Egusi Soup
Rich, hearty soup thickened with ground melon seeds, leafy greens, and assorted meats.
Meat
⚠ Contains: Shellfish, Fish. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
How this varies: Some households form the fried egusi into distinct dumpling-like balls (akpuruakpu egusi) that stay intact in the soup rather than dissolving into a paste — a legitimate textural variant on the same dish.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups ground egusi (melon) seeds
- 300g beef, cubed
- 200g smoked fish, flaked
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 tbsp red palm oil
- 2 tbsp ground crayfish
- 1 tsp ground iru (locust beans) or ogiri okpei, to taste (traditional umami — optional but recommended for authenticity)
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper, chopped
- 3 cups bitter leaf (washed to reduce bitterness) or spinach, chopped
- 2 cups beef stock
- Pounded yam or fufu, to serve
Steps
- Simmer beef in stock with onion until tender, about 30 minutes; reserve the stock.
- Heat the red palm oil in a pot until hot, then add the ground egusi mixed with a little water to form small clumps; fry, stirring constantly, for 8-10 minutes until every grain turns deep yellow and fragrant.
- Add the crayfish, iru/ogiri okpei, and scotch bonnet, stir to combine.
- Pour in the reserved beef stock gradually, a ladle at a time, stirring to break the egusi into a thick, smooth paste.
- Add the beef and smoked fish, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped greens, simmer 5 more minutes until wilted. Serve with pounded yam or fufu.