Egusi Soup
Egusi Soup is a Nigerian dish made primarily from ground melon seeds. Melon seeds are an off white color, have an oval shape to them, and once ground, the seeds have a slightly oily feel which is to be expected and doesn’t affect taste. There are usually two variations of Egusi Soup; one involves the addition of chopped spinach and is typically called Egusi Elefo, while the other version does not use spinach, it’s simply plain Egusi soup, minus the vegetables.
Egusi or ground melon seeds also act as a thickener when added to soups/stews and should be used sparingly. It’s quite simple to make and happens to be one of my favorite Nigerian soups to make…and eat! (This recipe is a slightly modified version of the original recipe first featured over a year ago).
Without further ado, here’s what you’ll need to make Egusi Soup:
| Prep Time: 15 Mins | Cook Time: 2.5 Hrs | Difficulty: Easy | Serves: 2-4 |
- 8-10 s/m African chicken pieces
- 5-7 m pieces shaki/tripe
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper/rodo/habanero
- 1 cup Egusi/ground melon seeds
- 1/2 cup palm oil
- 1.5 cups shawa/dried fish
- 2 tbsps ground red pepper
- 2 tbsps curry powder
- 2 knorr cubes
- 2 fresh garlic cloves (chopped or sliced)
- Ginger (size of garlic cloves/chopped)
- 1 bag fresh spinach
1. Rinse chicken and tripe/shaki, add to pot, turn heat to low-medium
2. Add curry powder, ground red pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, chopped ginger & garlic & knorr cubes
3. Let sweat for 10 minutes over medium heat
4. Add enough water to cover meats, let boil over medium heat for 1.5 – 2 hours till soft
5. Leave meats to boil and work on fresh spinach
6. Chop up spinach
7. Once done chopping up spinach, transfer to bowl and set aside
8. Return to boiling meats and check for softness; if soft, reduce heat to low and add palm oil without draining stock
9. Stir palm oil into stock, increase heat to medium and add shawa/dried fish
10. Stir thoroughly and let cook for 5 minutes still over medium heat
11. Reduce heat to low and sprinkle egusi over meats
12. Stir egusi into stock thoroughly
13. Let cook over low heat for 15 minutes (add spoonfuls of water if necessary to prevent burning)
14. Add chopped spinach into pot, still over low heat
15. Stir chopped spinach into egusi thoroughly till evenly distributed
16. Let simmer for 5 minutes, turn off heat
17. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving
18. And you’re all done!
Notes:
- You don’t have to use fresh spinach to make Egusi Soup, you can use chopped frozen spinach, but be sure to use at least 2 packs. I can’t say I detected much of a difference between the fresh spinach and the frozen kind, or maybe my taste buds are not discerning enough, but it really boils down to which you prefer.
- If you do use fresh spinach, before chopping it up, be sure to rinse the leaves with cold water even though the bag says its already been washed!
- You can heat up the palm oil first in a separate pot, add the ground melon seeds/egusi, let fry for about 10 minutes before adding to the stock. Either way works just fine, it’s just a matter of personal preference and how much time you have!
- You can use any meat variation you want, mix and match to your hearts desire. Fish, goat meat, cow foot, kpomo etc, all work well for Egusi Soup.
- It is very important to let the egusi cook (step 13) after adding it to the stock, otherwise it can cause diarrhea if not cooked long enough. Conversely, if you eat too much egusi, it will cause constipation! It’s almost a lose-lose situation, lol
- You can also stop at step 13 and have plain Egusi soup without the spinach; tastes just as good!
- You should have about 4-5 cups of stock in the pot after boiling your meats. This number can also be less (say 3) if you’re cooking for one person.
- If you prefer not to use palm oil, you can use Annatto Oil.
- If you can’t find spinach, collard greens (fresh or frozen) will work as well.
- While cooking the egusi, it might start to burn, so add water in small increments using an eating spoon. Just be sure not to add too much water, because the spinach will also release some water once added to the egusi.
