Legume Delight

Most meals quickly become routine and therefore boring. However, Chef Iquo Ukoh has come to the rescue, taking familiar Nigerian dishes made from beans, and turning them into mealtime treats. Enjoy.

1. Ewa Agoyin (Mashed Beans and Pepper Sauce)

MASHED BEANS

Ingredients

1 cup brown Beans

1 small Onion

Seasoning cube to taste

70 cl. water

Method

1. Wash Beans, chop Onion and pour everything into a pressure cooker add the seasoning and a little salt then let cook for about 30 minutes.
2. When soft, mash Beans into rough paste,

 

PEPPER SAUCE

 Ingredients

1 cooking spoon wet ground dry Pepper

1 Shawa fish (smoked herring)

1 cooking spoon ground Onion

1 tsp Ginger powder

2 cooking spoons Palm Oil

Crayfish seasoning to taste

Salt to taste

Method

1. Heat the palm oil but not to smoking point
2. Fry the Onion, Pepper, Fish, seasoning, Ginger powder and Salt
3. Fry till very dry but not burnt.
4. Spoon unto mashed Beans

 

2. Moin-moin Dim Sum

Recipe

 

Ingredients

1 cup brown black eye Beans (washed and peeled)

1/2 cup flaked steamed Mackerel Fish

1/2 cup diced Fresh Shrimps

2 cooking spoons Tomato/ Pepper blend

1 medium size Onion

1 teaspoon Ginger paste

2 cooking spoons vegetable oil

Crayfish seasoning to taste

Salt to taste

Cabbage leaves for wrapping

Method

1. Blend the beans till smooth with very little water. A good tip is to wash your beans the night before, soak in water and leave in the fridge and it will be easy on your blender.
2. Heat the oil and pour in the onion, tomato and pepper to fry. Add the fish, shrimp, ginger paste and seasoning. Taste for salt and correct seasoning. Cook the stew until tomato sourness goes off.
3. Allow stew to cool and then pour into the ground beans, add the ginger and mix well.
4. Add a little water to beans if too thick. Consistency should not be runny either.
5. Boil water and dip the whole cabbage into the hot water to soften a bit (do not boil). Gently peel off cabbage leaves and rinse in cold water. Use large cabbage to make wrapping easy.
6. Cut up strings to use in tying each Moin-Moin parcel
7. Scoop Moin-Moin mix unto cabbage leaves. Fold up the thick part up and fold down the soft upper side. Tuck in the sides to close up the parcel then tie gently with strings
8. Place in a steamer to steam with out letting water touch the parcels directly. Leave to cook for about 45 minutes
9. Take out parcels, allow it to cool and serve with cabbage leaves on, no need to peel.

You may want to pair the Moin-Moin with tea or Ogi.