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2 cups
poundo yam flour
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5 cups
water
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1.5 cups
ground egusi seeds
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1 lb
beef stew meat, cubed
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1/3 cup
red palm oil
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1
red bell pepper, blended
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1
habanero pepper, blended
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1
yellow onion, chopped
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3 cups
fresh spinach, chopped
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2 cups
beef broth
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1
In a pot, cook 1 lb cubed beef stew meat with half of 1 chopped yellow onion and 2 cups beef broth for 25 minutes until the beef reaches an internal temperature of 160°F.
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2
Heat 1/3 cup red palm oil in a pot over medium heat, then saute remaining 1 chopped yellow onion for 3 minutes.
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3
Add 1 blended red bell pepper and 1 blended habanero pepper, simmering for 5 minutes until reduced.
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4
Mix 1.5 cups ground egusi seeds with a splash of water to form a paste, stir into the pot, and cook for 10 minutes.
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5
Add cooked 1 lb cubed beef stew meat, 2 cups beef broth, and 3 cups chopped fresh spinach, simmering for 5 minutes.
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6
Boil 5 cups water in a separate pot, gradually whisk in 2 cups poundo yam flour, and stir until smooth.
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About Poundo Yam and Egusi Soup
Also called: egusi soup and poundo, pounded yam and egusi, poundo and egusi
Egusi soup is a thick West African soup built on ground melon seeds, cooked in palm oil with peppers, meat and leafy greens. It is eaten across Nigeria and its neighbors, and it is served with a swallow: a smooth, stretchy dough that is pinched off by hand and used to scoop the soup.
Pounded yam is the classic swallow for egusi. Traditionally boiled yam is pounded in a mortar until elastic. Poundo yam is the instant version: a dried yam flour that is whisked into boiling water and stirred until it forms the same smooth dough, which is how this recipe makes it. Poundo ingredients are simply yam flour and water. Egusi itself is seeds and contains no wheat, and this recipe uses no wheat thickener, so the dish as written is gluten free; check the label on the poundo flour and any stock product you use.
Serving and keeping
Serve the soup in a bowl beside a ball of poundo yam; eat by pinching off dough with the right hand and dipping. The soup keeps 4 days refrigerated; make poundo fresh.
Variations
With bitter leaf or ugu
Replace the spinach with washed bitter leaf or fluted pumpkin leaves, the greens used most often in Nigeria.
Fish and assorted meat
Add smoked fish, dried fish or tripe with the beef in step 5 for a fuller pot.
Other swallows
Serve the soup with eba (garri), fufu or semolina instead of poundo yam.
If it goes wrong
The egusi curdles into grainy bits instead of clumps
Make a thick paste with only a splash of water as in step 4 and leave it to set for a few minutes before stirring; constant stirring breaks it up.
The poundo yam is lumpy
Add the flour gradually to the boiling water while stirring hard, and keep stirring and folding for a few minutes after the last addition until smooth.
The poundo is too stiff or too soft
Too stiff: work in a little hot water. Too soft: sprinkle in more flour and stir over low heat until it firms.
The soup is oily on top
Palm oil separates as the egusi cooks; that is normal. Reduce the palm oil next time if you prefer less.
Substitutions
- fresh spinach: kale or bitter leaf. Kale needs a few more minutes; bitter leaf adds the bitterness many cooks expect.
- red palm oil: vegetable oil with a teaspoon of paprika. Loses the distinctive palm oil flavor and color.
- habanero pepper: scotch bonnet. Similar heat; use half for a milder soup.
- poundo yam flour: boiled true yam pounded in a mortar. More work, more texture; Puna yam is the variety to look for.
Questions
How much time should I plan for Poundo Yam and Egusi Soup?
As written, 65 minutes: 20 of prep and 45 of cooking. The longest single stretch is step 1 (25 minutes): "In a pot, cook 1 lb cubed beef stew meat with half of 1 chopped yellow onion and 2 cups beef broth for 25 minutes until the beef reaches an internal temperature of 160°F."
What internal temperature should Poundo Yam and Egusi Soup reach?
For Poundo Yam and Egusi Soup, the target internal temperature is 160 F (about 70 C), given in step 1. A probe thermometer removes the guesswork.
Is Poundo Yam and Egusi Soup spicy?
Yes, it is properly hot. The heat in Poundo Yam and Egusi Soup comes from 1 habanero pepper, blended. For a milder plate, remove the seeds and ribs from the habanero, or use half; nothing else in the method changes. For more, add it at the table rather than in the pot, so everyone sets their own level.
Is Poundo Yam and Egusi Soup gluten-free?
Yes. As written, nothing in the ingredient list for Poundo Yam and Egusi Soup is wheat, barley or rye. Gluten hides in packaged goods, so read the label on the broth.
How much protein is in Poundo Yam and Egusi Soup?
One serving (the recipe makes 4) has 38 g of protein in about 620 calories, alongside 48 g carbohydrate and 30 g fat, plus 6 g fiber and 580 mg sodium. The figures are estimates computed from the ingredient list. More like it: the high-protein dinner collection.
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