[FOODIES CORNER] Basic recipe and cooking instructions for Agoyin beans (Ewa Agoyin) and sauce

Agoyin beans, also known as Ewa Agoyin, is a speciality of the Agoyin people of the Republic of Benin. It consists of mashed up, extremely mushy beans with a hot pepper sauce.

Popular in Lagos, Nigeria, and the surrounding areas, Ewa Agoyin is often sold by Togolese and Agoyin women. Oloyin beans (Honey beans) is the beans of choice though you can use white beans (black eyed beans) too.

The stew is made with dry large chilli pepper, not the tiny ones and dry shombo or alternatively dry tatashe. Cameroun pepper adds to the flavour and dark colour of the stew.

COOKING INGREDIENTS

Oloyin/honey beans
Dry whole chilli pepper
Dry shombo (cayenne pepper)
Cameroun pepper
Chopped onions
Fresh ginger
Garlic
Ground crayfish
Palm oil
Seasoning cubes
Salt

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Wash and put in a pot, add enough water to cover the beans well.

Boil until tender, adding more water as needed. Use a pressure pot if you have one.

When the beans are soft, add about 1 cup of water and some salt, then give it another stretch of boiling to achieve that agoyin softness.

Turn off the heat.

Using a wooden spoon, mash and stir the beans to turn it into a thick puree. You can use a potato masher to mash it and then stir very well with a wooden spoon or use a hand mixer.

Add about 1 cup of water, stir and boil for 3-5 minutes and the beans is ready. This will prevent it from being dry or going sour.

Rinse and soak dry whole chilli pepper, shombo and Cameroun pepper in water overnight or in boiling water for 2 hours until soft. Use just enough water to cover them.

In a blender, place 2 small onions, peppers, peeled ginger and garlic, add the soaking liquid and grind into a puree. Set aside.

Heat palm oil in a dry pot until very hot, add sliced onions and fry until it floats on top and starts to turn brown.

Pour pepper mix into the hot oil, add crayfish and seasoning cubes, stir.

Reduce the heat and fry until it dries stirring very often about 30 minutes or more.

Adjust seasoning if necessary and take off the heat.

Serve with agonyi beans.

Ewa Agoyin and Agoyin stew are served with bread (especially agege bread), fried plantain, yam and fish, the stew is also delicious with rice and boiled sweet potato.