About this Dish
A thick, rich soup made from ground melon seeds cooked with leafy vegetables, palm oil, stock fish and meat. One of the most widely eaten dishes across West and Central Africa. The egusi forms a paste that thickens the soup and provides protein. Served with pounded yam or fufu.
IngredientsServes 4
🌱Egusi (ground melon seeds), 2 cups
🛢️Palm oil, 1/2 cup
🐟Stockfish, 200g soaked and flaked
🥩Goat meat or beef, 500g cut into chunks
🍖Smoked fish, 150g broken into pieces
🧅Yellow onion, 1 large roughly chopped
🌶️Scotch bonnet peppers, 3 blended
🥬Bitter leaf or spinach, 2 large handfuls washed and chopped
🧂Crayfish (ground dried), 2 tablespoons
🧄Seasoning cubes, 2 (like Maggi or Knorr)
Method
1
Season your goat meat or beef with half the chopped onion, one seasoning cube, and a pinch of salt. Add just enough water to cover and cook in a pot for 30–40 minutes until tender, then set the meat and stock aside separately.2
In a bowl, mix the ground egusi with a little water — just enough to form a thick, clumpy paste, roughly the consistency of wet sand. Set aside.3
Heat the palm oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat for about 2 minutes until it loosens and turns a deep red — do not bleach it. Add the remaining onion and fry gently for 3 minutes until softened, then stir in the blended scotch bonnet peppers and fry for another 5–7 minutes, stirring often, until the raw smell cooks out.4
Drop spoonfuls of the egusi paste into the pot without stirring, letting them sit and fry in the oil for 5 minutes until they start to set and look slightly golden on the bottom. Now stir everything together, add your meat stock gradually, and mix well to combine into a thick gravy.5
Add the cooked meat, soaked stockfish, smoked fish, ground crayfish, and the remaining seasoning cube. Stir well and let the soup simmer uncovered on low-medium heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent sticking. The egusi will absorb the stock and swell beautifully.6
Stir in your bitter leaf or spinach and cook for a final 5 minutes — bitter leaf needs longer, spinach just a couple of minutes. Taste and adjust salt or seasoning as needed.7
Serve hot with pounded yam or fufu for dipping and scooping. The soup should be thick, rich, and deeply flavourful with visible chunks of fish and meat throughout.User Reviews
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