Ground pistachio

African pistachio (pumpkin seeds): the forgotten vegetable.

African pistachio (also called egousi or egusi in English) is the seed of a type of watermelon called Citrullus lanatus. This type of melon is very popular due to its productivity and food quality. The terminology is confusing, however, as the name egusi is often used for several similar seeds. All of these seeds come from pumpkins (Cucurbits family) and they are all rich in oil and protein.

The African pistachio plant looks so much like a watermelon plant that most botanists believe it. The fruit looks a lot like a small, round watermelon, which can easily be confused with the two. Inside, however, the fruit is neither red, sweet, nor salty. In fact, it’s white, dry, and bitter enough to be repellent. The egusi plant is cultivated for its seeds, which look like large seeds of a white melon.