- Even though the recipe calls for 1 bag of spinach, I did have some leftover, not much, say a good handful, which I put back in the original bag and put in the freezer for my own chopped frozen spinach!
- Be sure to stir the chopped spinach properly into the egusi, so its well distributed, otherwise, some parts of the soup will have more spinach while other parts will be mostly egusi.
- When you’re adding the chopped spinach to the egusi, just sprinkle a layer or two over the egusi; that’s how I kinda gauge how much to use. Of course, this all depends on whether you like more/less spinach or more/less egusi.
- If you’ve never seen Egusi/ground melon seeds up close before, here they are ( looks like off white rock salt)
- You don’t have to use dried fish/shawa, it just adds flavor and makes the soup somewhat richer.
- Spinach doesn’t take very long to cook, so be sure not to leave it on too long before turning off the heat. You let it cook too long and it’ll still be good, but you lose some of the nutrients.
- Adding a whole scotch bonnet pepper/rodo is just something I like to do for an extra kick of heat from the pepper. When you add it while boiling the meats, it bursts open, releasing all that spicy, hot goodness and once the soup is cooked, it disappears into the soup…I’ll give you $1 if you can find it, lol. Well, you might see traces of the orange skin, lol…
Serving Suggestions:
- With white rice…
- Or with eba…
- You can also eat Egusi Soup with Iyan (pounded yam) or Amala (yam flour). (Speaking of Iyan, I keep forgetting to pick the flour up from the store!!!)
- I imagine it would also go well with boiled yam, bread and even jollof rice.
Enjoy…
Egusi Soup,
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81 Responses to "Egusi Soup"
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- and if you don’t have spinach, collard greens will do (at least they did for me)…
Nice recipe. I’d love to try your cooking some time.
Hey Azuka!
Yup, collard greens work just as well! Aww, I’d love for you (and all other readers!) to try my cooking sometime, now that would be a meet-up I wouldn’t pass up!
Thanks so much Azuka, I love your matter of fact approach :)
Looking forward to trying this recipe if I can find egusi and palm oil. Two questions:
What kind/brand of curry powder do you use?
What kind of Knorr cubes do you use?
Thanks!
Hi DW!
Egusi and Palm Oil can be found in most African specialty grocery stores depending on your location. I use any brand curry powder, doesn’t matter to me so long as it’s yellow and says curry on the label, lol. I use the typical knorr cubes most Nigerians use, see an image of it here (http://www.avartsycooking.com/2009/11/my-staple-ingredients-for-cooking-nigerian-food-substitutes/) the 2 cubes in the front, also can be found at most African stores.
You’re welcome! Hope to see you around more :)
Chai..this is why I cannot wait to relocate either back to Naija or at least to a country or a city where I can get access to assorted meats and things lol.
It looks really good.
Hi Joicee!
Lol! Where are you located that you aren’t able to get assorted meats? You can always make do with just regular chicken and beef for now… it won’t be exactly the same, but hey, it’s a start.
Thanks lady!
Wow !! just stumbled on this site …. tried d recipe, it came out SUPERB, though I didn’t use dried fish apart from grounded crayfish….. my family are loving it all the way. thanks for sharing ….. looking forward to more recipe … lol
Hi Crystalgirl!
Yay! Glad the recipe turned out SUPERB and your family enjoyed it!
You’re very welcome, stay tuned for more recipes :)
Thanks for these recipes. I’ve been having challenges with identifying celery leaves and spinach in the market. Please could you tell me their names in any Nigerian language? Thanks
Hi Prise!
You’re very welcome! I know the common name for vegetable in Nigeria is ‘efo,’ but I’m not exactly sure what spinach and celery are called in any Nigerian language. I’ll ask and if I come up with anything, I’ll be sure to update this comment. I do know there are variations of efo, for instance, there is ugwu or bitter leaves. In addition, I’m not sure celery is widely used as say spinach or ugwu. Do a quick google search for fresh spinach leaves so you have an idea what it looks like when next you go to the market.
However, I’m sure if you ask the market sellers for vegetable, they’ll show you a bunch and possibly, even make some recommendations depending on what it is you want to cook.
