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    Home » Beans Recipes » Nigerian Stewed Beans (Ewa Riro)

    Published: Nov 29, 2019 · Modified: Mar 26, 2021 by Ajoke

    Nigerian Stewed Beans (Ewa Riro)

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Nigerian stewed beans is another popular Nigerian beans recipe. Ghanaian called it red red and the Yoruba's calls it Ewa riro. Stewed beans can be made with black-eyed peas or honey beans. Nigerian beans can be eaten on its own or served with garri, boiled yam or bread.

    2 bowls of Nigerian stewed beans.

    Nigerian Beans (Ewa Riro)

    I used to think I know how to cook stewed beans till I met my hubby, I am more inclined to cooking my sauce separately (Agoyin/buka style) as that is the way I like it.  

    But ever since I learnt how to cook his style of Nigerian stewed beans, I have not looked back and with the help of a pressure cooking pot, it means I can cook my beans in about 30 minutes. (Not bad hey) honestly, you are missing out if you don’t own a pressure cooker it just makes life easier in the kitchen and saves a lot of time.

    Update: I think I might be becoming a pressure cooker addict, to be honest, what is there to hate about a pressure cooker? I recently purchased an electric pressure cooker and I now cook my beans in under 15 minutes. No lies here, it is like the best thing ever after sliced bread.

    Nigerian stewed beans in a bowl (ewa riro) with a garnish of basil leaves.

    Ingredients for Nigerian stewed beans

    Brown Beans or black-eyed peas

    Nigerian Pepper mix (substitute with cayenne pepper and tomato paste)

    Dried catfish, washed (optional)

    Handful bonga fish, washed and deboned (optional)

    Onion, chopped

    Palm oil: substitute with vegetable oil

    Bouillion powder or stock cubes. (optional)

    Salt

    Ground crayfish

    overhead shot of bowls of ewa riro.

    How to cook beans in a pressure cooker (Instant Pot)

    • Please note I use Pressure king pro 8-in-1 digital pressure cooker (not sponsored) and I use the meat function to cook beans. The minimum water level required is 1 litre which is about 4 cups. You will need more than a litre of water to cook beans in a pressure pot. depending on the quantity you are cooking, I would suggest 1 cup of beans to 1 litre of water. Below is how I typically make beans in digital pressure cooker.
    • Pick the beans to ensure it is stone and dirt free.
    • add beans, water, salt and chopped onion to the pressure pot.
    • secure the lid of the pressure cooker by ensuring it is closed correctly.
    • using the meat function, time the cooker to 8 minutes. The pressure cooker takes about 5 minutes for the pressure to build up in it before the cooking starts.
    • Carefully release the pressure, strain the beans in a colander. Return it back to the pressure pot and add the rest of the ingredients to the bean and add water up to the minimum water level. Taste for salt and seasoning and adjust accordingly. Still using the meat function, time it for another 7 minutes. Release the valve and allow the pressure to escape naturally (natural release). This could take another 5 to 10 minutes. Stir the beans to combine and at this point, you can either serve the beans immediately or leave in the pressure pot and continue to keep warm until it is needed

    Tips...

    • Substitute dried catfish/bonga with canned or smoked mackerel
    • Add your salt when beans are soft, if you add it at the beginning of the cooking process, the beans won’t cook in time. This is an old wives tale but I think it is true.

    How to cook Nigerian beans (ewa riro) on the stove top

    Place a pot on medium heat, add rinsed beans, enough water to cook and add half of the chopped onions, and bring to boil until tender. This might take a while, but quicker if you have a pressure cooking pot. Add water in between to avoid the beans drying out/ burning.

    cook beans in pressure pot

    Once the beans are tender, reduce the heat or set aside. Place a clean/dry pan on medium-high heat, pour in palm oil and leave to heat up for about 2-3 minutes, add the remaining chopped onions and continue frying till onion is transparent this should be for another 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the onions and avoid getting burned by the hot oil too (keep your kitchen well ventilated when doing this process. Remember you are not bleaching the oil, you are only frying to melt the palm oil to rid curdling in the mouth when eating and to also allow the onion flavour to be infused in the oil)

    Add pepper, seasoning, salt, dried fish and crayfish to the beans (check if you need to add water) stir till well combined

    Add the fried palm oil and stir again till all is combined. (check for salt and seasoning)

    red red

    Reduce the heat to avoid the beans sticking to the bottom of the pot

    You will know your beans are cooked when all ingredients added are well combined.

    stewed beans in a pot

    Mash beans if you want. I like mine quite soft and not too thick. Serve your Nigerian stewed beans with garri, plantain, agege bread or akamu.

