Moin Moin Elewe

This is a true South-West African dish from the depths of Nigeria know as moin moin or (steamed bean pudding) using ewe leaves. After a little research, I found out that these leaves are from a special plant known as Thaumatococcus daniellii which are known for producing a sweet protein and  fruit ‘miracle fruit’ . 

So that’s ewe for ya...

Ewe can be purchased at  most African supermarkets

As my mother and I, were making the dish for my cousins naming ceremony to feed around 50, you will not need the surplus of ingredients that we used but the process and method will of course remain the same. There are various fillings that can be used however, I will be using mackerel an alternative is corned beef or hard boiled eggs.

So you will need...

• Black eyed beans (peeled)
• Paprika
• 2 Scotch bonnets (optional depending on how spicy you like your food)
• Onion
• Chicken stock (optional)
• 1 Mackerel (Boiled with salt and Maggie)
• Ewe or tin foil
• Salt and Maggie to taste

First of all you will need to rinse the beans ensuring any unwanted floating bits are removed. Once this is done chop the onions, paprikas and scotch bonnets into medium sized pieces.

Insert the black eyed beans, onions, paprika’s and scotch bonnet into a blender and blend until the mixture is smooth, ensuring there are no visible lumps!

The next step is optional – Add chicken stock which provides loads of flavour and acts as a seasoning to the mixture. Then add the Mackerel which should be deboned and cut into small pieces.

You may add additional salt and Maggie to taste but be careful with the amount of salt added as once you add too much there’s no going back, less is better when it comes to moin moin.

 Add some oil – I used sunflower oil but any alternative will do as well.  

Once this is complete the mixture is ready to be served into either the ewe or tin foil.

Before inserting the mixture into the ewe you will need to snip off the ends of the ewe leaf.

Three step guide to folding the ewe leaf

                 (Clean the ewe to remove any dirt using a damp piece of kitchen tissue)

Add the mixture into the ewe, and place two pieces of ewe at the bottom of the pot with 1 cup of water to prevent burning.

The moin moin should take about 1hour - 1hour 30 to cook

Once cooked unravel the moin moin from the ewe as the steam slowly oozes out and its ready to eat.

                                                            Ke gbadun (Enjoy)