Hope that helps!
Hi, i have been finding it hard to locate where celery is sold. please can you recommend any market in lagos that i can get this vegetable?
Hi!
Celery is not needed for this recipe though, but if you are just looking for it generally, I’m not sure what the local name would be. However, I don’t think celery is widely used in Nigerian cooking. Here, it’s eaten raw (with raw carrots) as a side to things like chicken wings.
You could do a quick google search for celery, print a photo and take it to any of the markets (like agboju or somewhere like that), maybe the sellers will know where to direct you.
Hope that helps!
Yetunde I discovered your site some days ago, I love cooking and I actually cook for a living. I think you are great, and your recipes arre beautiful but I dont know how curry will taste in egusi soup, I hope to try it someday. And celery can be found at mile 12 market otherwise one will have to check shoprite in Vistoria Island or the roadside vegetable markets in VI and Ikoyi.
I will be happy to contribute anytime.
Tata4dee
Hi Chinwe!
Aww, thank you! I typically use curry powder (when I have it!) to boil meat/chicken etc, but adding it to egusi soup really doesn’t make it taste that much different. It’s not a taste that’s so so noticeable, at least nothing major that I’ve noticed. Try it, I’m sure you’ll feel the same way too :)
Thanks for letting the other reader know where to find celery!!!
Hope to see you around more!
Hi Yetunde, I posted a comment on here sometime ago to say well done on the recipies you take the time to post online and also ask some questions about other Nigerian soups which i’ll love to learn how to cook very well to which i never got a reply to. I was just just wondering if you never received my email or it was just ignored.
Hey Olufunmi,
Oh no, I’d never ignore a comment/email! If I didn’t respond, it means I didn’t get it. I did search for comments that you’d left and I believe the one you mentioned was on the jollof rice post and I responded that same day, see here http://www.avartsycooking.com/2009/02/spicy-jollof-rice/#comments
Apart from the comment, did you also send an email, because I don’t have an email from you.
Hope that helps! Don’t feel slighted, I love comments and always respond :)
Thanks so much for that information yetunde and tatade am really grateful. i will check them out. love your site and have learnt more. thanks once again you are a life saver.
Thank you :) and you’re very welcome!
Hope it helps!
Hi Yetunde! I have been meaning to cook cow’s foot for a while. Do you season it like regular meats or is there a different way of seasoning it? Thank you in advance :-) !!
Hi Iya!
Typically, if I cook cow’s foot (or even shaki) by itself, I don’t season it, I just add enough water to cover it and let it boil. I usually slice some fresh garlic into it as well, as that helps it get soft quicker. However, if I’m cooking the cow’s foot/shaki with goat meat, it gets seasoned by default since the goat meat has to be seasoned.
By itself, I don’t think it takes well to seasonings until its cooked and added to the stew/soup in the final stages of cooking.
Hope that helps! :)
Yes it does. Thank you so much for your reply! God bless.
Glad to be of help & you’re very welcome. God bless you too!
Yetii,
Can egusi be preserved in the freezer? I have a lot, almost loosing test.
I wouldn’t keep it in the freezer, I normally put dried egusi/ogbono in the fridge and that seems to work, so you can try that instead.
If i can’t find Egusi where i am is pumpkin seed (blended to make paste) an adequate replacement?
I’ve never cooked with Pumpkin seeds before, so I can’t recommend them. Have you tried online Nigerian grocery stores for Egusi? I’m sure you can get it from there… just did a quick search, try this store.
Pumpkin seeds [pepitas] work great in place of egusi. I’ve been using them for a while. I would suggest you buy the raw variety and roast it yourself. Just put whatever amount you desire to blend in a warm frying pan. Stir well and let heat up for about 4 mins stirring occassionally to ensure it doesn’t burn. Then blend as usual.
Gives it a depth of flavor that is lacking if used just as bought.
I sometimes go as far as adding some sunflower seeds too!
McYum!
Hey Bibi!
Hmm, I don’t know. I don’t see myself using it anytime soon. Thanks for sharing though, maybe other readers might care to try it!
