Ewa agoyin (Nigerian beans with pepper sauce)
Soft, mashed black-eyed beans topped with a dark, smoky sauce of dried chillies and onions fried slowly in palm oil.
- 105 min15 prep · 90 cook
- MediumDifficulty
- 560 kcalper serving
Ingredients
- Dried black-eyed beans400 g
- Onions2
- Red peppers2
- Dried red chillies4
- Red palm oil120 ml
- Vegetable stock powder1 tsp
- Saltto taste
- Fried plantain or bread, to serveto taste
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Steps
- 1
Rinse the beans and cook them in plenty of water with half an onion until very soft and starting to break.
- 2
Drain off most of the liquid, season with salt and mash roughly. Keep warm.
- 3
Soak the dried chillies in hot water, then blend them with the red peppers and a little onion into a coarse paste.
- 4
Heat the palm oil and fry the rest of the onion, thinly sliced, over low heat until very dark brown.
- 5
Add the pepper paste and stock powder and fry, stirring, until the sauce is dark and the oil separates.
- 6
Spoon the sauce over the beans and serve with fried plantain or soft bread.
Tips and questions
- Do I need to soak the beans?
- It isn’t essential for black-eyed beans, but soaking for a few hours shortens the cooking time.
- Can I use another oil?
- Palm oil gives the authentic flavour and colour, but vegetable oil with a little smoked paprika works.
- Does the sauce keep?
- Yes, for a week in the fridge, as the oil preserves it. Reheat gently.
Enjoy your meal!
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