Gbegiri/Abula…

Last Updated on October 16, 2019

Gbegiri, ewedu and amala something is going down today. lol Happy new month to you all, hope you all had a wonderful month of February? Mine was great, thanks to all of you my lovely readers that took time out to check my blog especially to those that sent positive feedback on my recipes they have tried. Thank you so much. God bless you all. I assure you a very promising March.

Gbegiri

I’m starting this month’s post with my gran’s (Iya Dele) staple, Gbegiri or popularly called abula in some other part of Yoruba land in Nigeria. My grandma used to sell gbegiri (abula) and I remember people queuing up every evening to buy from her, she usually serves her gbegiri with Tuwo (corn flour). She prided herself in using fresh ingredients; my best part of the soup is the bone marrow and biscuit-bone that she uses.

Those things are out of this world. I can actually taste the soup in my mouth as I’m typing this… longer throat me, I know. Gbegiri is made from beans, delicious, and easy to make but since I moved to the UK, I have found another easiest way to make my gbegiri.

Gbegiri involves peeling of beans but if you are on Instagram or Facebook, you would know the world has evolved since yesterday, thanks to food bloggers like 9ja foodie and Dooneyskitchen. You can now make gbegiri without peeling your beans and peel your beans by blending without having to use your hands. Gbegiri is not everyone’s cup of tea but I tell you if you try this method you would be hooked as it is stress-free and delicious.

I would have to apologise to grandma, as I cheated a lot in making this soup but hey, this is 2015! We have to learn to embrace change. This method did not change the taste at all. I have had this recipe since August last year before I started the blog but I never got round to posting it. Let me stop now and move on to my gbegiri soup.

My cheats and tips…

• I pressure cooked my peeled beans using a pressure cooker
• Substituted fresh pepper with cayenne pepper
• I blended my beans with a blender instead of sieving…shhh! my grandma and mama uses ijabe (chopping broom. lol) Not sure of the English word for it. You can still cook gbegiri without a blender.
• Add potash to cook your beans, it helps soften it.

Ingredients

1 – 2 cups of brown beans, peeled

Cayenne pepper, this is where I cheated, my grandma uses fresh pepper for hers. Blame Aunty Nola for telling me about the pepper and blending my beans.

1 cup of palm oil

Ground crayfish

Seasoning (stock cubes)

Salt

800g – 1kg Assorted beef (I used turkey neck, shaki and smoked snort) boiled with seasoning and salt. No curry and thyme, please.

How to cook gbegiri

soak beans in water for 3-5 minutes and peel to remove skin. leave skin on if you choose

Boil peeled beans with enough water until soft, use pressure pot for this bit if you have and if not add little potash to the bean. It does the trick.

How to Cook Gbegiri With Blender

Boil assorted meat till tender with seasoning and salt. Separate stock from meat and set aside

Blend cooked beans in a blender for a smooth puree and set aside (I love this bit as you can see the silkiness of the beans)

Place a cooking pan on medium heat, add palm oil and heat for about 3 minutes (don’t bleach oil)

Stir puréed beans in palm oil (beans purée should not be loose but somewhere in the middle of loose and thick)

Add water if needed to achieve the desired thickness

Add assorted beef and cayenne pepper, stir till well combined. Reduce the heat and leave to cook for about 10 minutes. Check in between to avoid soup from burning

Add crayfish, seasoning and salt. At this point don’t want the soup to be thick, add water if need be but don’t overdo it.

Continue to cook until all ingredients are well combined. Check for seasoning and salt. Serve with ewedu soup, swallow of choice like amala dudu (yam flour), garri or Tuwo and buka stew 

Other Nigerian beans recipes on the blog you might like

Moi Moi Elewe

Akara

Ekuru

Deluxe bean porridge

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