Egusi Soup Recipe: How to Cook Delicious Egusi Soup (caking method)

Egusi soup is a Nigerian soup prepared with blended melon seeds; this soup can be prepared with vegetables or without vegetables. It is referred to as Ofe Egusi in Igbo, Efo Elegusi in Yoruba and Miyan Gushi in Hausa. Many tribes in Nigeria love this soup and it can be paired with or fufu meal depending on one’s choice. This is one of simplest Nigerian soups and it is sold in many restaurants, you can order for egusi soup from any restaurant if you are a visitor in this part of the world, indeed you will enjoy this delicious soup.

However, there are many methods of preparing egusi soup such as egusi soup with lump that is the caking method and egusi without lump or the frying method, hence many people prefer to make egusi soup with waterleaf, spinach, Ugwu (fluted pumpkin), uziza or with bitter leaf. Other versions of this soup include egusi soup without palm oil or egusi soup with tomatoes, which is the typical Yoruba version egusi. The palm oil is usually replaced with the tomatoes, but both palm oi and toamtoescan be used to prepare egusi.

In addition, pumpkin seed (pepitas)or almond can be blended to prepare egusi soup I will update you on that very soon on how to make egusi soup with pumpkin seeds.

Picture of egusi seeds

Table of Contents

Tips for preparing egusi soup

Egusi soup can be prepared with any type of meat or fish you can used dried fish, smoked fish, assorted meat, beef or goat meat to cook this soup.
Egusi soup gets burn easily at the bottom of the pot; you can prevent this by cooking egusi on a medium to low heat.
For any meat you are using for egusi soup, make sure it is cooked until tender if you want to enjoy this soup, so that you don’tend up struggling with the meat while serving this soup
Instead of using palm oil to cook egusi soup, stew, fresh tomatoes or tomato paste could replace that.
Although egusi soup is supposed to be prepared into a thick consistency, but I love mine to be neither watery nor too thick, just moderate like the picture you are seeing above. However, you can control the amount of liquid in your egusi soup; this is depended on what consistency you like.
Since egusi soup is a simple and easy to cook soup, you have to consider cooking your meat, first at least 40 minutes before you start the main cooking.
If you are using bitter leaf for egusi soup, make sure you remove the bitter taste by washing it severally. See the different way to wash bitter leaf.
You can use any type of leafy vegetable to make egusi soup if you don’thave access to bitter leaf or fluted pumpkin.
You can use afang leaf to prepare egusi soup, afang has its own unique flavour and taste in this soup, but if you are using afang, add it sparingly preferably a handful. However, you can also use atama leaf to make egusi soup if you want; I have used all of these leaves before in place of bitter leaf ugwu, and the outcome was yummy. Both dried and fresh atama leaf can be used for this soup.
If you want to make the Calabar version of egusi soup, you can include periwinkles and snails or any sea food.
You can serve egusi soup with pounded yam or any starchy bolus including amala.

Egusi Soup Ingredients

400g ground Egusi (Melon seeds)
kg of goat meat cut into medium sizes
1 medium sizeShaki (cow tripe)
1 medium size smoked or iced fish
1 head stockfish
3 cooking spoons palm oil
2 tablespoons ground crayfish
4 piece scotch bonnet peppers
A handful of any Vegetable: bitter leaf Ugwu (Nigerian pumpkin leaves), waterleaf or spinach
3 seasoning cubes
1 small ogiri okpei, optional
Salt (to taste)

Ingredients for preparing of egusi soup

Steps on how to prepare egusi soup

Wash and cook assorted meat, season it with 2 seasoning stock cubes, onions, pepper and salt.
Add I cup of water to cook the meat properly and to extract a little stock.
Grind egusi with a dry mill and add about 3 tablespoons of water to egusi to wet it.
Use your hand to mould ground egusi into medium balls, place the balls in an empty bowl and set aside.
Grind crayfish, pepper, chop one onions and the vegetable you are using and keep all aside.
Bring a medium pot on heat, add 3 cooking spoons of palm oil into it and wait for 10 seconds.
Once the oil has become translucent, gently add egusi balls into the oil to fry on a medium heat; you can gently turn each of the balls to the next side to fry also. These will take about 8 minutes.
Bring the meat stock into the egusi, let is simmer on a medium heat for 5 minutes and dont stir it yet. Add the dressed smoked fish if you are using that, as the soup boils, the egusi will form chunks inside the soup, but some may dissolve in the process due to heat.
Add crayfish, Iru (okpei), pepper 1 seasoning cube, bring the cooked meat into the content, and taste for salt. Let the soup cook for 10 minutes more.
Add bitter leaf, ugwu or spinach, whichever vegetable you want to use. Let the soup simmer on low heat for 2 minute before you put off heat.
Egusi soup is ready; serve with pounded yam or eba if you prefer that.

Simple steps to prepare egusi soup with pictures

1. Wash and cook assorted meat, season the meat with 2 seasoning stock cubes, onions, pepper and salt. If the first water dries up, you can 1 cup of water to cook the meat until it turns soft.

Cooking of meat for egusi soup

2. Grind egusi with a dry mill and then add about 3 tablespoons of water to egusi to wet it. You can grind egusi in the market at once if you have no grinder at home.

3. Use your hand to mould ground egusi into medium balls, place the balls in an empty bowl and set aside.

Add 4 tablesoopns of clean water into ground egusi, use your hand to mould into medium balls like what you are seeng in this picture

4. Grind crayfish, pepper, chop one onions and the vegetable you are using and keep all aside.

5. Bring a medium pot on heat, add 3 cooking spoons of palm oil into it and wait for 10 seconds.

6. Once the oil has been heated, gently add egusi balls into the oil to fry on a medium heat; you can gently turn each of the balls to the next side to fry also. These may take about 8 minutes.

This how it looks like when the meat stock is added to egusi

8. Add crayfish, Iru (okpei), pepper 1 seasoning cube, bring the cooked meat into the content, and taste for salt. Let the soup cook for 10 minutes more. Add crayfish, Iru (okpei), pepper 1 seasoning cube, bring the cooked meat into the content, and taste for salt. Let the soup cook for 10 minutes more.