How To Make Ebiripo And Egusi Ijebu, The Special Ijebu Dish

How yo doing today dear KOKOfoodies? Trust food, cooking and your kitchen are as interesting and great as you are? You would agree that is known worldwide that various tribes and continents have some delicacies common to them while some are generic or from the common with all tribes/continents. Recently, we have been looking at local dishes across the African continent and today, we are taking a trip to Ijebu in Southwest Nigeria as we will be discussing Ebiripo and Egusi Ijebu.
The Ijebus are known for their peculiar delicacies which centre mainly on yam tubers such as cocoyam, cassava and water yam. In spite of the fact that most of the Ijebu food are yam-oriented, the process of cooking each of the dishes, however, differs and the varieties of sauces make them nutritionally rich and balanced for all occasions.
Ebiripo is simply one of the Ijebu meals made from Cocoyam, and can be cooked in various ways and spiced to make a balanced meal.
Cocoyam is pure carbohydrates and poor in other nutrients but many have now found ways to make the root nutritious by adding soyabeans while making Ebiripo.According to a study by Sowonola O. A., Ashaye O. A., and Akinde B. A,  from the Federal College of Agriculture, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Oyo State, Ebiripo fortified with 40% soy flour is significantly higher in protein (28%) and fat (8.4%) than the other Ebiripo samples. The combination of Egusi soup with the swallow also makes the dish balance.
Egusi soup, on the other hand, is made from the fat-and-protein rich melon seeds which has antioxidant properties that help fight aging and age more slowly. It also aids indigestion, prevents malnutrition and promotes healthy fats. Egusi has unsaturated fats that are good for the heart. These unsaturated fats help in reducing the chances of heart diseases by checking blood cholesterols.
There are so many ways to cook Ebiripo and Egusi Ijebu but here, we are looking at one of them. Let’s start with Ebiripo…
Recipe
Ebiripo Ingredients: Cocoyam, Soybeans, Ground fresh Pepper or dry chilli pepper (depending on choice), Water, Ground Crayfish, Leaves for wrapping
Method: Peel the cocoyam and grate or ground into paste. Add in soybeans flour and mix thoroughly. Add in little water depending on the quantity or size of the paste to make it lighter, fluffy and easy to pack, salt to taste, pepper and ground crayfish and mix thoroughly.
Wash the Ariba (wrapping) leaves thoroughly of grit or dirt. Scoop in small quantity with spoon into a folded leaf and arrange the Ebiripo inside a big pot and steam for about an hour (like you will do while making MoinMoin with leaves). Bring down Ebiripo to cool and set aside.
Egusi Ijebu Ingredients: 2 cups Egusi, 8-10 pieces Beef or Goat meat, 1 cup Smoked Fish, 2-3 chunks Stockfish, 1/2 cup Smoked Prawns (optional), 1/2 medium-size onion, Dry Pepper( ground), Seasoning to taste and Salt to taste
Method
Wash and season meat with salt, seasoning cube, a little onion and pepper and allow to marinate for 30 minutes, then boil till soft. If the Stockfish is tough then boil with the beef. Dry roast the Egusi in a frying pan until the seeds starts to pop like popcorn. Take the Egusi off the burner and allow to cool then blend until very smooth at a point it even starts to look oily. Wash the smoked fish and smoked prawns and set aside.
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In an empty pot add the ground Egusi, beef, fish, stockfish, prawn, dry pepper, seasoning, palm oil and 3 cups of water and bring to boil for about 20 minutes or until soup thickens to the right consistency. When soup thickens, you can then add the meat stock and the remaining finely chopped onions. Boil for another 5 minutes, taste to correct seasoning. Serve on its own with your Ebiripo or you can pair with Ewedu.
We hope you enjoy the dish and feed us in on your Ebiripo experience!

Photos Credit: Getty