# HOW TO MAKE FRIED EGUSI SOUP AT HOME

- Author: Ami (https://wurk.fun/user/Ami)
- Published: 2026-08-17
- Canonical (HTML): https://wurk.fun/blog/how-to-make
- Cover image: https://ik.imagekit.io/wurk/1000697136_ydiwJr0tkz.jpg

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Fried egusi soup is one of those dishes that shows up on a lot of Nigerian tables. It’s made from ground melon seeds, and the fried version means you cook the egusi paste in oil first so it gets that rich, slightly grainy texture before everything else goes in. Here’s how I usually make it.
You’ll need about two cups of ground egusi, half a cup of palm oil, some meat (beef, goat or chicken works), a piece of smoked fish or stockfish if you have it, an onion, ground crayfish, a couple of peppers, and a good bunch of leafy greens like ugu, spinach or bitter leaf. Seasoning cubes and salt, of course. Stock from the meat is important too.

![1000697137](https://ik.imagekit.io/wurk/1000697137_8KghVP_em.jpg)

First I season the meat with a little salt, onion and seasoning, then cook it until it’s soft. I keep the water it cooked in because that stock goes back into the soup later. While that’s happening I clean the fish if I’m using any.

![1000697138](https://ik.imagekit.io/wurk/1000697138_1fYGkD2fM.jpg)


For the egusi I mix the ground seeds with just enough water (or a bit of chopped onion) to make a thick paste. Not too wet. Then I heat the palm oil in a pot. When it’s hot I spoon in the paste and stir it around. It starts to fry and break into soft lumps. I keep stirring for maybe ten minutes until the raw smell is gone. That part matters if you skip it the soup doesn’t taste quite right.


Once the egusi looks cooked I pour in the stock slowly, stirring so it mixes in. Then the meat, fish, crayfish, peppers and a bit more seasoning go in. Let it simmer for ten or fifteen minutes. Near the end I add the chopped leaves and cook them just long enough to wilt. Overdo it and they lose their colour and freshnes.

![1000697145](https://ik.imagekit.io/wurk/1000697145_AMVAzXkgP.jpg)

 Serve it with pounded yam, eba or whatever swallow you like. Some people make it thicker, some add more stock it’s flexible. The leftovers usually taste even better the next day.Nothing fancy, just the way a lot of people cook it at home.

![1000697159](https://ik.imagekit.io/wurk/1000697159_iD6S77t8Z.jpg)