Egusi Pudding Recipe

Egusi Pudding

A visitor to my blog asked me for egusi pudding recipe when she saw egusi pudding in the "Cameroon" entry.

Here's how I'll make it.

Boil meat (cut into small pieces), or fish, stock or dry fish, or whatever kind of fish you like (remove all bones), with spices such as fresh ginger, garlic, onion, pepper, salt, and maggi. Use enough water because you will need the broth to mix the egusi.

Grind egusi to a fine, soft powder. 

In a large mixing bowl, pour the meat and broth onto the ground egusi and mix until you have a fine paste. The texture should be about as thick as a cake mixture before you bake it (thick enough but sligtly runny).

Taste for salt and maggi.

Beat in two eggs to help the mixture hold well as it cooks.

Optional: you can also boil a number of eggs, peel them and put aside. You could insert one or two halves in each bundle so that when the pudding is made, when you cut it into slices, there'll be eggs in the middle.

Okay, now if you are in Africa, you could use warmed plantain leaves to make the bundles for cooking.

If you are in the West, you will need to put a pot on the stove. Line it with aluminium foil and put some water at the bottom of the pot.

Then, depending on the bundle sizes you desire, cut up rectangles of aluminium foil and cling wrap. Cut two rectangles of clingwrap for each rectangle of aluminium file and cross them over the alum. foil.

Dish out a scoop or two or the egusi mixture and fold the clingwrap and aluminium foil around it. Make sure to fold the top part, the aluminium foil, firmly enough so that the mixture cannot leak out. The bundle should be roomy to allow space for the egusi to solidify as it cooks. Do that until you have tied all the egusi mixture into bundles. Put them in the pot of water as you tie them. Cover the pot when you are done.

As the pot cooks, the water dries up every 5-10 minutes so that you have to periodically add about a cup full of water. Let the pot cook for about one hour and a half.

Then open one of the bundles to see if it is ready. If it is, all the others are. Then give it about 10 minutes to cool.  Finally open bundles and cut up the egusi pudding for serving.

I hope that this is clear enough. It is hard to explain these things sometimes, and I am happy that the person who asked for the recipe is African and would be able to visualize and better understand the recipe.

For a glimpse of egusi pudding, Click on "Cameroon!!" to view the October 2007 posting.

Recipes for Sahar!

Sahar, I promised you recipes nah!!!! I say, trying out recipes for different cultural dishes is one of my few fascinations. I have picked four of them to share with you. So, let me see. They are all pretty healthy stuff, and not difficult to make. One is for white chilli, one is for my own customized home-made tacos, then there's one for spagetti squash (I just made that one for the first time yesterday. Healthiest spagetti you ever ate!!), and finally one for the best quiche ever!!!!

White Chilli: A Baha'i friend, Beth, the same one who organized my wedding, gave me this recipe.

1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into ½ in cubes
1 med onion chopped
1 ½ t garlic powder
1 T veg oil
2 cans (15 oz) Great Northern beans rinsed and drained
1 can (14 ½ oz) chicken broth
2 cans (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 t salt
1 t ground cumin
½ t pepper
¼ t cayenne pepper
1 C (8 oz) sour cream
½ C whipping cream

In large saucepan, sauté chicken, onions & garlic powder in oil until ckn is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat simmering uncovered for 30 mins. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream and cream. Serve immediately. Yield:
7 servings. (I generally cut chilies and add extra beans)
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Tacos (Home-made):
--Make a dry sauce with diced fresh tomatoes, chopped onions, fresh ginger and garlic, green and red peppers (optional), seasoning, seasoned salt and pepper, and curry powder.

--Steam boneless chicken, cut it into tiny dices and add it to fry in the sauce.
--Take each flat taco and warm it in a fry pan (warm both sides).
--Lay them one at a time on a plate, rub in mayonnaise, sprinkle black pepper.
--Lay a lettuce leaf on the taco.
--Put in a spoon or more of your sauce and wrap it up.
It's now ready to eat.

Alternatively: rub both sides of taco with mayonnaise. After taco is made, liberally sprinkle mozarella cheese over it (the mayonnaise will help it stick). Put it in a warm oven for 5-8 minutes.

It is highly delicious. It all depends on how good you make your sauce.

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Spagetti Squash: (big, yellow, hard, and football-like in shape. Sold in the veggies section of grocery stores).

1. Buy the Squash.
2. Wash the Squash
3. Put it in the microwave and cook until it is a little soft, or at least cut-able.
4. Split Length-wise, turn upside down (where the skin of the squash is up)
5. Pour in some water, and butter and any kind of seasonings.
6. Cover with Seran Wrap.
7. Microwave until tender. (might be awhile)
8. Take out, turn over the squash, and scrape out the seeds.
9. Take a fork and scrape out the squash in strands.
10. Garnish with more butter and parmesan and salt and pepper if you want

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Quiche (Not written to scale)!!!

Required:
3 packets of cheese – mozzarella (grated white cheese)
Colby Jack (grated yellow cheese)
(2 packets and 1 packet of either cheese)
2 packets of honey ham ($2.50 each)
1 pack of frozen southern harsh browns (cost about $2.00)
11/2 sticks of butter
1 8oz pack of whipped cream (half and half; cost less than $1.00)
3 eggs
½ tablespoon seasoned salt
1 or 2 ceramic bowls for baking
Thick paper towels

Instructions:
Tear open packet of harsh browns and put the bag in the microwave to defrost.
Turn oven on to 4250F
Pour the potatoes into your ceramic bowl (s)
Use thick paper towels to press the potatoes into the bowl(s) to absorb some of the water and also to form a base.
Melt and drip the butter over the potatoes
Put the potatoes in the oven and bake for 30mins at 4250F

While potatoes bake, pour cheese into a big bowl.
Cut up ham into little squares and add them in. Mix together and set aside.
Pour whipped cream into a smaller bowl.
Beat and add in the three eggs.
Add seasoned salt. Beat together.
Set aside.

After 30 mins, take potatoes out of the oven.
Set oven at 3500F.
Pour the mixture of ham and cheese over the potatoes.
Evenly pour in the mixture of cream, eggs, and salt over everything else.
Put in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Take out and allow to set for 10 minutes.
Serve.