Ewedu - soup - nigerian - stew - buka - obe - ata - shaki - ponmo - yoruba

Amala with Ewedu & Buka stew

As the honorary Kwara child that I am, I am ashamed that it took me this long to put this recipe up. This is something that was a huge part of my growing up. Ewedu elegusi (Jute + melon seed) is a yoruba dish that is traditionally served with Gbegiri (beans soup) and or palm oil based stew. This combination is often reserved for amala (fermented yam dumpling) and served as everyday lunch or during special occasions. Most local restaurants in the west (called Buka) often have this combination on their menu.

This soup is extremely easy to prepare, the only thing to watch for is the ewedu leaf to water ratio; if there is too much water in the mix, the ewedu will not be viscous (not –draw).

 

Ewedu elegusi – Yoruba Soup
Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: African
Author: 9jaFOODie
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 6 Packed cups picked ewedu leaves
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon blended egusi
  • 1 tablespoon locust beans (iru)
  • Salt – to taste

Instructions
  1. Combine the egusi with 2 tablespoons of water. Set aside.
  2. Place a medium pot on high heat, add in the water and bring to a boil.
  3. Add in the ewedu leaves. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for 5 minutes of until leaves are softened.
  4. Pour boiled ewedu into a blender and process until smooth ( this step is traditionally done with a local broom called “Ijabe’). The broom is used to pound the cooking ewedu until leaves are broken into tiny pieces – talk about workout!)
  5. Return blended ewedu to the pot and add in iru, salt, and egusi paste. As soon as the egusi starts to curdle, stir.
  6. Stir in more warm water at this point to your desired level of thickness (I added about 1 cup extra).
  8. Serve ewedu with stew and gbegiri.