Ewa Agoyin

As a child, the euphoria that came from seeing an Ewa Agoyin street hawker on a Saturday morning was rivaled by nothing else. I used to jump in excitement at the thought of treating my taste buds to the delicious delicacy. It was as though this meal was rare and highly treasured. I also had the erroneous belief that it wasn’t meant to be homemade. Thankfully, I now completely disagree. You can absolutely whip up some ewa Agoyin in the comfort of your kitchen. All you need is the technical know-how and recipe I am here to provide.

Brief History

First, a brief history of this meal and its origin. Ewa Agoyin is a popular street delight which is originally from the Beninese and Togolese people. Shocking, isn’t it? I bet you thought this was an originally Nigerian dish.

Well, you are wrong!

It is a delicacy that was made popular by migrants of Benin republic and Togo. It’s name was however coined especially by the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria. Ewa is the word for beans in Yoruba while Agoyin refers to a known tribe in Benin republic. That being said this recipe has been steady bringing joy since it was introduced to Nigeria.

How is Ewa Agoyin made?

In simple terms, it is particularly soft beans which is mashed and then paired with a mouth watering sauce, made from onions, dried pepper and palm oil.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of Beans (I use honey beans aka ewa oloyin)
• 1/2 cup of palm oil
• 3 meduim sized Onion
• 3 small dried scotch bonnet(ata rodo)
• Paprika pepper ( 2 teaspoons)
• Two dried Local red bell pepper (Tatashe)
• One sweet bell pepper (yellow pepper)
• Bouillion cubes
• Crayfish (optional)
• Salt

STEPS

Asides the actual cooking of beans (which takes a bit over 40 minutes), Ewa agoyin sauce takes less than 20minutes to make, it is super easy and fast my darlings. Let me take you through the steps.

• First things first we have to get our beans ready for the sauce. If your beans isn’t supermarket bought, biko pick out the dirt and stones first before rinsing with water.
• The next step is to pour your beans in a pot with some clean water which should be more than half the quantity of beans along with sliced onions (the onions would help the beans cook faster) or better still, use a pressure cooker.
• When the beans is almost done and super soft (Mashable level) add some salt for taste and make sure the water in it dries up after mashing to give the desired consistency, then set aside.
• For this next part, the ball is actually in your court. If you have the dried tatashe and chilli pepper that’s great. Most times you can get it at the local market where it is sold separate from the seeds. However, if what you have is the regular pepper that hasn’t been dried, don’t fret it can still work somehow. The goal is to blend the pepper mix) to a rough consistency.
• For the dried pepper you need to soak it in hot water to soften it and avoid damaging your blender. When blending you can also add in your sweet bell pepper. And set aside.
• Now for the magic sauce, we start by bleaching our palm oil, please note that your palm oil has to be bleached on low heat. If you want to enjoy this dish, please you need to forget about the calories that may come with it.
• During the bleaching process, add in your onions and fry till brown, this would give your sauce the agoyin Flavor and aroma.
• After the onions are well fried, go in with your blended pepper and fry well till it darkens, don’t forget to add your Bouillion cube to season and cray fish (if you are about that life) after about 5-8 minutes, your agoyin sauce is ready.
• Please serve your agoyin sauce on your already made beans and delve into enjoyment. To spice things up, pair your ewa agoyin with some Agege bread or better still, some fried plantain and experience heaven on earth. That’s it guys, try this sumptuous recipe today, and thank me later.

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