Ewa agoyin recipe

Beans is popular food in Nigeria, There’s a Nigerian myth parents tell to their children who don’t like to eat beans – beans make you tall…lol, On behalf of parents and guardians across Nigeria I apologize to people who fell for this as kids.

Different types of beans are available in the Nigerian market; the common ones include

– Honey beans

– Olo beans ( olo1 and olo2)

– White beans (also known as iron beans), known to be extra rich in Iron.

Also quite a number of Nigerian meals are made with beans and they include

Gbegiri also known as bean soup ; when coupled with ewedu , it is called “abula”, popularly eaten with amala
Moi-moi
Akara
Adalu ; beans and corn porridge
Stewed beans ; beans porridge
Ekuru ; this is plain bean pudding very similar to moi-moi, but in this case ,doesnot contain pepper.
Frejon; this meal is usually eaten traditionally by catholics on Good Friday.
Rice and beans; this involves cooking plain rice and beans together, it is coupled with fried stew.
Agoyin beans

Ewa agoyin is street food in Lagos, It is basically mashed beans with a special sauce that goes with it. You can’t get ewa agoyin to buy in some areas because the sellers are not allowed within those areas. In other some other parts of Lagos, you have to closely look out for when the sellers will arrive so you don’t miss them or get there when they have finished selling.

At times you are able to get to the seller on time but because she is “managing” the agoyin sauce, she scoops very tiny sauce and plenty oil on the beans you buy. The most painful is when the seller doesn’t really know how to make the sauce and so it’s missing that authentic agoyin taste.

You don’t have to be at the mercy of ewa agoyin sellers; here’s a quick and easy way to make authentic ewa agoyin at home so you can enjoy with family and friends.

It’s best to use a pressure pot to cook the beans to desired softness in 30 minutes or less ( pressure pots can also be used to cook tough meat cuts like ponmo, cowleg….)

Method (for cooking beans)

Wash and pour beans ( with onions) into the pressure pot, set the timer to 30 minutes or less depending on desired softness, once beans is soft enough ,you can add salt and allow to cook for a little longer. To keep the beans moist, put just enough water when cooking such that you don’t end up with watery beans or beans that’s too dry. Once the beans has cooked enough you can mash into paste but if like me you like whole beans , you can serve without mashing. Whilst the beans is cooking, you can start making the sauce on another burner.

Here are few things you should know about cooking beans.

– Pressure pot reduces cooking time of beans by atleast half.

– When cooking beans, wait till beans is soft enough to eat before adding salt; salt prevents softening of beans .

– Soaking beans before cooking reduces bloating and flatulence associated with eating beans.

Method (Agoyin sauce)

At Themarketfoodshop, we have the agoyin pepper mix – it is a mix of ingredients for making ewa agoyin sauce in less than 20 minutes.

How to use agoyin pepper mix

Place (dry) clean pot on a burner, pour in palm oil (atleast 35ml of palmoil for a pack of ata agoyin mix from themarketfoodshop)
Once the oil is hot (not bleached) ,pour in sliced onions, let the onions fry till it becomes translucent.
Pour in blended crayfish , let it fry for 45-90 seconds, then pour in the ata agoyin mix , add in salt and seasoning cubes (optional).
keep stirring till you see the onions floating at the top of the oil.

Agoyin sauce is ready to be enjoyed with agoyin beans/Yam/sweet potatoes/ plantain.

Agoyin pepper mix is available in store, Themarketfoodshop (online food market), delivery available across Nigeria and abroad.