This African soup has a wide variety of ingredients which gives it its characteristic taste, color and appeal that drives the passion of hunger and a desire to eat by all and sundry. The ingredients used in the preparation of this soup are:-

1. One (1) cup of ground Egusi seed
2. 2 canned  stewed tomato
3. 1 teaspoonful of dry ground pepper
4. Fish or meat (about 1 kg)
5. 30 grams of ground crayfish
6. 1 medium sized onion
7. 100 ml of palm oil
8. Water
9. Salt
10. 3 cubes of Maggi
11. 25 grams of ground crayfish.
12. Leafy pumpkin or washed bitter leaf (squeezed and washed to remove the bitterness) vegetable.

            Method of Preparation of Egusi Soup

After all the ingredients have been assembled, the tomato, pepper, crayfish and onions are pulverized with a small quantity of water (about 10cl).

The meat or fish is also boiled and kept aside.

The next major step involves the partial frying of the ground Egusi to give it a characteristic taste and color. Palm oil is then put into a pot to heat for about 2 minutes after which the pulverized sauce is added into the already heated palm oil.

The boiled fish or meat is now added into the pot together with about 80cl of water and the entire content is allowed to cook for about 10 minutes.

Pumpkin vegetable or washed bitter leaf is added which is optional depending on the choice of the cook or on the preferences of the consumers.

A pinch of salt is also added alongside the 3 cubes of magi to improve on the taste.

It is further left for an additional 5 minutes after which it is ready to serve.

The ready to serve Egusi soup can be eaten with a solid food such as pounded yam, cooked cassava flour (fufu) or prepared Garri known as Eba in Nigeria. It can equally be served with white rice or cooked corn which is very common among the locals in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, sierra-Leone, Benin-republic, Cameroon and Niger.

Ground Egusi seed can be found widely in specialty stores and local chain stores across west and central Africa. This is so because it is widely cultivated amongst the inhabitants of the savannah regions of Africa even towards the eastern flank of the continent up to Sudan and Ethiopia.

                Important tips about Egusi

Egusi otherwise known as melon is a fruit and not a vegetable as is erroneously believed by certain persons.

Egusi is a fruit with a high protein and lipid content. It also contains other food nutrients such as amino acids and fatty acids.

A very small amount of water is used during blending to achieve greater pulverization.

Cooking time usually depends on the cooking temperature of the heat source such as a stove, an electric cooker or a gas powered cooker.