As the world is advancing day by day, it is now easier to get access to many kinds of food that we want at our doorstep. Every day, we all want to consume great and delicious cuisine, and sometimes we find it difficult to prepare the food ourselves due to some certain reasons like time, and lack of cooking skills. There are many varieties of dishes accessible all throughout the world, we all like different foods, and everyone has a favorite meal, I mean that meal you derive joy from cooking, that tingles your stomach and brings you great satisfaction and comfort. Whether you get comfort from the cold bland crunch of a lettuce salad, a juicy and greasy bite of a perfectly deep fried chicken, comfort food can be anything for anyone either junks or homemade food, we still tend to have a favorite one. However, I feel when it comes to eating daily, nothing beats homemade food.
I am a Nigerian, and we have so many special dishes. The food I derive complete satisfaction and comfort is Beans Porridge. This beans porridge holds a special place in my heart Lol, and once upon a time, I used to hate beans so much. In my home growing up, we ate beans all the time, with the idea that it will make us grow bigger LOL. We can have it with our choice of garri (cassava flakes), bread or ogi (a local fermented corn starch porridge, similar in texture to custard or can be called Pap), or Dodo (fried ripe plantain). As I got a little older, I began to fall in love with it, especially when my Mom makes it spicy alongside with fried plantain, It was always perfect on its own and was my best combo.
Nigerian beans porridge is my favorite food and I prefer to cook it myself. There are three main varieties of beans that my mom uses to make this dish and they’re, the honey beans (aka oloyin beans or ewa oloyin In Yoruba language), black eyed peas, and Nigerian brown beans. The best beans to use for this recipe is the honey beans and it’s my favorite because it have a unique and slightly sweet flavor that can really elevate your dish, and it get cooked quickly but either of the other beans would do just fine. The Nigerian brown beans look almost similar to the honey beans, so be sure to specifically ask for honey beans if you decide to pick it up at an African market.
INGREDIENT
- 2 cups Honey beans
- ¼ cup palm oil
- 1 sachet of tomatoes paste
- peppers (dry or fresh)
- 1 Large red onion
- 2 tbsp Ground dried shrimp (aka cray fish) optional
- Salt
- 1 seasoning cube (to taste)
Step 1
After removing the beans dirt and shaft, rinse the beans properly and place in a deep boiling pot of water.
Boil the beans on medium heat until it becomes soft, it could take about 40/50mins or more, if you want it to be very soft.
Step 2
While the beans is boiling, put your tomatoes paste, peppers, and onions aside.
Once the beans is softened enough for boiling, drop the beans and turn the heat down to low.
Step 3
Put a clean dry pot on the heat, add the palm oil, when it hot, then add the already sliced onions(allow it fry abit) add the tomatoes paste and pepper, while frying, stir them together and add in the crayfish. Stir for 2 minutes. If it is too thick or dry, add little amount of water.
Step 4
Pour the sauce into the beans pot and return back to heat, add your salt and seasoning to your taste. Stir, cover your pot and allow it cook for 10mins. And turn off heater.
Step 5
If you have a double burner heater, you can slice and fry your plantain, to make the cooking faster.
How to fry plantain
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- Get a ripe plantain
- Peel and slice
- Add salt (Optional)
- Put a pan on heat (Do not need much heat)
- While it’s hot, add vegetable oil
- Put the sliced plantain into pan, bit by bit
- Then turn the other surface to fry till it brown.
- Ready to eat and enjoy.
We cannot eat our favourite food daily as it will become boring to us, but our staple food is something that we enjoy eating on a daily basis.
(All pictures used are mine)
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