Amala with Ewedu and Gbegiri

Ingredients

• 2 cups (240g) yam flour (elubo)
• 4 cups (950ml) water, for the amala
• 1.5 cups dried honey beans (ewa oloyin) or black-eyed peas
• 4 cups water, for cooking the beans
• 3 tbsp red palm oil
• 3 tbsp ground crayfish, divided
• 1 tsp ground dried chili or cayenne pepper
• 3 seasoning cubes, crumbled, divided
• 3 cups fresh ewedu (jute) leaves, stripped and chopped (or 200g frozen)
• 1 cup water, for the ewedu
• 500g beef or goat meat, cut into chunks
• 1 onion, chopped, divided
• 400g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 red bell peppers and 1-2 scotch bonnet peppers, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• Salt, to taste throughout

Before you cook

• Rinse the dried beans and pick out any stones or debris.
• Soak the beans in cold water for 1 hour to loosen the skins.
• Rub the soaked beans between your palms under running water to slip off the skins, then discard the skins and drain the beans.
• Wash the ewedu leaves and strip the leaves from their tough stems.
• Stack and roughly chop the ewedu leaves.
• Cut the beef or goat meat into even chunks and toss with half the chopped onion and one crumbled seasoning cube.
• Blend or very finely chop the tomatoes, bell peppers, and scotch bonnet peppers together.
• Measure out the yam flour and keep it within reach of the stove.

Steps

1. Put the seasoned meat into a pot with enough water to cover it.
2. Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
3. Skim off any foam from the surface.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer the meat, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes, until tender.
5. Lift the cooked meat out of the pot and set it aside, keeping the meat stock in the pot.
6. Put the peeled beans into a separate pot with 4 cups of water.
7. Bring the beans to a boil over high heat.
8. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the beans, uncovered, for 45 minutes, until they mash easily between your fingers.
9. Top up with a little hot water during cooking if the pot starts to look dry.
10. Pour the cooked beans and their liquid into a blender and blend until smooth, adding a splash of water if needed.
11. Pour the blended beans back into the pot through a sieve, pressing with a spoon to push the puree through and leave the fibrous husks behind.
12. Set the sieved bean puree over medium heat.
13. Stir in the red palm oil, half the ground crayfish, the ground chili, and one crumbled seasoning cube.
14. Simmer the gbegiri gently for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, then season with salt and take it off the heat.
15. Heat the vegetable oil in another pot over medium heat.
16. Add the remaining chopped onion to the hot oil and fry for 2 minutes, until soft.
17. Pour in the blended tomato and pepper mixture.
18. Fry the stew, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, until it darkens and the raw tomato smell is gone.
19. Return the cooked meat to the stew along with a ladle of the reserved meat stock.
20. Simmer the stew for 10 minutes, then season with salt and set it aside.
21. Bring the 1 cup of water for the ewedu to a boil in a small pot.
22. Add the chopped ewedu leaves to the boiling water and boil for 3 minutes, until fully wilted.
23. Blend or vigorously whisk the ewedu with a hand blender or traditional ewedu whisk until it turns slick and stretchy.
24. Stir the remaining ground crayfish and a pinch of salt into the ewedu and keep it warm over low heat.
25. Bring the 4 cups of water for the amala to a rolling boil in a heavy pot.
26. Reduce the heat to low.
27. Sprinkle in the yam flour a little at a time, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps.
28. Once all the flour is incorporated, turn and press the mixture firmly against the side of the pot for 3 to 4 minutes, until smooth, stretchy, and pulling away from the pot cleanly.
29. Cover the pot and let the amala steam over the lowest heat for 2 minutes.
30. Turn off the heat and mold the amala into smooth, round portions using a wet spoon or wet hands.
31. Serve the amala hot with the gbegiri and ewedu ladled alongside it, topped with the meat stew.