Egusi Soup (with lumps)
Egusi Soup (with lumps) – a highly indulgent exotic soup popular in most West African countries made with egusi seeds added with chicken, crayfish and smoked fish or depending on one’s personal preference. A soup that is hearty and oozing with earthy flavors!
Each household have their own way of making egusi soup more appealing!
A number of people add diced tomatoes; some add crayfish (dried shrimps), some include smoked fish and some even include fresh vegetables…
Moi?
My favorite ingredient….. Garlic…
Yes, garlic in combination to the aforementioned ingredients including Maggie cubes for a sumptuous egusi soup.
Egusi aka Egwusi soup is an exotic soup that is cooked, in various parts of West Africa and goes under different aliases. Egusi is a wild member of the gourd family, with very dry skin and bitter flesh. It looks the same as watermelon seeds but tastes quite differently. They are extremely nutritious- high in protein and oil. They are often used in West Africa as a thickening agent in soups and add depth to most soups.
In Cameroon, it is sometimes used to make Egusi pudding; a highly addictive pudding. These seeds can only be purchased in an African store or online, but if you are in West Africa, they are available in most markets. Store it in the refrigerator and it will stay fresh for more than a year.
In this recipe, I sauté stewing chicken with; onions, tomatoes, garlic and crayfish. Smoked fish is optional, however, it adds some smokiness to the meal .Then I throw in ground egusi and finally , stir in some frozen chopped spinach . You can use any fresh greens that you have.
Most people love having chunks of egusi in their soup. In order to achieve this consistency, a tiny bit of water/stock is added to the ground egusi. Then carefully drop the egusi lumps into the sauce without any stirring until lumps are formed. During this process there should be very little stirring happening to the pot until the lumps have been fully formed.
Serve egusi soup to accompany and fufu or along with any starch (plantains, coco, yams or rice).
Watch How To Make It
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Egusi soup (with lumps)
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds chicken cut into pieces I used stewing chicken
- 1/ 2 onions
- ½ cup oil
- 3 garlic cloves , (1 tablespoon minced garlic)
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 cups ground egusi
- ½ cup crayfish
- 2 cups spinach , I used frozen spinach
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika (optional)
- 1 cup of shredded smoked fish (optional)
Instructions
- In medium–sized sauce pan boil stewing chicken seasoned with salt( garlic salt ), smoked paprika, pepper , onions until tender approximately 45 -50 minutes. You can shorten this process in half by using a pressure cooker. Reserve chicken stock
- While chicken is cooking, slice tomatoes, onions and mince the garlic.
- Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions. Sauté the onion until it is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, garlic, and crayfish. Add the stewing chicken pieces; press to submerge. Add a cup of chicken stock Bring to a simmer.
- In a bowl add a cup of ground egusi mix with 2 tablespoon of stock until you get a thick mixture. Using a spoon scoop up the egusi and place in the pot of sauce and chicken
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until egusi forms a solid ball. Then add the remaining egusi and keep simmering on medium-heat. Add about a cup or more of chicken stock to desired consistency
- Add spinach , let it simmer for about 2 minutes
- Serve warm with plantains or accompaniment of choice.
Nutrition Information:
Thank you for all the delicious recipes. Any ideas on why egusi soup might have a bitter aftertaste?
Hi Mabel! You may soak your bitter leaves too and rinse a bit to reduce the bitterness. 🙂
I luv ur post it will really help. Tnx alot.
I luv ur blog. Tnx alot
Thank you.
i have really benefited from ur blog. thank u so much. what is paprika? am in enugu nigeria. any idea how i can get it here? nobody seems to know what it is.
Hi Phina, so glad to this blog has been very useful. Paprika is ground dried red bell pepper. If you can’t find it you may omit it.
Great oh! I fit try am now… Youtube had mainly the naija version with unlimited assorted. LOL 😉 but I was looking for the Cameroon version.
That said, I love your posts; they are simply amazing, gurl!
Questions:
1. Have you thought about adding videos maybe ?
2. Can you organize recipes by region/country in addition to the search option ( cos sometimes I don’t spell the African names well, so it may be easier to browse through the list for a particular region )?
Regardless, you have a fabulous site, and I will remain a regular visitor!!!
Wei Imma you don spoil me oh. This weekend is egusi soup day for me….Thanks oh for this your blog. When i run out of food options i visit.
God bless your efforts
Thank you, for making numerous visits