Hey again I love this recipe but just one thing I don’t remeber ibos putting curry in egusi. Can I just skip that part because I’m not use to that step cuz I’m not used to it that way.
Yup, you can skip the curry powder if you prefer not to add it! It shouldn’t be too noticeable if you’re not used to it anyways.
How about okra? Can okra be added in egusi soup?
I’ve never heard of anyone adding Okra to Egusi before and since I haven’t tried it myself, I can’t recommend it because I wouldn’t have any idea of what type of results to expect from that combo.
yea I just love okra. I wont add it then but I heard of people adding bell pepper in egusi. I dont want to mess up the najai flavor.lol
If it’s blended red bell peppers etc (like in making Nigerian stew), then you could add a bit, maybe a couple of spoons, but it’s not something I do, so again, I can’t recommend it. You could always do a test pot and see how it goes, I mean, it’s all food right, lol
Ill do just that.lol ill post again to tell you about my pot of egusi soup. Hopefully it goes well.
Looking forward to the results of that test!
Hey there…
Love love love ur recipes….just stumbled across while searching for nigerian food images…clicked one and came to your blog..(well chuffed…;-D)…..im british with nigerian parents married to a nigerian…my cooking slightly improving thanks to ur site made your yummy meat pies yesterday and will make egusi soup…..have made egusdi soup b4 but has never come out quite right….with eat it with eba….my all time favourite meal….thanks, God bless you and keep up d good work….:-D
Hey Gladys!
Aww, thank you! Glad you found the site :) Practice makes perfect, in no time, you’ll be a pro! What issue do you normally have with the Egusi?
Yetudne: You have a great web site. Keep it up gal!
Courtney: I have used blended bell peppers, onions, and tomato in egusi and it is very tasty that way! I’m sure using just blended bell pepper would be nice as well!
Hi Adebola!
Thank you so much!! (and thanks for the tip as well ;)
Hi I said I was going to up date you on my pot of soup. It turned out great it was very spicy how I like it I added tomatoes to. It gave it a richer taste. Thanks you :)
Hey Courtney!
Niiice!! You’re welcome ;)
I am SO glad that I found your site! My fiance is from Nija, and he misses the food greatly, and now I can curb his homesickness a little! I was wondering though… I’m not to fond of tripe, i have a queezy tummy… Can I omit it from the egusi soup and will it still turn out ok? I’d like to try your recipe, because lord knows, when my love cooks, I can stomach the smell… :( I want to be able to enjoy it with him!
I am also curious if I could substitute spinach for collard greens and cabbage??
P.S. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for having this site! I can’t wait to start cooking…. I think I’m gonna surprise him with puff puff tonight!!!! :)
Hey Jessica!
Yay! Now, you can wow him with Nigerian dishes ;) Yup, you can totally omit the tripe from Egusi soup. Actually, you can use any kind of meat/poultry/seafood that you like. Since you do mention not being able to stomach the smell, you can use regular, medium cuts of beef etc. However, (this is totally optional!) but I would imagine he would prefer/love goat meat, cow’s foot and things like that, so maybe every once in a while, you can open all your windows to let the smell out and make that for him.
Yes, you can substitute spinach for collard greens, but I only do that if I’m unable to get spinach. Absolutely NO cabbage! It’s a totally different kind of vegetable and will completely ruin the dish. I would only recommend using cabbage in salads, as it’s used in most Nigerian dishes.
You’re very welcome! If you have any cooking related questions, don’t hesitate to ask away! Let me know how the Puff Puff goes!
Yetunde,
I made my egusi like this, the only main difference is that I blended an onion with water to make a paste, and I mixed the egusi into the onion paste before I added it to the pot!
Have you tried it like that?
Hey Adebola!
Hmm, sounds like a good method but I’ve never tried it before. One of the things I love about making Egusi soup is that I don’t have to blend anything, one extra step to eliminate, lol.
Is there any noticeable difference in taste?
I have a problem. I just prepared some egusi, but added too much water.
