My favourite delicacy

As a typical Nigerian, my favourite is a local dish called 'Amala and egusi'. 'Amala' is a swallow made from yam flour. It is mostly popular among the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. It is made by boiling water on fire and then adding the yam flour into the boiled water, and stirring until it is smooth and solid.

Amala is served best when it is hot. I so much love 'Amala' that I recommend it for everyone that comes my way. It supplies enough energy to the body when taken. I highly recommend 'Amala' to anyone that is sick. Of course, even when I couldn't eat anything anytime I was sick, I would eat 'Amala'. Its smooth body and soft texture enable an easy passage through my oesophagus to its destination. Also, while eating amala, especially when it is hot, one passes out sweat and feel so healthy thereafter. Have you ever wondered why Nigerians are so strong, 'Amala' is one of the reasons. Here in our place, it is given to the pregnant women that just delivered babies right from the hospital. And I get so amazed at how they consume it happily in no time and get strength. Those that give birth abroad are always anxious to come home, just to eat 'Amala'. We thank God on behalf of our people that reside overseas for the local markets and African restaurants abroad where yam flour can be bought and where already made 'Amala' can be eaten at will. If not, many of our people would have been homesick. One of my friends abroad confessed that eating 'Amala' makes him still feel connected to his cultural heritage and enables him to feel at home while abroad.
While 'Amala' can be eaten with various kinds of soup like vegetables, bean soup, okra, stew and the likes, I prefer to eat my 'Amala' with melon soup, also known as 'egusi' in my local dialect.

Oh! I love melon soup with a touch of vegetables, most especially, bitter leaf. Ordinarily, melon is rich in vitamins, potassium, calcium and protein, addition of bitter leaf now makes it the best with its antioxidant content and its bitter-sweet taste. Aside bitter leaf, there are other vegetables one can add to make the melon soup sumptuous. Melon soup is also very easy to prepare depending on individual preference. At the beginning, some boil the melon while other fry theirs but I love frying mine.

The ingredients needed for the melon soup include: one or two tin cups of peeled melon, vegetables, some bonnet pepper, onion, palm oil or vegetable oil, fish, meat, locust beans, seasoning cubes and salt. I start the soup making process by grinding my melon and a little onion into paste and then grinding the pepper and the onion in another bowl. Just because I use bitter leaf, there's a need to prepare the bitter leaf also before I start cooking. So, I rinse the bitter leaf in a bowl and sieve the water away. I add a little salt to the bitter leaf and start squeezing until it starts foaming. This process is to squeeze out the bitterness and remove any toxic content.

After the bitter leaf has been well squeezed and rinsed, the cooking can start.
A little oil is poured into the pot, the melon paste is added into the oil and stirred until it is fried. Then, the ground pepper and onion is added, locust beans and some water can also be added at this point and covered. Seasoning cubes, salt and the available protein, be it fish or meat are also added.

Lastly, I add my vegetables in order not to be too soft and I cover till it gets done. I stir and put it down from fire. Melon soup is ready with 'Amala'.
I wish you could try it in your home. So sumptuous! Thanks for reading.
I invite @samolaj @ayomidewinner to join this initiative.
Thanks for reading.

All pictures were taken by me.

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