How to Prepare Egusi Soup

Do you know how to Prepare Egusi Soup? If you don’t know how to prepare it, don’t worry I got you covered. For you who know how to cook this soup, welcome as you are about to learn a new recipe today.

Egusi soup is a nutritious and delicious dish popular in Nigeria and other West African countries, made primarily from melon seeds. These seeds tend to give the soup its characteristic thick texture and nutty flavor.

Egusi (melon) seeds are from a certain cucurbitaceous plant particularly those of the melon family. These seeds are usually commonly found in different West African countries including Nigeria.

The seeds are removed/harvested from the melon plant, dried, peeled, and ground into a fine powder (if completely dried). If not completely dried it will be a bit moist.

Egusi Soup is very nutritious as it contains essential fatty acids, proteins, vitamins, and even minerals. Aside from cooking it as a major meal, Egusi can be used as a thickener for other soups and stews.

There is no one particular way of cooking Egusi soup. There are many variations of cooking Nigerian Egusi soup; it all depends on your personal preference and the ethnic group you are emulating from.

For example, there is an Egusi soup with ingredients like pumpkin seeds, okra, waterleaf, bitter leaf, pumpkin leaf, spinach, etc.

All these variations taste delicious in their own way. Because this soup holds a cultural significance in Nigeria it is often served at special occasions like weddings, festivals, and other celebrations.

As a Nigerian, we don’t just make our soups to lick them but to be enjoyed with a side dish like pounded yam, fufu, semo or rice, etc.

These side dishes complement the soup to help us balance out the richness of the soup and also give us a satisfying meal.

What are the Ingredients Used for Egusi Soup

The ingredients I will be using for this particular recipe are listed below;

1. Four cups of egusi

2. Stockfish (okporoko)

3. Crayfish

4. Fluted pumpkin leaves

5. Cow skin (kpomo)

6. Beef or Goat meat

7. Dry fish

8. Shelled periwinkle

9. Fresh pepper

10. Palm oil

11. Salt and Knor seasoning cubes to taste.

You can add other ingredients of your choice, according to your preference. But with these ingredients, I am going to make a delicious mouthwatering Egusi soup that will serve up to a family of 3 or more.

Other Nigerian Soups Recipes;

Steps on How to Make Nigerian Egusi Soup

The first thing to start with is to keep your cooking area, utensils, and equipment clean because hygiene is very important when it comes to what we eat.

Step 1

Grind the dried egusi using a hand grinding machine or with a dry blender and set aside in a dry bowl. Add a little water to the egusi and mix (don’t make it watery) to have a thick paste. Then set aside.

Step 2

Wash and grind the fresh pepper and set aside. Wash and cut the pumpkin into tiny slices and set aside as well. To the onions wash and cut into tiny slices and also set aside.

Step 3

Wash the meat, kpomo (cow skin), Stockfish, and Periwinkle (I washed more than three times) into the pot. Add your pepper, onions, salt, and seasoning cubes and allow it to steam for 2-3 minutes. Open the pot and add water and coke for 8-10 more minutes (so that the stockfish can be soft and tender).

Step 4

After 10 minutes take the meat and its stock out of the pot and set aside. Put the same pot on heat allow it to dry and add palm oil, allow it to heat for a minute but don’t allow it to bleach. Go in first with the remaining onions and stir, add the Egusi paste, and stir fry for 7-8 minutes to form seed-like crumbs. (Keep stirring to prevent it from being burnt from the bottom)

Step 5

Pour the already cooked meat and others with the stock into the pot of fried egusi and stir. Add your dry fish, pepper, ground crayfish, extra seasoning cube, and water. Cover the pot and allow it to cook for 5-7 minutes.

Step 6

By now you should be feeling the glory of the soup already through its aroma. Open the pot and stir occasionally to prevent burning from the bottom. Taste for salt and pepper. Add your slices of pumpkin leaves and stir.

Step 7

Allow it to simmer on low heat for a minute, stir, and off the heat because the delicious Egusi soup is ready to be served.

Enjoy it with any swallow of your choice be it pounded yam, eba, fufu, or semo. You can even enjoy it with white rice.

How to Prepare Egusi Soup | The Best and Easiet Recipe

How to Prepare Egusi Soup