Cow meat pepper soup

There are different types of pepper soup such as; Goat meat pepper soup with assorted beef, chicken pepper soup, Cow Head, leg or tail pepper soup, fish pepper soup, the list goes on and on depending on the type of meat or fish used. Now this Hot & Spicy delicacy is one enjoyed by most people as an appetizer. Some occasions and gatherings are not complete without this savory dish. It’s really popular especially in bars and restaurants were people go to hang out. For this particular recipe, I enjoyed mine with Agidi (Nigeria’s jello like meal)…..Yummy!

Nigerian Cow meat pepper soup recipe:::
•Prep time:  30 mins
•Cook time: About an Hour
•Region:    Nigeria
•Misc:     Serve Hot
•Serves:     4
•Meal Type: Appetizer, Main course
•Side dish: Agidi (Eko)

Ingredients:

• 500g Cow Meat

• 500g Assorted meat: Cow Intestines, Tripe a.k.a Sharki , Pomo, Liver

• 4 Seasoning cubes

• 3 tbsp. Powdered Chili pepper or 4 Scotch Bonnet (Red (Rodo) or Yellow)

• 1 Red Onion, Whole

• 3 tbsp. Crayfish, Ground

• Salt to taste

•A handful Scent leaves (Nchuawun), Chopped

Ingredients for the Pepper Soup spice:::

• 3 Seeds Calabash Nutmeg “Monodora myristica” (Ehu/Ariwo)

• 100g Dried ginger

• 100g Dried garlic

• 1 tbsp. Mpuru uziza seeds “piper guineese” (Ashanti pepper)or Alligator pepper “Ulima / Atariko”

Directions:::

Preparation of the pepper soup Spice:::
Step 1: Before using the calabash nutmeg, you’d need to roast it either in an open flame or on a frying pan (preferably old). This enables you peel the skin off easily while Activating the aromatic compounds of the nutmeg.
Directions: Place the nutmeg on the open gas burner or an old frying pan and heat up. Stir constantly till you start to perceive the aroma. To know if the ehu is ready, try peeling off the outer skin. If it comes of easily, then it is ready. Peel off the skin and set aside

Step 2: Place the Dry ginger, Dry garlic, Calabash nutmeg, Ashanti pepper or Alligator pepper, in a dry mill an blend till you have a smooth powder. Store in an air tight jar. This could last for several months Or Set this aside for the pepper soup preparation.

Preparation of the Assorted meat pepper soup

• For the Nigerian pepper soup, you can use fish (Thereby making it fish pepper soup), Chicken/ Turkey(Thereby making it Chicken/turkey pepper soup), Any type of Beef with the inner parts i.e Tripe(sharki), Intestines, Liver, lungs, kidney known as assorted meat (thereby making it Assorted meat peppersoup). For this recipe, I used Cow meat, Cow Intestines, Tripe a.k.a Sharki , Pomo (You could use as many types as you wish)

Step 1: Wash the red onion and scotch bonnet. Place in a blender and puree till smooth.

Step 2: Before you cook, Make sure you wash the Assorted meat thoroughly especially the sharki, pomo and roundabout. For the intestines, Turn inside out and remove the saturated fats there. For the pomo, Scrape the inner part and back with a knife. Wash thoroughly and place the meat in a medium sized pot.

Step 3: Add the blended Onion and Scotch bonnet or Powdered chili, Curry powder, Seasoning cubes (Crushed) and salt to taste and water just enough to cover the meat in the pot. Cook on medium heat for about 35-40 minutes till soft.

Step 4: By now, the liquid in the pot would be reduced and concentrated. Add a little more water, Ground crayfish and 2 tbsp. pepper soup spice. Check for salt and seasoning, then leave to cook for another 10mins.

Step 5: Add the Scent leaves ; leave to simmer for 5mins