What Is the Taste of Egusi? Is Egusi Delicious?

Do you know who Egusi is? You’re not alone yourself.

Yet, since this meal is gaining popularity across the globe, you may as well catch up and find a new favorite dish.

Egusi is often taken as a soup and tastes nutty, thick, and spicy.

Several West African nations, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, and Benin, consume it regularly.

Seafood, beef, green leafy vegetables, mushrooms, and awara are common ingredients in egusi soup.

So, how does Egusi taste? Although Egusi has a nutty flavor on its own, the flavor of the soup is derived by the various combinations of these ingredients.

What is Egusi?

Egusi is the word given to the seeds of several cucurbitaceous plants such as a gourd, melon, and squash. It is also known by many other names such as egwusi, Ikon, ohue, and agushi.

It is a common element in West African cuisine.

Sources disagree on whether Egusi is a generic word for cucurbitaceous plants or specifically for colocynth (seeds), a sort of watermelon.

But, when it comes to cooking and consuming these seeds, their characteristics and applications are comparable.

In Ghana, egusi is known as agushi or akatoa.

The dish is especially popular among Ibibio, Efik, Yoruba, Annang, and Igbo people in Nigeria.

Egusi is used by the locals in a sort of stew known as Palaver sauce.

Globalization enabled people to discover numerous traditional meals from throughout the globe, and Egusi soup is one that has piqued everyone’s interest due to its nutrient-dense richness.

Some may find the soup unappealing, but after you have it, you’ll have a whole different perspective on Egusi.

The Canadian government funded a project in Cameroon to develop a machine that shells these seeds.

You may now buy egusi seeds at African marketplaces and experiment with numerous variants of the soup.

What Does Egusi Taste Like?

Egusi has a rich and nutty taste on its own.

It also tastes like pumpkin seeds, however they are a little blander than Egusi.

Instead of red, use yellow, and bitter instead of sweet. Egusi gourd resembles a watermelon, except it is green.

As a result, individuals cultivate the plant primarily for its seeds, which are almost identical to pumpkin seeds in virtually every way.

Egusi soup is a broth made with pulverized egusi seeds.

Although the meaty component consists of beef, fish, chicken, crayfish, shrimp, and offal, the soup also contains vegetables such as pumpkin leaf, bitter leaf, spinach, and celosia.

Because of the inclusion of bitter leaves to the meal, some individuals may find the soup bitter.

You may counteract this by adding sugar. The recipe also includes a substantial quantity of palm oil.

If you are concerned about your fat consumption, don’t be afraid to cut the quantity.

Thankfully, the soup has no cholesterol. Egusi has 35% protein and 50% oil (78% of which is unsaturated).

It has a high sodium, magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, and copper content.

Egusi seeds also include vitamins A, B complex, and C.

How to Cook and Serve Egusi?

If you want to make egusi soup at home, there are three main stages to follow-.

• Bring the fish or meat to a boil. You may want to do this a day ahead of time for convenience and less labor, but it is not required.
• The seeds should be ground. We suggest buying whole seeds and crushing them yourself. When it comes to Egusi quality, whole seeds are preferable than pre-ground ones.
• The fish, plus the spice. Sauté the ground seeds in palm oil with onions and your preferred kind of meat.

It’s that simple to make egusi soup.

Yet you wouldn’t want to eat it by yourself.

So here are some recipes for Egusi-friendly cuisine.

• Pounded Yam- The most common side dish with Egusi is pounded yam. You may simply create it at home if you buy some yam flour.
• Garri- Another classic side dish that goes well with Egusi is garri. Learn how to make garri here.

Egusi may be enjoyed in a variety of ways.

Explore many recipes for this classic West African cuisine with your family and friends.

You can’t go wrong with Egusi, which has a delightful nutty and buttery taste with a tinge of spice.

Final Thought

Here’s hope you’ve discovered the answers to your Egusi-related queries.

We strongly suggest trying Egusi soup if you want to experience some real West African cuisine and experiment with various flavors.

They are cheap, widely accessible (even in non-African areas), and simple to manufacture at home.

Although there are several traditional methods to make egusi soup, you may customize it to your own.

Even if this is your first time, there isn’t much to go wrong.

Buy some egusi seeds now and delight your taste buds.