Nigerian beans porridge, also known as stewed beans, is a dietary staple in many households in the country. It is called “ewa riro” in Yoruba or sometimes just referred to as “ewa”, which means beans. It is similar to the Ghanaian “red red” and is perfect for vegetarians.
Stewed beans get its popularity from the fact that beans are cheap and filling. It is easily accessible to everyone and can be cooked without any fuss or a lot of added ingredients. It is a popular meal with students as it is a cheap way to feed a lot of people at once. When I was in boarding secondary school, we had beans every other day. At the University, it was the go-to meal when we needed to whip up something cheap, which was most times.
Beans porridge can be prepared in different ways, usually as hearty, no fuss, “one pot” meal, but this recipe takes it from casual to extraordinary. There is an added step, and it takes a bit more time, but it takes the monotony out of meals. Serve this delicious and nearly mushy beans with dodo on the side the next time you are hosting to wow your guests.
What Are Nigerian Beans?
Most Nigerian beans recipes usually involve one of three beans which all belong to the Vigna unguiculata family and play a crucial role in the Nigerian diet. They are, ewa oloyin, drum and Sokoto white.
Ewa oloyin directly translates to “beans with honey” and is called honey beans in English. It also sometimes referred to as “sweet beans” because of its characteristic sweet flavour. It has light brown colour. Drum also has a brown colour, but deeper than oloyin, and a bit larger too. These two brown beans are very common in Nigeria, but not anywhere else. Hence why they are called Nigerian beans.
The third is the Sokoto white, which is more commonly eaten in the Northern part of the country; and is black eye beans. This is widely eaten across West African and the Caribbean.
These versatile Nigerian beans, although not high in protein are the main sources of protein for most families, as meat and fish can be expensive. They are used to prepare an array of dishes, one of which is ewa riro. Others include ewa agoyin, moimoi, akara (koose), ekuru, gebgiri soup and so on. I have some delicious African beans recipe in my e-book - "25 From 30". Here I created 25 tasty and original recipes with 30 ingredients common in a West African kitchen, including beans.
How To Cook Nigerian Beans Porridge
You will need...
Nigerian beans
Scotch bonnet peppers
Onions
Red palm oil
Salt
Bouillon cube
A few notes about the ingredients
- Red Palm-oil: This is one dish where you can’t skimp on the palm-oil as it not only adds colour, but flavour. I will not suggest a substitute for the red palm oil as I feel the Nigerian beans porridge is not complete without this. For those who do not know, the palm oil used in Nigeria is farmed and produced at a cottage industry level locally.
- Beans: Any of honey beans, drum or black eye beans can be used for this ewa riro recipe. I prefer honey beans because of the sweetness.
- Pepper: Scotch bonnet gives this dish its characteristic fruity but hot flavour. You can substitute with other hot peppers or bell pepper if you do not want any heat. If you don’t have fresh hot peppers, dried ground pepper also works well.
- Tomatoes: This is an optional ingredient. If I have the pepper mix which is made of peppers, onions and tomatoes, then I would use this. However, if I’m making a pepper blend just for cooking beans, I use only scotch bonnet and a lot of onions.
- Additional ingredients: I have kept this recipe simple to make it suitable for vegetarians, but sometimes, I add ground prawns or dried fish for extra flavour. You can also add meats like smoked turkey etc and fish for additional protein.
How To Pick Beans
This is the first step in making any Nigerian beans recipe. The beans are processed locally and usually have some stones and dirt particles. Even the pre-packed beans we buy in the UK need some picking to remove stones.
To pick, spread out on a tray so you can see all the beans, look for any foreign bodies and remove. If the beans has a lot of foreign bodies, then the method in this video should be effective.
How To Cook It
I use traditional stove-top pressure cooker to cook beans (You can use an electric pressure cooker if preferred) and here is how I do it...
Chop one of the onions.
Wash the beans at least twice in cold water and pour in a colander to drain.
Pour the beans into the pressure cooker, add the onions and pour in enough water to cover the beans. The rule of thumb is to make the ratio of beans to water 1:3.
Close the valve of the pressure cooker and leave until it reaches full pressure. This should take no more than 15 mins.
Once it reaches full pressure, reduce the heat and leave for additional 15 mins for the beans to cook.
