Egusi sauce or Egusi Soup, traditionally Egusi or Obe Egusi in Yoruba, is a culinary sauce prepared with egusi seeds as a primary ingredient.[1] Egusi seeds are the fat- and protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous (squash, melon, gourd) plants. Egusi sauce is common and prevalent across Central Africa as mbíka, and may be served atop rice, cooked vegetables, or grilled meat, such as goat, chicken, beef, or fish.[1][2][3] It may also be served atop fufu, omelettes, amala, and eba,[2][4][5][6] among other foods. Egusi soup is also consumed in West Africa, sometimes with chicken.[7]
Egusi sauce is prepared by grinding egusi seeds, from which a paste is created.[1] There are two methods of preparing egusi soup:[8]
1. Frying method: Egusi paste is fried in palm oil before adding other ingredients.[8]
2. Boiling method: Small lumps of egusi paste are added to boiling water and broken into pieces after cooking for 10 minutes.[8]
Soup ingredients may include tomato, onion, chili pepper, and cooking oil, such as palm oil.[1][3] Sometimes pumpkin seeds are substituted in place of egusi seeds.[1]
Egusi soup is a kind of soup thickened with the ground seeds and popular in West Africa, with considerable local variation. Besides the seeds, water, and oil, egusi soup typically contains leaf vegetables and other vegetables, seasonings, and meat.
