EGUSI SOUP

How to Make Egusi Soup

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Ingredients with Ugu (Pumpkin Leaves) and Ewuro (Bitter Leaf)

Egusi Soup

Of the “soups”, this is my favorite…

Yield: 3-4 servings

PREP IT!     

For Egusi Paste:        

• 1 cup Egusi, ground

• ½ cup Water, to mix with egusi

For Egusi Soup:        

• 3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

• 3 tablespoons Red Palm Oil

• ¼ cup Onion, red, diced small

• 1 each Scotch Bonnet Pepper (Habanero)

• ¼ teaspoon Locust Beans, fermented (Iru)

• 2 cups Stew Base (recipe below)

• 1 cup Broth (Vegetable, Chicken, Beef) used to cook meat if using meat.

• 1-pound Meat, cooked down in stock, (Goat, Smoked Fish, Shrimp, Chicken, Lamb, and/or Beef)                    

• 1 teaspoon Crayfish powder, optional

• 2 cubes Bouillon (Vegetable, Chicken or Beef)

• 1 tablespoon Taste Tutor Seasoning 101

• ¼ cup Ugu Leaves (Pumpkin Leaves), optional

• ½ tablespoon Ewuro Bitter Leaf, washed, optional

• 5 ounces Spinach, fresh or frozen and drained

• 1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika, ground

For Eba:

• 2 cups Water, boiling

• 1 cup Gari

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Ingredients with Spinach

MAKE IT!

For Egusi Paste:

1. Toast the whole egusi seeds until nutty in aroma. Grind egusi seeds into a crumbly powder using a food processor, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle.

2. Stir ground egusi with water until a paste forms. Set aside.

For Egusi Soup:

1. Over medium high heat add vegetable and palm oil, into a large pot. Once oil is hot, add red onions, scotch bonnet pepper, and locust beans. Sauté until onions are translucent.  

2. Next, add stew base. Mix thoroughly to combine and fry for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Fry until you can literally see the palm oil simmering at the top and there are no more traces of water.

3. Then add crayfish (if using), seasoning cubes, and Taste Tutor Seasoning 101. Stir to combine and leave to cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add broth, then stir to combine and bring to a light boil.

5. Add egusi paste by the spoonful to the sauce. Cover and let cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened.

6. Finally, add pumpkin leaves, bitter leaf, and/or spinach and cook until leaves wilt.

7. Add cooked meat at this point if you’re using it.

8. Stir one last time and take off heat.

For Eba:

1. To make Eba, stir gari and boiling water together to form a ball. Serve immediately.

2. Enjoy!

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Vegan Egusi Soup

Tip:

Nigerian Stew Base (Obe Ata)

The recipe below yields about 2 cups of stew base

¾ each (2/3 cups pureed) Red Bell Pepper, red, quartered (Tatashe)

1/3 each (3 tablespoons pureed) Roma tomatoes, quartered

1/3 each (2/3 cups pureed) Onion, red, small, quartered

1/3 each (2/3 cups pureed) Onion, yellow, small, quartered

1 cloves Garlic, fresh

¼ inch piece Ginger root, fresh

½ each Habanero Pepper, whole (Ata Rodo)

Reheat leftovers: in a pot with a little bit of water over low heat or in a bowl with a little bit of water, covered with plastic wrap and microwave about a minute.