Nigeria – Egusi Sauce and Snails With Ripe Plantains

by Verdzekov Bernard

A snail is one of the oldest mollusks to have existed. They have been categories as one of the slowest things to have existed too. Yes, they move, but very slow.  Snails are being reared as well. They could be kept in dark enclosed areas which is a bit marshy. They eat things like tomatoes and pearl. They don’t complicate. Looking at a snail physically you may not want to eat it. But after it is being processed and put in the pot, it is something else. Snails are cleaned and sliced by experts. It takes some training to do so. After that processing, the snail can be cooked by anyone. Some will say they can’t consume such, but after tasting it for the first time with some pepper, the story will be told different. Let me give you a clue of how snail taste. It is a little bit hard but very chewable. When spiced with pepper or prepared in soup, the taste and satisfaction is something else. 

Probably after reading this, you may want to prepare Egusi sauce and snails. I will do you good by writing the procedure below. Follow the guide below

Ingredients

• Egusi 
• Pepper 
• Maggi 
• Salt to taste
• Onions
• Dried snails 
• Tomatoes 
• Green spice
• Vegetable oil
• Ripe plantains

Procedure

• Grind your Egusi and put aside.
• Slice your tomatoes and green spice and keep aside
• Wash your dry snails and keep aside. 
• In your main cooking pot for your sauce, put in your vegetable oil and heat up. When heated up, add your onions and fry for about 2min then add your tomatoes and green spices. Make sure this spice fry well for 5min while you are stirring occasionally. Add one cup of water and stir.
• Add your snails and stir well. The reason you putting the snail first before the egusi is for the spice to get deep into the meat. 
• In another pot, cook your egusi. Put it in a pot with water and some sliced onions cook well. this should take about 15min. The reason you are cooking egusi in another pot, is because it takes some time to really get ready and soft. If prepared inside the main cooking, spices cool burn. 
• Add your egusi into the main cooking pot, stir well, then add about 2 cups of water, stir well and cover pot for egusi to blend well with the other ingredient in the pot. Add salt to taste and magi. Add some vegetable oil and stir. Allow the pot for about 10mins more. Reduce the heat under the pot to the lowest.
• For this 10min before removing the pot, peel your plantains, rinse, place in your small pot, add 2 cups of water, close pot and boil your plantains. Check the plantains after 10min. if yellow, deep in a fork to check if soft already for adequate chewing. If yes, remove and serve with your egusi sauce and snails. 

NB:

When cooking, you need to arrange all the tools and ingredients you need to use for cooking that particular dish so as not to get distracted, confused or lost during cooking process. Your surrounding has to be clean as well as it will help to be able to locate all what you need in the kitchen. That is why I always love to start my cooking by arranging all tools and ingredients need for me to prepare that particular dish.