If it was just me, I’d eat it as is, but I’m hosting a dinner tomorrow with Nigerians attending. How do I get rid of the excess water (I could keep boiling it, but the spinach wouldn’t taste fresh anymore). In cases of too much salt, I usually drop in a potato or two, but I doubt that would apply here.
What would you suggest?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Hey Azuka!
I can only think of two things you can do at the moment:
1) you could try scooping out the excess liquid with a serving spoon or
2) pour the soup into a clean sieve with a bowl at the bottom to catch the excess liquid and leave to drain or stir around gently with a spoon to help it drain a bit more.
For option 2, after draining, pour the contents back into the pot and see how dry it is, if its too dry, add a tiny bit of the drained liquid back in and if it’s okay, then you don’t need to add any more liquid.
Option 2 is a tad messier, but probably your best bet. You can also remove the meat, so it doesn’t splash when you put it in the sieve.
Hope that helps! Let me know how it goes and good luck!
Thanks! It worked perfectly, and my guests were quite pleased.
Yay! Glad to know it worked out!
Hi
Today i tried to make Egusi for the second time , the first time i think i had too much water but today it came out perfect.I’m a Rwandan woman and recently married a Nigerian so the transition to what i use to make and now to making nigerian food hasn’t been to bad ,thanks to your simple instructions !!!!
God Bless you!
Hey Diane!
Glad to hear it was a success the second go-round! Happy married life!
Thank you, happy you find the recipes easy to follow. If you have questions on any of them, don’t hesitate to ask!
Thanks so much for your website. I never really used to allow the meat ‘sweat’ before but I’m sure that will increase flavour before adding the water. Will make egusi this way next time I cook it. Thanks.
Hey Grace!
Yeah, letting the meat sweat usually helps break down the fat etc faster and also infuses more flavor into the meat. I usually do it if I’m not in a hurry when cooking, but if I’m tired/in a hurry, I just go ahead and add the water right after adding the seasonings.
Let me know if you notice a difference!
can someone tell me the native name for celery in nigeria? where can i get it? is it available in port harcourt?
Hi Jerry!
I have no idea what it could be or where you can find it, hopefully, one of our readers can help!
Hey tnks alot for this foresight,i culd neva hv imagine using curry or ginger in my egusi.i wil surely giv dis a trial
Hey Nathalie!
I’m a huge fan of ginger, so I tend to put it in most dishes and curry is not a bad idea, but totally optional. Actually, both are optional. Let me know how you like it!
Hi,
In your recipes you write 1 cup or 1/2 cup. What size of cup are you referring to?
Can you put a picture showing the type of cup?
Thanks
Hey Maria!
I have a post on the type of measuring guides I use here, maybe that’ll help :)
For those who can’t find [or won't] find egusi, I have been using pumpkin seeds and love, love, love them. Apparently, pumpkins and melons belong to the same botanical family.
And it comes shelled too!
Hey Tolu!
Thanks for the tip! Another reader mentioned it sometime before. I can totally see the similarities, but I’m still skeptical to use it, not sure why. I wonder if Egusi is really that hard to find. Is it hard for you to find or do you just choose to use pumpkin seeds sometimes?
Hi,
I just stumbled upon your website and tried out your recipe. And mine turned out great, but I was wondering how long the soup can last before getting spoiled when frozen.
Hey Gemma!
Glad it turned out great! It’ll last at least 2-3 weeks and if it’s frozen, it shouldn’t go bad. I can’t recommend it staying any longer than that in the freezer as it takes away from the freshness/taste after a while.
Hope that helps!
you guys are doing a great work in fact you are a solution to many family kitchen problem.thanks.
Hey Olusoji!
Thank you! I’m glad you find the site a solution!!
You’re very welcome and hope to read more comments from you!
Hello Yetty,
Am a Nigerian lady that got married last year and had to move to the UK to join my hubby. Due to change of environment and all, I kinda lost my confidence in cooking! So a friend of mine referred me to this site. I have to admit that I have been using ur recipes since ending of last year and am proud to say that av got my cooking groove back! Even hubby is amazed…lol. Just this afternoon, I prepared a pot of egusi soup and another pot of efo riro! And thanks to you, both came out quite tasty.
