Beniseed Soup: Nigeria’s Nutty Sesame Seed Soup You’ve Never Tried

⏱ Prep: 20 min 🔥Cook: 45 min 👤Serves: 4–6 🌍Origin: Middle Belt, Nigeria

Beniseed soup is sesame seed soup, a Nigerian classic from the Middle Belt, known by different names depending on who’s cooking: esa to some, ishwa or igogo to others. Toasted sesame seeds are ground into a powder, then simmered into a rich, nutty broth with meat, palm oil and crayfish, a close cousin of egusi soup but with its own distinct, slightly bitter, deeply nutty character. If you’ve never made sesame seeds into a soup before, this is the one that changes your mind about what they’re capable of.

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups sesame seeds (beniseed), look for it labeled sesame seeds or beniseed at African grocery stores; raw, unhulled is traditional
• 2 lbs assorted meat, beef, cow skin, goat, or a mix, cut into chunks
• ¼ cup palm oil, go light, sesame seeds already carry a lot of natural oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ripe tomatoes, blended
• 1 red bell pepper and 1 scotch bonnet pepper, blended together
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
• 1–2 seasoning cubes
• 1 cup chopped bitter leaf or scent leaf, washed well if using bitter leaf
• Salt to taste
• Reserved meat stock, as needed

Step by step

1. Season and cook the meat. Wash, season, and cook your meat until tender. Drain and reserve the stock.
2. Toast and grind the sesame seeds. Wash the sesame seeds and let drain well. In a dry pan, toast over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 10–15 minutes until fragrant, they shouldn’t brown. Let cool completely, then grind into a powder.Don’t over-grind into a paste, what you want is a fine powder. Letting the seeds cool fully before grinding makes this much easier.
3. Build the base. Heat the palm oil in a pot over medium heat, just a little, sesame seeds bring plenty of oil of their own. Add the onion and fry for a minute until fragrant. Pour in the blended tomato and pepper mix and let it fry down for about 15 minutes until thickened.
4. Add the sesame powder. Stir in the ground sesame seeds and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick. Add the crayfish and seasoning cubes.
5. Combine and finish. Return the cooked meat to the pot along with enough reserved stock to reach your preferred consistency. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the bitter leaf or scent leaf and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. Serve with your preferred swallow.

How it compares to egusi

Beniseed soup is often described alongside egusi because the cooking method is so similar, both rely on a ground seed thickening a palm oil based soup. But the flavor is its own thing entirely: nuttier, a touch more bitter, without the slightly grassy quality egusi has. If you love egusi, this is worth trying as a different but related experience.

Make it your own

Claire’s note

Seafood works beautifully here too, shrimp, crab, or smoked fish in place of or alongside the meat. Locust beans, if you can find them, add another layer of fermented depth that’s traditional in many versions. Beniseed soup keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days and freezes for up to 2 months, just add a splash of stock or water when reheating since it thickens as it sits.

Serve with

Beniseed soup is traditionally served with pounded yam, eba, or any preferred swallow. For more from the Nigerian collection the complete Nigerian recipes guide and the African food collection have it all.

Add beniseed soup to your weekly meal planner, a hearty, nutrient-rich pot that feeds the family for days. And for more recipes, follow us on Pinterest.

Beniseed Soup

---

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

• Author: Claire Bennett
• Total Time: 65 minutes
• Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
• Diet: Meat-based

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

A hearty Nigerian sesame seed soup, rich in flavor and nutrition, perfect for serving with pounded yam or eba.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1¼ cups sesame seeds (beniseed)
• 2 lbs assorted meat (beef, cow skin, goat, or a mix), cut into chunks
• ¼ cup palm oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ripe tomatoes, blended
• 1 red bell pepper and 1 scotch bonnet pepper, blended together
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
• 1–2 seasoning cubes
• 1 cup chopped bitter leaf or scent leaf, washed well if using bitter leaf
• Salt to taste
• Reserved meat stock, as needed

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Season and cook the meat. Wash, season, and cook your meat until tender. Drain and reserve the stock.
2. Toast and grind the sesame seeds. Wash the sesame seeds and let drain well. In a dry pan, toast over medium heat for 10–15 minutes until fragrant. Let cool completely, then grind into a powder.
3. Build the base. Heat the palm oil in a pot over medium heat and add the onion, frying until fragrant. Pour in the blended tomato and pepper mix and let it fry down for about 15 minutes until thickened.
4. Add the sesame powder. Stir in the ground sesame seeds and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the crayfish and seasoning cubes.
5. Combine and finish. Return the cooked meat to the pot along with enough reserved stock to reach your preferred consistency. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the bitter leaf or scent leaf and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. Serve with your preferred swallow.

Notes

For added depth, consider using seafood or locust beans. Beniseed soup keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days and freezes for up to 2 months.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Category: Main Course
• Method: Simmering
• Cuisine: Nigerian

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serving
• Calories: 450
• Sugar: 4g
• Sodium: 500mg
• Fat: 25g
• Saturated Fat: 5g
• Unsaturated Fat: 15g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 30g
• Fiber: 5g
• Protein: 25g
• Cholesterol: 100mg