Soups & Stews

Egusi Soup, Yoruba-Style

Name: Egusi Soup, Yoruba-Style
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 105 min
Total time: 130 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 250 g shelled egusi seeds (finely ground; unsalted); 500 g boneless stewing beef (cut into bite-sized pieces); 150 g smoked fish flesh (deboned); 400 g efo tete or spinach (washed, chopped, and drained); 200 g red bell pepper (seeded); 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (stalk removed); 200 g onion (50 g for beef, 100 g for blending, 50 g diced); 100 ml red palm oil; 2 tbsp iru; 2 tbsp ground dried crayfish; 1 litre water (800 ml for beef and 200 ml for egusi paste); 500 ml additional hot water (as needed); 1 tsp fine salt (divided)

A thick melon-seed soup with leafy greens, tender beef, smoked fish, and softly set egusi curds. Ground egusi seeds thicken soups across much of West Africa, and Nigerian versions differ in greens, fermented seasonings, and the treatment of the seeds. This version uses iru and a fried pepper base. It should not be confused with the smoother, often leaf-free egusi Ijebu preparation, which has its own local identity. Cultural context: Egusi soup is shared across Nigerian communities. This pepper-and-iru version represents one Yoruba-style approach, not a universal formula or an exclusively Yoruba invention.

Egusi soup with leafy greens and meat, served with swallow

Semo_and_Egusi.jpg by Ogundele1, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

None by this package; original downloaded file bytes preserved. Source-file adaptations, if any, are credited separately.

Full source and image record

25 minPreparation

105 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Simmer beef with 50 g onion, half the salt, and 800 ml water until tender, about 50–75 minutes. Top up when necessary. Keep the meat and cooking liquid.
2
Blend the peppers and 100 g onion to a coarse puree. Separately, stir the ground egusi with the 200 ml water to make a thick spoonable paste.
3
Warm the palm oil without smoking it. Fry the diced onion for 3 minutes, then cook the pepper puree for 12–15 minutes until concentrated.
4
Add iru, crayfish, and 600 ml beef cooking liquid, topping that liquid up with water if needed. Bring to a gentle simmer.
5
Drop small spoonfuls of egusi paste into the simmering sauce. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes without vigorous stirring, checking that the bottom does not dry.
6
Fold the curds through the sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add splashes of hot water if the soup becomes too stiff.
7
Fold in the beef, smoked fish, and greens. Simmer for 5–8 minutes until the greens and egusi are cooked through and everything is hot. Adjust salt.
8
Serve with eba, amala, or pounded yam prepared separately. The finished soup should be thick but still spoonable.

A little kitchen wisdom

Use egusi sold for cooking; ordinary sweet watermelon seeds are not a like-for-like substitute. A heavy pot and gentle heat reduce sticking once the seeds thicken the sauce. Timing: active preparation 25 min; cooking 105 min; additional passive time 0 min; conservative planning allowance 130 min. Some stages may overlap. Recipe status: Research draft; not kitchen-tested. Allergens and checks: Fish; Crustacean shellfish; Melon seed; people with relevant seed allergies should check suitability

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Egusi with greens

Egusi soup is shared across Nigerian communities. This pepper-and-iru version represents one Yoruba-style approach, not a universal formula or an exclusively Yoruba invention.

Allergens: Fish, Crustacean shellfish, Melon seed; people with relevant seed allergies should check suitability

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Egusi Soup, Yoruba-Style

Semo_and_Egusi.jpg by Ogundele1, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

None by this package; original downloaded file bytes preserved. Source-file adaptations, if any, are credited separately.

Full source and image record

25 minPreparation

105 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Simmer beef with 50 g onion, half the salt, and 800 ml water until tender, about 50–75 minutes. Top up when necessary. Keep the meat and cooking liquid.
2
Blend the peppers and 100 g onion to a coarse puree. Separately, stir the ground egusi with the 200 ml water to make a thick spoonable paste.
3
Warm the palm oil without smoking it. Fry the diced onion for 3 minutes, then cook the pepper puree for 12–15 minutes until concentrated.
4
Add iru, crayfish, and 600 ml beef cooking liquid, topping that liquid up with water if needed. Bring to a gentle simmer.
5
Drop small spoonfuls of egusi paste into the simmering sauce. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes without vigorous stirring, checking that the bottom does not dry.
6
Fold the curds through the sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add splashes of hot water if the soup becomes too stiff.
7
Fold in the beef, smoked fish, and greens. Simmer for 5–8 minutes until the greens and egusi are cooked through and everything is hot. Adjust salt.
8
Serve with eba, amala, or pounded yam prepared separately. The finished soup should be thick but still spoonable.

A little kitchen wisdom

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Egusi with greens

Egusi soup is shared across Nigerian communities. This pepper-and-iru version represents one Yoruba-style approach, not a universal formula or an exclusively Yoruba invention.

Allergens: Fish, Crustacean shellfish, Melon seed; people with relevant seed allergies should check suitability