So, I decided to express my gratitude and that of hubby’s tummy, lol, to u! THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS
Hey Ogoo!
Congrats on the nuptials! Aww, I’m sorry you felt that way! However, I’m glad you were referred to the site (your friend did good! ;) Yay for getting your groove back and surprising your husband.
Two different pots of soup?! You’re doing it! Awesome job! Keep your confidence levels up, cooking it all trial and error and along the way, I’m sure you’ll start to tweak the recipes to become your own or stick to the one posted, so long as your results go down well with you and your husband, I’m happy.
You’re most welcome and I’m very glad you’ve been finding the site helpful, pass it on! ;)
Hi Yetty,
I have already started tweaking recipes, lol, yours and my mum’s mostly! And its always working out for me. Thanks to the bean flour I saw in the Afro market here, I now cook moi moi! So, my confidence is soaring higher. Thanks once again.
Hey Ogoo!
Yay for tweaking recipes AND it working out for you! I always encourage that! I’m excited for you as your confidence is growing, I’m sure you’ll continue to surprise yourself even more!
You’re welcome ;)
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This is quite nice and interesting, cooking made easy. Thanks
You’re welcome!
Hi!! I’m so happy I found this site.
I wanted to add blended rodo, onions and tomatoes to the egusi to make it a bit rich. Would u recommend it? And at what stage would I add it into my cooking? Xoxo
Hey Shola!
I’m glad you found the site, welcome to our community! Do you mean adding it to the raw egusi or blending then boiling separately before adding the egusi? The way you plan to make it sounds very similar to the Yoruba way of making it, however, if you’re adding rodo/habanero, be sure to add some tatashe/red bell pepper to balance out the flavors.
Then, you can blend an onion with some water and mix in the dry egusi till you get a thick, lumpy mixture. Once the blended peppers start boiling, reduce the heat and add the egusi/onion mix into the blended peppers, using a spoon to scoop and add in different areas of the pot.
Let boil, simmer, add your meat before or after the egusi, just remember that the egusi needs time to cook properly.
Hope that helps, let me know how it turns out!
Oh wow thanks for ur quick reply that is awesome!!! Sorry for annoying u with another question but is the yoruba version more popular or is it just a matter of preference? I wanted to have it with pounded yam this weekend and thought that maybe adding the tatashe mixture will thicken it up a bit? Sorry if this sound stupid but my adoptive parents are german and can’t assist me much in this department xoxo
:) Stop apologizing for asking me questions!! I love them really, feel comfortable asking as many as you want! The answer to your question depends on who you ask. For instance, if you ask a Yoruba person who hangs out with a lot of Yoruba folks, they’ll probably tell you their version is more popular, likewise if you ask an Igbo person.
That’s why, it’s important for YOU to choose the method that you identify with the most, or basically which version is easier and tastier for you personally. That said, adding the tatashe blend will give you the thickness that you’re looking for as a blended mix is denser than water or stock. So, again, it’s really up to you. Make things easier by making a small batch of both and decide which you prefer for making in the future going forward.
Good luck and keep me posted!
God bless u for this Yetunde. I should have helped my girlfriend around in the kitchen but I didnt, now, I am in Canada and badly miss my egusi (actually, her egusi). With this direction here, first thing this week is to prepare it meticulously following your direction. Thanks a bunch.
Hey Michael!
Thank you o, I appreciate it! Aww, well next time you’re around her, be sure to hang out with her in the kitchen! Hope the recipe helps you out, let me know if you have questions!
Merry Christmas!
Hi Tunde
Thank you for this. I’m engaged to a Nigerian and have been teaching myself to cook nigerian food. I will try this recipe and let you know how it turned out. Just one thing I’m not a fan of fish, can I leave it out all together?
Hey Jane!
Congrats on your engagement! The fish is totally optional, while it lends flavor, it’s not an absolute necessity. I’m big on customizing recipes to suit your taste, so go for it! Keep me posted on how it turns out!