Egusi Soup — The Igbo Way, With Lumps Like Little Eggs (Egusi Recipe)

Welcome to Ubuntu Kitchen! I'm Mama Amara, and today we cook EGUSI SOUP — the soup that ends every argument. Ground melon seeds, fried in palm oil and left unstirred so the paste sets into soft golden lumps like little eggs. That is the Igbo way, my dear. Assorted meats, stockfish, smoked fish, crayfish, ogiri, and ugu folded in at the very end so the green stays green. Ubuntu — we eat together. New episodes every week! ⏱ About 45 min | Serves 6 FULL RECIPE — EGUSI SOUP (serves 6): 2 cups ground egusi (melon seeds) 1 cup red palm oil 500g assorted meats: beef, shaki (tripe), cowfoot Stockfish (soaked) + smoked fish Pepper base: 2 tatashe + 2 scotch bonnet + 1 onion, blended 3 tbsp ground crayfish 1 tbsp ogiri (Igbo fermented paste) 1 onion, diced 2–3 seasoning cubes, salt to taste About 2 cups meat stock 2 cups ugu leaves, chopped (abroad? Spinach works beautifully in its place) Serve with pounded yam METHOD: 1. Season the meats with onion, seasoning cubes and salt. Boil until tender; add the soaked stockfish to soften. Reserve the stock — it is gold. 2. Mix the ground egusi with a little warm water or stock into a thick paste. The paste is what makes the lumps possible. 3. Heat the palm oil — warm, NOT bleached to smoking, or the soup turns bitter. Add the diced onion, 2 minutes. 4. Spoon the egusi paste into the oil in scoops. DO NOT STIR. Let it fry and set, 8–10 minutes, into crumbly golden curds. The unstirred minutes are the whole secret. 5. Add the stock gradually, then the crayfish, pepper base and ogiri. Simmer about 10 minutes. 6. Return the meats, stockfish and smoked fish. Simmer 10–15 minutes, until the oil glistens on top. 7. Ugu LAST, 3–5 minutes only — green must stay green. Taste, adjust the salt, and serve hot with pounded yam. Food is love, my dear. Taste and see! #EgusiSoup #NigerianFood #IgboFood #UbuntuKitchen