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Pounded Yam and Egusi Soup is a traditional recipe from West Africa and is something I love to make in our home at least once per month. 

Pounded Yam and Egusi Soup can be made several ways as the ingredients are interchangeable. 

I have experimented with this recipe over the years and so I can attest to that.  You can add more spinach or less if preferred as well for this dish.

Today, I used less because I had very little on hand this time. 

You can also make this on the stovetop or in an instant pot. And the sauce can be more thick or thin depending on how it is made. 

The only part that for sure needs to be made on the stovetop is the pounded yam part. 

HOW TO EAT POUNDED YAM AND EGUSI SOUP

With your hands, basically you grab a piece of the yam and dip it in the soup add some meat if you’d like as well and put it directly into your mouth! No forks needed, so good. The recipe you see below is the same just made with Chicken Drumsticks, you can find that recipe here > Nigerian Chicken Stew

EGUSI SOUP IS MADE OF

Now, I know these ingredients are not always available and so I have also switched some of them on occasion and have for this recipe today. 

 

WHERE TO FIND EGUSI GROUND PUMPKIN SEEDS

Egusi can be found at almost any small African Grocery as well as the ground crayfish and red palm oil

You do not want to skip on the egusi for this recipe, however you can on the crayfish and palm oil and use regular vegetable oil instead.

 

That is what I did for this recipe today and do often. Both ways taste amazing, however of course cooking with crayfish and palm oil has a more traditional taste. 

 

 

EGUSI SOUP WITH FUFU 

Typically Egusi sop is served with”Pounded Yam” or “Rice”.

I much prefer the pounded yam however if I do not have the instant stuff on hand I will use rice.

Instant pounded yam that is 🙂 see the link below to purchase. 

I will provide the recipe for pounded yam below. And tips on where to find it!

As for the Pounded Yam/Fufu, most smaller East Indian and or African groceries will carry the yam flour to make it.

And trust me you want the flour VS pounding the yam from scratch as that is a whole lot of work. 

Making Fufu and Egusi Soup is worth the effort and when I say effort, I mean it’s probably not your everyday type of recipe.

But not hard to make. Unless your African, then you probably have all these ingredients in your kitchen almost all the time.

How to make Pounded Yam

Where to buy Pounded Yam > Pounded Yam on AMAZON

Wanting to make Pounded Yam with this? Check out my 5 minute recipe for that here: how-to-make-pounded-yam/

Pounded yam is typically eating with your hands, no fork needed.

Pounded Yam typically is prepared with a mortar and large pot and is made from scratch.

However do to advances in the food industry you can now buy it in a “powdered form”and make the same thing in less the time an effort.

Looking for more delicious African Recipes? 

1. Quick Black Eyed Peas

2. African pepper goat soup

3. African Chicken Stew

Inspired by: Nigerian Lazy Chef

I am so thrilled you are reading one of my recipes, if you made this recipe i’d love to hear about it! Thank you very much for reading and until next time see ya in the kitchen. Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER delivered right to your inbox every Month!

Pounded Yam and Egusi Soup

Yield: 4

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 pound pieces of goat meat
• 1 Maggi crayfish (or beef cube)
• 1-1½ cups of egusi / ground pumpkin seeds
• 3 tbsps of crayfish
• 1 large onion (cut into three parts)
• 1 habanero pepper purred
• 3 medium sized plum tomatoes
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 120 ml of palm oil or vegetable
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• 1 tsp of dry pepper
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Blend the tomatoes, onion and all the spices together till smooth.
2. Soak the egusi with the crayfish in luke warm water just enough to create a paste.
3. In a large pot heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry the meat till browned.
4. Season the meat then pour the tomato mixture overtop along with the remaining oil.
5. Cover and cook on a low to medium heat for 20 minutes till the tomatoes are fried.
6. Stir then add in the egusi paste and spinach,
7. Continue cooking on low heat for about 10 minutes and serve with pounded yam or rice.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 842Total Fat: 59gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 35gCholesterol: 121mgSodium: 417mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 10gSugar: 7gProtein: 57g

These calculations are based off Nutritionix

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