Welcome to your new favorite stew! Egusi stew!! This stew is luscious, full of flavor and absolutely to die for. I love having it with boiled rice or boiled plantains. So tasty!
If you are not familiar with the word, Egusi is a seed which is basically the same thing as pumpkin seeds but its white variation. It is also known as melon seeds. Egusi is widely enjoyed in West Africa. It is mostly used to make a variety of soups or sauces.
In Cameroon, one popular Egusi delicacy is this delight called Egusi Pudding. Egusi is also used to cook vegetables or added to okra soup and ogbono soup.
I always love having egusi at home. I mean, I just feel this sense of security when there is some egusi lying in my cupboard because of the varied ways I can use it. The dimension of taste it brings to food is unbeatable! Egusi for president!
This is not your average egusi soup. Let’s talk about this egusi stew for a moment. It is:
- Luscious
- Garlicky
- High in nutrients (egusi is high in protein!)
- Easy to make
- Savory
- Luscious (did I say this already?)
Serve your egusi sauce over boiled rice for a delightful meal. Actually, this goes well with plantains too: boiled or fried. And it is great with boiled yams too! It is just an all-round really good stew!
Egusi stew served with rice
I used beef in this egusi stew recipe but you could make egusi stew with chicken, egusi stew with fish or even egusi stew with turkey. The world is your oyster, baby!
I made a video to show you how to make Egusi Stew on my YouTube channel: YouTube.com/preciouskitchen. Be sure to subscribe to my channel so you never miss any of my videos.
Watch How to Make Egusi Stew:
Stew made with Egusi (melon seeds). It is so full of flavor, meaty and absolutely delicious! I love having it with some boiled rice, plantains or African white yam. Enjoy this enjoy Egusi Stew recipe.
- 1 1/2 cups ground egusi
- 6 large tomatoes - chopped
- 1 medium onion - chopped
- 1-2 stems green onions - chopped
- 5 cloves garlic - peeled
- 1 inch ginger - peeled
- 1 habanero pepper (optional)
- 2 cubes Maggi (4g per cube)
- 1 cup oil
- 1/2 pound beef - cut into pieces and boiled with salt also reserve the beef stock for use in this recipe
- 1 teaspoon salt - adjust as needed
Blend together garlic, ginger and half of the green onions then set aside.
Pour oil into a pot and heat on high for about 4 minutes.
Add in chopped onions and let it saute for 3 minutes until translucent. Be sure to stir from time to time.
Add in chopped tomatoes and let it cook until the tomato shrinks and starts sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Add in ground spices (garlic, ginger and onions) then stir for about 2 minutes. This brings out the flavor of the spices.
Add in ground egusi (with no added water) and mix well. Keep mixing for about 5 minutes (some egusi will stick to the bottom of the pot - that's okay!)
Add in beef with stock. Then add in more water (I added about 1 cup) to get the desired consistency. I always make my stew a little lighter than I would want it at this point because as it simmers, a little of the water dries up. Add salt, seasoning cubes and habanero pepper (gorund or whole according to preference - I normally add it whole with stem on so the heat doesn't get to every part of the food.)
Mix well, cover pot and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Add in green onions, stir well and turn off the heat.
Enjoy with boiled rice, plantains or any starchy side of choice.
1. You could substitute the beef in this recipe with chicken or fish.
2. To make this recipe vegan, use mushrooms instead of beef.
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If you make this recipe, please share a photo on Instagram and tag me: @preciouscore, or share a photo on my Facebook page. I’ll love to see!
Dominika says
October 22, 2017 at 5:54 amHehehe, Precious I love egusi soup. It’s the easiest soup to cook that always comes to my rescue and it’s economical too. You know what! Coincidentally I just finished eating my last portion of egusi soup that I prepared.
http://dominikagoodness.blogspot.com.ng
Precious says
October 22, 2017 at 10:00 pmHaha what a wonderful coincidence! Yes it is so easy and cost effective. Thank you dear.
Shaitou Cho says
October 24, 2017 at 4:46 amYes egusi soup is so tasty, yummy.
Precious says
October 25, 2017 at 2:03 pmSo tasty, dear. Thank you.
Quinta says
October 24, 2017 at 6:08 amThanks so much for this egusi recipe, I always follow up your posts and I love it. Keep it up
Precious says
October 25, 2017 at 2:04 pmThanks so much, Quinta!
Joy2Endure says
October 24, 2017 at 8:08 amEgusi soup for the win!
I love it and this one here is calling my name.
Missed this site and loving the new look here, sis.
Precious says
October 25, 2017 at 2:04 pmAww thanks sis!
Lian says
February 27, 2018 at 9:17 amCan I substitute melon with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds?
Which is more suitable, if all.
Precious says
February 27, 2018 at 10:34 amPumpkin seeds. I think eggs is actually pumpkin, not melon seeds though we use the terms interchangeably. You should preferably get the white ones from an African store. Hope this helps.
AMBER says
May 28, 2018 at 7:37 amMy fiance is from Cameroon and i am from US and I love egusi with garri or wheat😋 There are no African restaurants near me and I have been craving egusi with beef, This recipe looks lovely and i will try it, Thank you! I will also learn to make eru.
Precious says
May 30, 2018 at 7:18 pmYou are most welcome, Amber! So glad to help.
Atefor says
May 22, 2019 at 5:58 pmThanks so much For the Egusi stew recipe Previous…
Guess I got a perfect pick to prepare my date… Thanks