By Ewa riro is a delicious one-pot Nigerian delicacy that is easy to prepare but yields a rich flavor. This is truly the best-stewed beans recipe that you will ever taste. Plus, it’s incredibly economical.
Stewed Black Eyed Peas
Beans Stew is a favorite dinner in our house, it’s warming, hearty, tasty, and quite filling. We usually serve it with Garri (cassava flakes), fresh bread, or fried ripe plantains. However, it pairs so well with plain boiled rice, and cornbread.
My essential ”must add” to Ewa riro is crayfish or dried shrimp however, here is a little trick I learned: I discovered that adding smoked turkey or smoked fish elevates the flavor of this meal. If you are a bacon lover, you can add that as well. Trust me, you will get hooked when you try it!
What is Ewa Riro? (Stewed Beans – For those who don’t know)
Ewa riro, which is also referred to as beans porridge or stewed beans, is a Nigerian delicacy from the Yoruba-speaking part of the country. It is made by boiling beans until it’s tender, then we stew it up. Yes, it’s that easy. ”Ewa” means ”Beans” and ”Riro” means ”stirred” so ”Ewa riro” literally means ”stirred Beans” but this time around it’s beans stirred in a type of stew or simply put ”stewed Beans”
Blackeyed peas are an important source of protein and fiber in Nigeria, and we’ve got a lot of Beans recipes like:
- Moin moin (steamed beans pudding)
- Akara (Beans Fritters)
- Rice and Beans
- Ewa Aganyin (Mashed Beans)
- and much more.
All delicious no matter how you prepare it!
Ingredients for making Ewa Riro
- Black-eyed peas – Though these are referred to as peas, but they are actually beans in the real sense, and we know and refer to them as beans in Nigeria. The Honey beans can also be used in place of black-eyed peas.
- Bell peppers and scotch bonnet – This is what makes our stew for the beans.
- Onion – An essential aromatic that boosts the flavor of the beans. You can use any variety – white, yellow, or red.
- Scotch bonnet – Habanero peppers
- Salt – For flavor. Use to taste.
- Bouillon Powder – Great for boosting the flavor of the dish. I used chicken bouillon.
- Palm oil – Traditionally, palm oil is used for this recipe, and I wouldn’t exchange that for any other oil.
- Smoked Turkey, Crayfish, or dried shrimp – Gives this dish a deeper depth of flavor
How To cook Ewa Riro (Beans Porridge)
When making ewa riro, you can either use black-eyed peas or honey beans. The honey beans are quite sweet hence the name ”honey beans”. However, for this recipe, I used black-eyed peas because I prefer it to honey beans.
Pick (sort) the Beans and rinse: To prepare this delicacy, it’s important to start with clean Beans. Try as much as possible to This is so important because chewing on stones or debris while eating is not a pleasant experience at all. Rinse out the Beans a couple of times and drain.
Cook the beans: Pour the beans into a large pot. Add the peppers, onion, and smoked turkey wings. Cook until the Beans is very tender. This should take about 1 hour to 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. It will even cook faster if you use a pressure pot. The crockpot also works well.
Stew and season the beans: Once the Beans are well cooked and soft, remove the peppers, onion, and turkey from the beans. Blend the peppers and add them back to the beans. Debone the turkey wing and cut it into bits and return that also to the beans. Add the salt, crayfish, seasoning powder, and palm oil. Stir well. Cover it up and leave it to simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes, and your beans porridge is ready!
Watch how to make it:
Why cook the peppers with the beans?
I have always never liked the taste of raw peppers in my beans that’s the reason why I like to boil my peppers with the beans. This is to ensure that I get rid of that raw pepper taste in the Beans.
What type of Beans is best for Ewa Riro?
The main type of beans that are used for this recipe is the Nigerian Honey Beans or Black-eyed peas for making this meal, but I am using the Black-eyed peas for this recipe.
Notes:
- It’s simply because it is believed that this reduces the gas in the beans, which in turn gives room for easier digestibility.
- Feel free to use a pressure cooker if you have one, and this will shorten your cook time. I also like to use the crockpot in preparing my beans, especially when I know I will be out for a long time.
Love a good bean stew? Try this One-Pot Black-Eyed Peas And Beef next.
Ewa riro
Ingredients
- 3 cups black-eyed peas
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 1 roasted Turkey wing
- 1 habanero pepper
- 1 tablespoon crayfish
- 1/2 tablespoon seasoning powder
- 1/4 cup palm oil or to taste
- 6 to 9 cups water
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Pick out the debris in the Beans. Then rinse well and drain.
- Put the beans inside the pot together with the bell pepper, habanero, onion, and smoked turkey wings. add water and leave to come to a rolling boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the beans become tender. about one hour. a little more or less.
- Remove the bell pepper, habanero, and onion Blend and add to the beans.
- Remove the smoked turkey, debone, cut the meat into small pieces, and put it back inside the beans.
- Add the salt, seasoning powder (seasoning cube), crayfish, and palm oil. Add water if necessary and stir well until everything is well combined.
- Leave to simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes and serve with Plantains, Bread, or Garri. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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If you make this Ewa riro recipe (stewed beans), I’d love to see pictures of your creations on Instagram or Facebook. #cheflolaskitchen
I love this recipe! I have made it a few times and it’s always incredible. I was running out of black eyed peas and the store didn’t have any, so half of my beans this time were Navy Beans. The other ingredients make up for the wrong beans, though next time I certainly hope I can find the right beans!
Great, Sara. I am happy it came out well.
Roughly how many servings does this recipe make?
Roughly 10
So proud of this…. very interesting
When you cook the beans in step 2, what temperature is it supposed to be? Do you bring it to a boil and then simmer or just leave it on medium – medium/high the entire time? Also do you cover the beans or leave it uncovered while cooking?
Turn it down to medium-low, covered all through.
Very nice and helthy delicious
Chef Lola, my chef and best friend..!! Apart from the Egusi recipe THIS is my other go to recipe. Very delicious, economical and easy to make. I love it. I make it for my partner (who is nigerian) my south african family also love it and have come to appreciate nigerian food.
Keep these lovely recipes coming.
Do you have a recipe book one can buy? We would love to support what you do.
Thank you Nomonde. Glad to have you as a friend! I don’t have a physical cookbook but I do have an ebook that will be out shortly. I will send out a mail notification once it comes out. Your support is greatly appreciated.
What is the seasoning powder you use?
It’s bouillon cube
@Lola Osinkolu, Would you recommend bouillon flavored Chicken, Vegetable or something else?
@Lola Osinkolu, Never mind my question…I noticed you already answered.
Hi! What brand and variety of seasoning powder do you use? Sorry, I’m not that familiar with African food yet 🙂 Thanks for this recipe I can’t wait to try it.
Hi Melissa, apologies for the late response. I used chicken bouillon powder.
This is a quick and delicious recipe for beans. I love it. Thanks so much.
Glad you love it 🙂
This recipe is almost exactly how I was taught to cook black eye peas and other beans in our African-American kitchen, minus the dried crawfish or smoked fish. On special occasions my Mom would add thickly sliced okra during the last 15-20 minutes of cooking. The beans would be served over white rice and/or with or over cornbread. I can almost taste and smell a delicious pot of beans simmering on the stove right now. Thank you most sincerely for posting this recipe and reminding me how close my Ghanaian and Nigerian cultures are to my experienced heritage. Oceans could not separate us.
when the beans is cook and soft why the u fry the perper before u join it together why can u pour it directly why u ah na frying it
Great recipe!Thanks so much! Easy to understand, and I love that you’re not using too much oil