Egusi Soup Recipe - The Frying and Lumpy Method | FoodBlog9ja

Egusi Soup is a very rich soup. It is made with ground melon seed that serves as the thickener alongside other vegetables. It is a one pot W...

Egusi Soup is a very rich soup. It is made with ground melon seed that serves as the thickener alongside other vegetables.

It is a one pot West African meal enjoyed especially in Nigeria by different tribes who have come to make variations of it.

It goes well with swallows like Fufu, Amala, Semovita, Wheat, Pounded Yam and even more. For someone like me who doesn’t eat swallow, I have mine with hot white rice. Trust me, this is super delicious. Something worth trying too.

Egusi seeds are rich in fat and protein, and add these essential nutrients into whatever meal you choose to make with it.

Other names for Egusi are “agusi or agushi”. They are seeds gotten from plants such as squash, melon, and gourd.

Ingredients

Egusi seeds (melon)

Dried fish 

Stock fish 

Cow skin 

Goat meat (or any protein of choice) 

Crayfish

Bell peppers (Tatashe) optional

Fresh peppers 

Seasoning cubes 

Pumpkin leaves (or any vegetable of choice)

Palm oil 

Salt to taste.

Before you start cooking

1) First blend both the bell peppers and Onions together until they turn smooth, then set aside.

2) Blend the Egusi seed, half of a single Onion, and Crayfish together. Set aside as well.

PROCEDURE (The frying method)

1) Wash the meat, wash the stock fish with warm water, pour in a pot, add seasoning cubes, onion, salt and place on medium heat then allow to cook till almost tender.

2) After that, place another pot on heat, add palm oil, allow to heat up, then add the blended bell peppers, fresh peppers and allow to fry for 2mins. At this point, add in ur blended crayfish, dried fish, stir and allow to fry for 1min.

3) After that, bring in the Egusi paste, (your Egusi paste should look like what’s in the photo below) stir and allow to fry until the oil comes on top. Make sure you stir gently each minute so it doesn’t burn.

4) After that, add in the meat stock, it should be hot please. If the stock isn’t enough, add water. (warm or hot water - do not use cold water) Make sure you add according to how you want the thickness of the soup to be.

5) After that, add in seasoning cubes, stir then bring in your cooked meat, stir and cover to simmer for 2mins.

6) After that, bring in the pumpkin leaves or any vegetable of ur choice, stir and turn of heat immediately.

PROCEDURE (The lumpy method)

1) Wash your meat, pour in a pot, add in stock-fish, the blended bell peppers (tatashe) and fresh peppers, seasoning cubes, salt to taste. Allow to cook on medium heat until almost soft.

Note: You can adjust the meat stock water if it’s not enough to cook the soup.

2) After that, add in palm oil, crayfish, dried fish, more seasoning cubes (this is to cook the soup). Cover and allow to cook for another 1min.

3) After that, scoop in the Egusi paste bit by bit, cover and allow to cook for about 3mins (do not stir the Egusi at this point).

4) After about 3mins, you will notice that the soup has formed lumps. All you need to do at this point is to break the lumps using a spatula according to the sizes you want. If it’s not well cooked, cover again and allow to cook well.

5) After that, add in the pumpkin leaves and turn off heat immediately.

Side Note: There are different methods of making Egusi soup but, this is how I make mine.

You can use chicken and/or Iced-fish as well. The choice is yours. If you like, you can also grill or fry your meats before adding to the soup.

Iru (locust bean) or Opeyi can be used in the soup also. I didn’t feel like using either, that’s why I didn’t include them.