The best Beans Pudding in town! (a.k.a Moin Moin)

Hi guys!

Today, I bring you a delicious recipe that literally gladdens my soul. It is a recipe dear to my heart because it is my lovely mama’s original recipe.

Quote me anywhere, and I would stand tall to tell you that my mother makes the absolute best Moin moin! Her grandson can testify to these facts. Infact, alongside his first words ever was moi moi. 

The way my cutie loves grandma’s moi moi is not your regular, and understandably so! Grandma’s moi moi gives bliss to the taste buds. It is with great pleasure that I share this recipe with you my fellow foodies. 

But first, a little history.

Brief history of Beans pudding

Beans pudding popular known as Moin moin is a protein rich staple with Nigerian roots. It is made from steamed ground beans enriched with spices, and is uber delicious when made right. 

The name “Moin Moin” was coined precisely by the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. As a Yoruba child, I always wondered what the name of this delicacy meant, and I never got answers until recently. 

You see, the original spelling of this dish in Yoruba language is “Moyin Moyin” which refers to the soft texture of the beans pudding. However, it has been misspelled in the Oxford dictionary as ‘Moin Moin’ which somehow has become the official spelling. This however doesn’t take away from the yumminess of the dish Fam.

Just so you know, there are two variants of beans pudding based on the cooking medium. You could either have the can version (alagolo) or the leaf version (Elewe). For the can version, the ramekin cans, aluminum cans or baking cans can be used. While for the leaf version, Ewe eran is the official (chosen) leaf.

Legends say that the Ewe eran from the leaf version adds a certain mouth watering flavour which is unmatched by the can version, and I kind of agree. They are both still yummy though. 

Ingredient line up

• 2 cups of brown Beans ( aka Ewa oloyin, it comes out sweeter)
• 1 Large Tatashe size or Large red bell pepper
• 1-2 scotch bonnet a.k.a ata rodo pepper depending on how spicy you want it
• 1/2 of one Large Onion
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil 
• 3/4 cup of shredded fish or minced beef (for those allergic to fish)
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• Chopped/ cooked (fried) liver
• 21/2 bouillion cubes ( I use Know chicken cube)
• Ewe Eran/ cans

Instructions

1. We start by peeling off the skin coat of our beans till all white. Some rebels would tell you there is no need to take out the skin coat. I would rather do it like our ancestors have always done it regardless, with no major tweak to get the same native taste that was gotten back then.

If you are too lazy to manually peel your beans, biko my sister/ brother, feel free to make use of the pulse function of your blender. Just add a lot of water in proportion to the beans quantity and pulse for a few seconds, it works like magic!

2. Now that our beans is peeled, we need to get it to the consistency required for a great moin moin mix. Chop your red bell pepper, scotch bonnet pepper and onions into large junks and throw them in the blender with your peeled beans and some water to aid proper blending.

3. Blend till the mixture is finely combined. Please note that the consistency of your moi moi matters a lot. It should have a thinner consistency when compared to its thick akara counterpart but should not be too runny/thin. Somewhere in between is just great. Set your mix aside after blending.

4. Get your leaves or cans alike and prep them for the entrance of the moin moin mix. For the leaves also known as ewe eran, they need to be thoroughly rinsed/cleaned, likewise your cans.

5. The next step is to add some seasoning to the moin moin mix as well as the other yummy ingredients before cooking. Start by pouring in your vegetable oil, and then dissolve your bouillon cubes in warm water, before adding to the mix. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please never add your bouillion cubes whole into a moin moin mix. Dissolving it first before pouring into the mix would ensure the seasoning is well dispersed. 

6. Now that the seasoning is in, it’s time to pour the mix into your preferred medium and also follow through with the yummy add ons: Shredded fish/ corn beef, sliced boiled eggs and fried liver. For this part, I strongly advise that you add the individual ingredients to each can or leaf aside. This is to ensure that no serving of the moin moin is devoid of the add ons.

7. The actual cooking of your mix is a bit technical, you can either decide to boil your moin moin mix or you decide to bake it. 

Both the can and leaf mediums could fly the boiling way or the baking way with only a few tweaks. 

The Actual cooking process (Leaf vs Can)

If you want to go the boiling way, then there is a need to prep

For can boiling, you would need to pour about 2 cups of water in a clean pot and layer with pieces of aluminum foil before arranging your cups with the moin moin mix already in. Also make sure to place a huge, single piece of aluminum foil over the cans before covering the pot with its lid. This is to ensure that steam is trapped in and that the moin moin is well cooked with steam. For the can method, it is best to cook on low/medium heat for about an hour.

In the case of the leaf boiling method, a lot of prep goes into it, a bit more stressful but totally worth the energy. What you need to do is break off the leaf sticks from the ewe eran, and arrange them in a clean pot with a little water. Next, you get some of the clean leaves to layer on the leaf sticks before carefully arranging your packaged leaf moin moin mix. 

Now folding the moin moin leaf is a thing, not everyone finds it easy, it is difficult to teach without a video so I won’t bother trying to describe it with words. I would however upload a video sometime soon to teach on folding in your moin moin mix.. 

Finally, for the baking method, you could either arrange your small cans neatly in a baking tray, or line them with the leaf (Ewe eran) to bring out the leaf flavour before baking. Baking usually shouldn’t last longer than 45 mins.

And that’s it guys! The best moin moin in town is ready for devouring!

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