Making Nigerian Egusi Soup

Egusi soup is unarguably the most popular Nigerian soup, learn to make two of the most popular recipes for (ofe egusi) in Nigeria, you will also learn about all the ingredients used in making them.

Like I stated on the introductory page; Egusi (melon) soup is the most popular of all Nigerian soup. On this page I also included a video on making this delicious recipe and then a list of some other Nigerian soups that are in the same category.

There are two different Egusi Soup recipes that I know about, I will write about the most popular recipe and then the second would follow somewhere down the page.

What you find below is a delicious plate of egusi soup, served with fufu or semovita,

Ingredients Includes

Some are required while very few are optional.

Meat of choice 2kg (beef, chicken turkey, goat meat, or assorted meat)
Assorted meat is a combination of different parts of a cow

4 cups of egusi (melon)
Dry fish (about two medium sizes)
1 cup of ground crayfish
1 cup of Ground Osu (optional)
a good quantity of washed bitterlaef (see the video below)
3 cubes of knorr, maggi or other natural sweetener
15 to 20cl of palm oil
About 2 liters of water
Salt and pepper to taste.
One medium size Stock fish head (okporoko) (optional)
Ogiri or dawadawa or opkei (local ingredients) optional

Grind the four cups of egusi with a dry blender or hand grinding machine and set aside in a bowl. Add about  a cup of water to it and stir to make a very thick paste (this is properly illustrated in the video below)

Be sure that the bitterleaf (onugbu) is properly washed, it is advisable to remove over 95 percent of the bitter taste, this process in known to most Nigerians, it involves washing and squeezing the bitter leaves for several minutes in a very big bowl.

If you bought the already-washed bitterlaef from the market it is advisable to boil alone for about ten minutes, this would further remove the  bitter taste and serve other purposes.

Parboil the meat of your choice with all the necessary ingredients, it is advisable to parboil meat with some ingredient before adding to the main food, this improves the taste of the meat. Parboil for about ten minutes, then add water and cook till the meat is soft for consumption.

Soak the dry fish and stock fish in a bowl with hot water and wash thoroughly to remove sand and center bone, then set aside.

Here is the actual making of Nigerian egusi soup with bitterleaf.

Set your cooking pot on fire and add about 15 to 20cl of  palm oil (red oil), allow to heat for a few minutes but don’t allow to bleach. Add the egusi paste and keep stirring for the next eight to ten minutes to form seed-like crumbs.

Then transfer the already cooked meat into the pot, stir, add the washed dry fish, stock fish, ground crayfish, 2 cubes of maggi or knorr then cover half way and allow to boil for the next ten to fifteen minutes.

Stir occasionally to avoid burning.

At this point you can add about a tea spoon of ground ofor or achi if the soup is not thick enough.

Add the already washed bitter leaves, dawadawa (local ingredients), taste for salt and pepper. Allow to boils for five to ten minutes and you just made a delicious egusi soup.

Nigerian egusi soup could be eaten with rice, but most especially eba and fufu.

I also enjoy eating this soup and pounded yam together.

Note: This soup can also be made with fluted pumpkin, the same process should be followed the only different is that bitter leaves should be replaced with fluted pumpkin leaves

The second egusi soup recipe is very simple to make. You can still follow the same process outlined above. Parboil the meat; add the dry fish, stock fish once it is soft for consumption. Also add the palm oil, 2 cubes of maggi, salt and pepper, dawadawa or okpei. Then add the ground egusi (here there is absolutely no reason to add water or make into paste)
The only different between the two recipes is that the egusi is fried at the beginning in the recipe above while it is added at the end here.

A combination of Ofe Egusi & Pounded Yam would be perfect for launch