Bowls of melon seed, dried leafy greens and palm fruit on a wooden table

Soups

Egusi Soup, Nigerian Style

Name: Egusi Soup, Nigerian Style
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: West African
Ingredients: 200g AFG Egusi Blended (melon seed); 100ml AFG Red Palm Oil; 500g beef, goat or assorted meat, pre-boiled with its stock reserved; 2 tbsp AFG Dry Crayfish, ground; 1 tbsp AFG Iru (locust beans); 1 onion, finely chopped; 2 AFG Scotch Bonnet peppers, blended; 200g spinach or ugu, roughly chopped; 750ml reserved meat stock; Salt and stock cube, to taste

Ground melon seed cooked into a thick, savoury soup with palm oil, leafy greens and dried crayfish. Serve with any swallow you like.

Egusi is a soup of textures. Cooked one way the melon seed sets into soft lumps; cooked another it dissolves into a smooth, rich body. This is the lump method — the one most people mean when they say egusi.

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 50 mins
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Medium

Method

Mix the blended egusi with about 100ml of the warm stock to form a thick, spoonable paste. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Heat the palm oil in a heavy pot over medium heat until it thins and loosens — do not let it smoke.
Add the chopped onion and iru and fry for 3 minutes until fragrant.
Drop the egusi paste into the oil in tablespoon-sized lumps. Leave them undisturbed for 5 minutes so they set, then turn gently and fry for another 5.
Pour in the remaining stock, add the blended pepper, ground crayfish and cooked meat. Season.
Simmer uncovered for 25–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oil rises to the surface and the soup thickens.
Stir through the chopped greens, cook for a final 3 minutes, and take it off the heat while they are still bright.

Cooking tips

Resist stirring in the first five minutes after adding the egusi — that is what forms the lumps.
For a smooth egusi instead, whisk the paste straight into the stock and simmer, stirring, until thick.
Add the greens last. Overcooked ugu turns grey and loses its bite.

AFG Products Used

Everything you need from our range

Flours

Egusi Blended Melon Seed

Milled melon seed, ready to thicken and enrich the classic egusi soup.

250g500g1kg

Palm Oil

Red Palm Oil

Unrefined red palm oil — the colour and body behind banga, efo and bean porridge.

500ml

Livestock Produce

Dry Crayfish

Cleaned, dried crayfish — the savoury lift in almost every Nigerian soup.

50g100g1kg

Spices & Seasonings

Iru Locust Beans, Dry

Fermented locust beans — the deep, savoury note behind traditional soups.

100g

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