Miyan Taushe (Hausa Pumpkin Soup)
Miyan taushe is a traditional, popular soup in Hausa homes, especially during festive seasons or when pumpkins are in season. It reflects the Hausa people's creative use of local ingredients to prepare nourishing, flavorful meals. It is rich, slightly sweet, and often flavored with groundnut paste and spices. It is commonly served with tuwo shinkafa (Nigerian Mashed Rice), tuwo masara (Nigerian Corn Fufu), or tuwon dawa (Nigerian Sorghum Swallow).
- Prep
- 18 min
- Cook
- 41 min
- Total
- 59 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Equipment
Cooking pot
Equipment
Knife and cutting board
Equipment
Cooking spoon
Equipment
Measuring cups and spoons
Equipment
Mixing bowl (optional, for dissolving groundnut paste or soaking dried fish)
Procedure
Place the meat in a pot. Add chopped onion, seasoning cubes, salt, and enough water to cover everything. Simmer until the meat is cooked through and tender to your taste—this can take a while for tough cuts of meat.
Procedure
Add pumpkin chunks to the pot. Cook until they become soft (about 10–15 minutes), then gently mash some of the pumpkin to thicken the soup.
Procedure
Add groundnut paste if using, daddawa, palm oil, chile pepper, and fish. Stir well and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Procedure
Add your leafy vegetables and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Procedure
Add water if needed to get your desired soup thickness.
Notes, tips, and variations
Daddawa is fermented locust beans used to add deep flavor.
Notes, tips, and variations
Groundnut paste adds richness but can be omitted for a lighter version.
Notes, tips, and variations
The soup can be sweet, spicy, or both, depending on the pumpkin and chili quantity.
Photo: Aykunya13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 13 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Approximate values per serving. Worked out from the ingredient list — treat them as a guide, not a measurement.
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