    Other Nigerian beans recipes on the blog

    Moi Moi Elewe

    Akara

    How to peel beans with blender

    Deluxe Beans Porridge

    2 bowls of stewed beans.
    Print Recipe
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    Stewed Beans (Ewa Riro)

    Stewed beans is another popular Nigerian beans recipe. Ghanaian called it red red and the Yoruba's calls it Ewa riro. Stewed beans can be made with black eyed peas or honey beans. I have used black eyed peas for this recipe.
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: African, Nigerian
    Keyword: Ewa riro, Stewed beans
    Author: Ajoke

    Equipment

    • Pressure Cooker

    Ingredients

    • 450 g Brown Beans or black-eyed peas
    • 1 cup Nigerian Pepper mix substitute with cayenne pepper
    • Handful dried catfish washed (optional)
    • Handful bonga fish washed and deboned (optional)
    • 1 large onion chopped
    • 1-1.5 cups palm oil adjust to preference
    • 1 tsp Bouillon powder or 2 Maggi cubes. optional
    • Salt use according to preference but you can start with 1tsp
    • 2 tbsp ground crayfish

    Instructions

    • Place a pot on medium heat, add rinsed beans, enough water to cook and add half of the chopped onions, and bring to boil until tender. This might take a while, but quicker if you have a pressure-cooking pot. Add water in between to avoid the beans drying out/ burning.
    • Once the beans are tender, reduce the heat or set aside. Place a clean/dry pan on medium high heat, pour in palm oil and leave to heat up for about 2-3 minutes, add the remaining chopped onions and continue frying till onion is transparent this should be for another 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the onions and avoid getting burned by the hot oil too
      (keep your kitchen well ventilated when doing this process. Remember you are not bleaching the oil, you are only frying to melt the palm oil to rid curdling in the mouth when eating and to also allow the onion flavour to be infused in the oil)
    • Add pepper mix, bouillon/Maggi, salt, dried fish and crayfish to the beans (check if you need to add water and adjust accordingly) stir till well combined.
    • Add the fried sauce to the cooked beans and stir again till all is combined. (check for salt and seasoning and adjust to preference)
    • Leave the beans to simmer for 3 to 5 minutes on low heat. Leave to cool and serve immediately

    Notes

    Tips...
    • Substitute dried catfish/bonga with canned mackerel
    • Add your salt when beans are soft, if you add it at the beginning of the cooking process, the beans won’t cook in time. This is an old wives tale but I think its true.

    Nigerian stewed beans recipe updated with new pictures. Below is one of the pictures I took back in 2015. 

    stewed beans and fried plantain.

    If you made this recipe, don’t forget to leave me feedback. Tag me @myactivekitchen on Instagram and save away to your Pinterest.

    ATB

    Ajoke x

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. kenny says

      October 28, 2015 at 4:26 pm

      Oh lala.......... I'm new here and I'm loving it. Thank You.

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        October 28, 2015 at 10:39 pm

        Hi Kenny, thanks a lot for stopping by and its good to have you here.

        Reply
    2. Bukola says

      September 02, 2015 at 12:31 am

      Hi,

      Lòve your blog. Can you use vegetable oil instead of the palm oil? Thank you.

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        September 02, 2015 at 9:02 am

        Thanks Bukola, yes you can use vegetable oil.

        Reply
    3. Bunmi says

      March 11, 2015 at 7:17 pm

      Never knew beans could taste this nice. I tried it an it was yummy. Thanks chick.

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        March 17, 2015 at 2:36 pm

        I'm glad you liked it. thanks for trying it out. x

        Reply

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    Hello, my name is Ajoke, and welcome to my food world,  I love to cook in my lively little kitchen. Join me in the adventure of cooking what we all call warm, hearty, and quick meals...

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    Hello, my name is Ajoke, and welcome to my food world,  I love to cook in my lively little kitchen. Join me in the adventure of cooking what we all call warm, hearty, and quick meals...

    More about me →

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