Abula (Nigerian Three Stews)
Photo: Owoeye007, CC BY-SA 4.0
Abula is a Yoruba plate of three soups served side by side: gbegiri, ewedu and pepper sauce. The name means mixture, and the pleasure is in how the three play off each other. Gbegiri is a mellow purée of peeled beans enriched with palm oil, crayfish and dryfish. Ewedu leaves, softened with potash and sharpened with fermented locust beans, turn silky and slippery. A plain blended pepper and tomato sauce brings the heat that ties them together.
Instructions
For the gbegiri, soak the dried beans in water overnight, then rub off the skins and throw them away. Boil the peeled beans in fresh water until they are very soft, drain them well, and blend to a smooth purée.
Put the meat in a pot of water with the onions and spices and boil it until cooked. Lift the meat out and keep it to one side.
Warm a little palm oil in a pot and add the bean purée, ground crayfish, salt, boiled meat and dryfish. Cook, stirring now and then, until the dryfish has softened.
For the ewedu, boil the leaves for about 15 minutes. Add potash to soften them, then season with a pinch of salt and the stock cube.
Blend the ewedu until smooth and stir in the fermented locust beans. Turn the heat down and let it simmer gently.
For the pepper sauce, blend the peppers and tomatoes together until smooth. Heat a little oil in a pot over medium heat, add the blend, and cook until it no longer tastes raw.
Serve the pepper sauce in one dish alongside the gbegiri and ewedu, so each person can take some of all three.
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