These days, I rarely find the sales of Ewa Aganyin (also spelt Agoyin) within our communities compared to how it was commonly hawked in all the nooks and crannies of our neighbourhood particularly in the 90s. In fact, sometimes last year, I was virtually hunting for a local buka around my area where I could actually enjoy the perfect food but to my disappointment I could not locate a place. All I find is the common beans and fried stewed which is distinctively different both in looks and taste to Ewa Aganyin.


In my reminiscing, I can not but remember how I and my brothers looked forward to visiting my maternal grandmother as we were sure to eat plenty Ewa Aganyin within the first few days during the Easter break. These days, the younger ones are clueless of the meal and It is fast becoming a meal that is rarely included in our diets particularly for some of us residing in cities.

How To Cook Ewa Aganyin
This post will show you how to make the Ewa Aganyin delicacy for your family. No need to go hunting to enjoy the perfect meal.

Ewa Aganyin Ingredients
2 tins cups of brown beans.
2 large white onion bulbs and 2 small bell pepper (Tatashe)
2 tablespoons grated ginger or to your preferred taste.
One cup of dried Chilli Pepper – popularly called Shombo by Yorubas.
5-6 cooking spoons of palm oil. You could use slightly more than this amount.
Salt and Maggi to taste.
Some quantities of powder crayfish.
Instruction For Preparation of Ewa Aganyin Beans
Collect some amount of brown beans based on the quantity you would like to cook.
Separate the shaft and other unwanted items.
Pour some amount of water to clean up the beans and do the process twice.
Place your pot on cooker and add some amount of water. You could use a pressure cooker to quicken the cooking time.
When water is hot pour your cleaned beans into the pot and allow to cook until the beans had absorbed all the water and very soft. Add salt to taste just before the beans had absorbed all the water. You can always add more water to give room for further cooking at any stage.
Use a pestle to mash all the beans until you cannot find a whole bean again.
This is quite a simple procedure…….but what makes Ewa Aganyi actually unique compare to other foods in my opinion is not really the beans but the stew. You will definitely ask for more if you get it right.

Instruction For Making The Ewa Aganyin Sauce
Slice the two big size onions into very tiny pieces and set aside.
Soak the dried chilli pepper in hot water for 10minute to make them absorb and soften. Drain water, rinse once more and set aside with about 1-2 cleaned pieces of fresh bell pepper.
Pour the pepper mix excluding the onions into a blender with little amount of water. Do not turn the pepper to complete puree. It must be in the form pepper to be used for rice stew.
Set aside over a sieve to remove excess water.
Place a non sticky pot over a cooker under low heat and pour palm oil.
Allow the oil to get heated up until it becomes clear. Add the diced onions and stir until the onions turns dark colour but not burnt. This could take some minutes. The continuous frying helps to ensure.a.sandy grainy texture.
Add powder crayfish and ginger, blended pepper, salt and seasoning cube (Maggi). All this must be done under medium heat. Stir continuously and cover pot to allow the mixture to cook for 15-20 minutes until the stew turns dark.
Your Aganyin stew is ready. Please note that the end result of your stew must be of slightly thick consistency with a lot of palm oil all over as that is the ideal form for the delicacy. So, you could extend the cooking period to achieve this result.

Dish out the beans and pour the sauce over the top of it. Serve with Agege bread or fried plantain.

Source: http://www.foodsng.com/learn-how-to-make-ewa-aganyin/