Egusi sauce

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Egusi seeds without shells EGUSI.JPG
Egusi seeds without shells
Egusi soup atop a dish, with pounded yam (upper left) A Plate of Pounded Yam (Iyan) served in Birmingham UK.JPG
Egusi soup atop a dish, with pounded yam (upper left)

Egusi sauce or egusi soup, traditionally egusi or obe egusi in Yoruba, is a culinary sauce originating from the Yoruba people of West Africa, prepared with egusi seeds as a primary ingredient. [1] [2] [3] [4] 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. [4] [5] [6] It may also be served atop fufu, omelettes, amala, and eba, [5] [7] [8] [9] among other foods. Egusi soup is also consumed in West Africa, sometimes with chicken. [10]

Contents

Preparation

Egusi sauce is prepared by grinding egusi seeds, from which a paste is created. [4] There are two methods of preparing egusi soup: [11]

1. Frying method: Egusi paste is fried in palm oil before adding other ingredients. [11]

2. Boiling method: Small lumps of egusi paste are added to boiling water and broken into pieces after cooking for 10 minutes. [11]

Soup ingredients may include tomato, onion, chili pepper, and cooking oil, such as palm oil. [4] [6] Sometimes pumpkin seeds are substituted in place of egusi seeds. [4]

Similar dishes

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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bowen, T. J. (1857). Central Africa: Adventures and Missionary Labors in Several Countries in the Interior of Africa, from 1849 to 1856. Charleston: Southern Baptist Publication Society. p. 314. The telfairia, which is common in Yoruba, as on the eastern coast, would grow equally well in Liberia... This is doubtless a valuable plant.
  2. ↑ Echeruo, Michael J. C. (1998). Igbo–English Dictionary: A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Igbo Language with an English–Igbo Index. Yale University Press. p. 66. ISBN   978-0-300-07307-2. "Egusi, n. the seeds of the melon."
  3. ↑ Bascom, William (1951). "Yoruba Cooking". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 21 (2). Cambridge University Press: 125–137. doi:10.2307/1156465. JSTOR   1156464. Melon is included... Melon-seed or gourd-seed is shelled, ground on a grinding stone, boiled, and added to soup or meat stew as in making vegetable stew.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Jacob, Jeanne; Ashkenazi, Michael (2014-01-15). The World Cookbook: The Greatest Recipes from Around the Globe, Revised Edition. Abc-Clio. pp. 239–240. ISBN   9781610694698.
  5. 1 2 "Goat and Beef With Egusi Sauce". The Washington Post . February 29, 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  6. 1 2 Katende, Jude (January 8, 2009). "A taste of Nigerian fufu in Kampala". New Vision . Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Evans, Andrew (2004). Veg Out Vegetarian Guide to Washington,, Part 3. Gibbs Smith. p. 19. ISBN   9781586854713.
  8. ↑ Ainley, Sarah (2008). Around the world in 450 recipes. Hermes House. p. 26. ISBN   9781844775279 . Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Adesokan, Akinwumi (2004). Roots in the Sky. FESTACBooks. p. 211. ISBN   9789780645403.
  10. ↑ The Recipes of Africa. p. 54.
  11. 1 2 3 Ajoke (2020-05-14). "Egusi Soup Recipe - How to cook egusi soup". My Active Kitchen. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
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