always tends to increase the volume of the soup and most times unbalance it so I like it slightly dried over a day or two.
- onions to be finely chopped.
- Let’s not forget seasonings and salt to taste
Now that all our condiments are assembled, we move to the kitchen for preparation of our soup.
- First thing I always do if am cooking with stock fish is to cook it in just water until it softens, otherwise you may complete the cooking and the stock fish os still too strong and inedible.
- Then I wash and cook the meat in a separate pot with some seasoning and no water, tgen add water in little quantity till the meat is tender. I do this so as nog tk run yge risk of having excess water in my soup because the meat most times , like the water leaf, comes moist and some times this is enough to cook the meat.
- While cooking the meat, I add the pieces dried fish, periwinkle, seafood, crefish.
- Thus is the point when we introduce the already cooked stock fish and if gge broth is much , it is advised to add just a little to the meat assuming it’s own broth is dried.
NB this soup does not need much water, in fact, it is very posible to cook it from start to finish without water because the water from meat and vegetables may be all you need. So watch it.
- Next to be added to the pot is the peppers,
- the seasoning and salt to your taste.
- the vegetables washed and shredded,
- finely copped onions
- Then oil. This soup takes quit a bit if oil so be liberal with this. Why do I add the oil last? To maintain the fresh taste , after all, it’s steady cooked in process.
- When I and cooking vegetable, I like not to cover the ppt once thus is andmcdded. You ask why? Covering the pot tends to make the leaf turn dark but the somewhat retain the green colour when the pot is left open. Just stand by to stare to pot at intervals, you won’t do this for long, just about three to five minutes and the soup is done.
crafty apparels... 