Egusi or ogbono?
Two Nigerian soup seeds, two very different soups.
The short answer
Egusi is ground melon seed. It thickens soup into a rich, nutty, slightly grainy texture. Ogbono is ground seed from the African wild mango. It makes a smooth "draw" soup that stretches when you lift it, a bit like okra.
Egusi
Egusi seeds are shelled and ground to a pale powder. Mix it with a little water or blended onion into a paste, then fry it in palm oil before adding stock, so it forms soft curds in the soup.
Egusi soup is usually cooked with leafy greens like spinach or bitter leaf, with meat, stockfish or smoked fish, and eaten with pounded yam, eba or fufu.
Ogbono
Ogbono seeds are dried and ground to a brown powder. Stir it into warm palm oil until it dissolves, then add stock and keep stirring. The longer it cooks, the more it draws.
Ogbono soup is often cooked with okra, meat, fish or assorted offal. It is quicker to make than egusi.
Side by side
- Seed: egusi is melon seed, ogbono is African wild mango seed
- Colour: egusi is pale cream, ogbono is light brown
- Texture: egusi is thick and grainy, ogbono is smooth and stretchy
- Eat with: both go with pounded yam, eba, fufu or semo
Together
Some cooks mix the two, using egusi for body and ogbono for draw. Start with more egusi than ogbono, about two spoons to one.
A simple egusi soup
Follow it once, then cook it your way.
- Make the baseBlend peppers and onion. Cook your meat or fish with seasoning until tender, and keep the stock.
- Fry the egusiMix the ground egusi into a thick paste with a little water. Heat palm oil, add the paste in spoonfuls and fry gently until it forms lumps.
- SimmerAdd the pepper mix, the stock and the meat or fish. Cover and simmer on low heat, stirring now and then.
- Finish with greensAdd washed, chopped greens near the end and cook for a few more minutes. Season and serve with swallow.
What to buy.
Everything on this list is on our shelves or at our counters. Tap a ticket to see the aisle.
- EgusiGround melon seedWest African kitchenIn store
- OgbonoGround wild mango seedWest African kitchenIn store
- Palm oilWest African kitchenIn store
- Yam flourFor the swallowRice, dal and flour aisleIn store
- Mackerel and tilapiaFish counter · cleaned and cutIn store
- Goat meatCut small for soupHalal butcher · cut to orderIn store
Questions people ask.
- Where can I buy egusi in Dublin?
- Egusi and ogbono are both in the African section at World of Spices, alongside palm oil, pepper soup spice and yam flour.
- How should I store them?
- Keep ground egusi and ogbono in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, or in the freezer if you buy a lot. The oils in the seeds go stale in a warm kitchen.
- My ogbono will not draw. Why?
- It was cooked too hot or too fast, or it is old. Dissolve it in warm, not smoking, oil, add stock a little at a time and keep stirring.
- Can I cook egusi without palm oil?
- You can use vegetable oil, but the soup will taste and look different. Palm oil gives egusi its colour and much of its flavour.
Come and see us in store.
No online orders and no delivery. Everything is waiting on the shelves and at the counters in our shops in Dublin and Drogheda.