If you are using a pot, follow the first two steps, then pour the beans and onions into a pot with similar beans to water ratio. Place on the hob and allow to cook until the beans become soft. This could take between 1hr to 1hr 30 mins depending on the type of beans. If the water dries up before the beans become soft, you may need to add more water to the pot. Add a little at a time.
While the beans is cooking, you can start preparing the sauce.
Remove the stalk from the scotch bonnet peppers and peel the remaining onion. Add in a blender with a little water and allow to puree coarsely.
Pour the palm oil in a non-stick pot big enough to cook the beans and leave for about 3 mins. We don’t want to bleach the oil here.
Pour in the pepper and onion blend, a bouillon cube (I used Knorr) and some salt.
Reduce the heat and cook for between 15-20 mins so you are left with a fried stew. Remove from heat.
Remove the pressure cooker from heat and allow to cool down naturally to depressurize. This should take around 15 mins.
Once the pot is adequately cooled. Unlock the lid. The beans should be very soft and the liquid should have reduced significantly. Do not drain whatever liquid is left so as not to lose the flavour of the beans.
Tip the beans into the pot containing the sauce. If you are cooking in a pot, do the same.
Stir the content of the pot and allow to cook under low heat. Taste and more salt if required. Stir every few minutes and allow to cook for around 10 mins before removing from heat.
Serve on its own or with some garri (fermented cassava meal) sprinkled over. If you are not sure what to eat beans with, here are some other ideas.
Dodo (fried plantain)
Bread
Rice
Recipe FAQ and Notes
It is usually available in Asian and Caribbean shops labelled as brown beans or honey beans. You can also find it supermarkets where there are ethnic aisles and it will be in African/Caribbean section. In the UK, the black eye beans is more accessible as you can find this in most major supermarkets.
Definitely! This is one meal that takes some time to make and which most families eat often. It will keep in the fridge for a few days and in the freezer for a few weeks. You can make many batches at once. Pack away in portions in individual freezer bowls. Bring out and thaw before warming in the microwave when you are ready to eat.
You want clean beans with minimal dirt and stones. Beans are very susceptible to weevil attack, and the way you know if this has happened is when you see holes on the beans. Make sure the beans you are buying are not full of holes.
Related Recipes
Other beans recipe
Nigerian Beans Porridge Recipe Using Pressure Cooker
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Onions
- 2 cups Nigerian Beans
- 2 Scotch bonnet peppers
- ¼ cup Palm oil
- Salt to taste
- 1 Bouillon cube
Instructions
- Chop one of the onions.
- Wash the beans at least twice in cold water and pour in a colander to drain.
- Pour the beans into the pressure cooker, add the onions and pour in enough water to cover the beans. The rule of thumb is to make the ratio of beans to water 1:3.
- Close the valve of the pressure cooker and leave until it reaches full pressure. This should take no more than 15 mins.
- Once it reaches full pressure, reduce the heat and leave for additional 15 mins for the beans to cook.
- While the beans is cooking, you can start preparing the sauce.
- Remove the stalk from the scotch bonnet peppers and peel the remaining onion. Add in a blender with a little water and allow to puree.
- Pour the palm oil in a non-stick pot big enough to cook the beans and leave for about 3 mins. We don’t want to bleach the oil here.
- Pour in the pepper and onion blend, a bouillon cube (I used Knorr) and some salt. Reduce the heat and cook for between 15-20 mins so you are left with a fried stew. Remove from heat.
- Remove from pressure cooker from heat and allow to cool down naturally to depressurize. This should take around 15 mins.
- Once the pot is adequately cooled. Unlock the lid. Tip the beans into the pot containing the sauce.
- Stir the content of the pot and allow to cook under low heat. Taste and more salt if required. Stir every few minutes and allow to cook for around 10 mins before removing from heat.
I'd made this once before and I'm surprised I didn't leave a review, so I guess I ought to since I made it again. It's such a good bean dish! I used black eyed peas with the bean-setting in an Instapot, and they come out so creamy and flavorful. I think I had it with plantains before, but this time I ate it with a little leftover sticky rice and even though that sounds like a weird combination, it was SO good with the chewy, bland rice hahah!
Thank you.