The Yummy Moin Moin Elewe Of West Africa

Moin moin elemi meje, the moin-moin with seven lives...lol!

Known variously as moin-moin, moi-moi, moyi moyi, olele or simply olee, this incredibly tasty Nigerian dish is made from beans (follow steps below to delight your family!) Many cooks classify moin-moin as a classic pudding but warefa, it is always delicious and yummily scrummy when well-prepared. Enjoy!

Seriously dripping saliva!

INGREDIENTS: 
-Beans (preferably white or black-eyed beans)
-Onions
-Palm oil or vegetable oil
-Peppers
-Fish (dried stock fish, fresh or canned sardines)
-Meat (chopped)
-Prawns, crabs or crayfish
-Liver (chopped)
-Fresh leaves
-Eggs (boiled or raw)
-Salt and other seasonings 
-Moin moin leaves (Thaumatococcus daniellii) or you can use banana leaves. These leaves are known as ewe moin moin or uma leaves. 

The moi-moi leaves are easily sourced and are sold cheaply at markets or by hawkers. 

INSTRUCTIONS: 
-Soak the beans (amount depends on how many mouths you want to satisfy but six 'Peak Milk' tins are usually enough for a family of six, na like that we do our own...lol). Soak until the beans become soft, not too soft but just soft enough for the covering to be easily peeled off. 


-Peel off the skin by repeatedly rubbing the soaked beans between your palms. Do not apply too much force so as not to crush the beans. Seive repeatedly until the peelings are gone and all you have is just white to creamy beans -wet and peeled. 

The pictures show the soaked and the peelings of the beans. 

-Then comes the grinding, you will grind with the local grinder noni, Iya Alata (or use a blender if you have one) until the paste comes out fine to touch. Add the peppers, onions and leave other ingredients till after the grinding. 

The moin-moin paste after grinding. 

-At this stage, you will add all other condiments and ingredients that you have prepared and listed out above. If you want what the Yorubas call moin moin elemi meje, or simply the moin moin with seven lives, you will add  seven different condiments. You can make yours elemi eleven! lol! For those who want that tantalizing red-orange colour, you will add your palm oil at this point. 


-Add seasoning to taste. 


-Stir gently. 


-Pour gently into your well-folded leaves (the usual shape is a cone or a pyramid). If the leaves you could get are dry, soak them in water until soft before use. For those who may not be comfortable with the leaves, you can make use of small polythene bags, aluminum containers or used milk cans but the flavour is different for each, and none compares with the using the leaves. 

Moin moin with boiled eggs...yummy thins

-Pack neatly into the pot half-filled with water, and steam for about an hour, or until solid and congealed. 

Moin moin elewe served with fried and jollof rice. 

-Serve! You can take it with rice, eko (pap), bread or take it alone, but as for me, it is with cold garri all the way! 

Moin moin made in aluminum cans. 

Yeah, you can take it in style...

....or serve it during events like weddings.

Are you salivating already? Time to hit the kitchen! 


NB: For those interested in how to wrap the moi-moi leaves, follow these simple steps: 

Moin moin leaves

-Ensure the leaves are fresh and soft, so they can easily be folded. 
-Rinse the leaves properly to get rid of dust and insects. 
-Cut off the branches protruding from the lower end to allow flexibility.
-Fold from the lower end into a cone, just as the women selling groundnuts fold the piece of paper they pour in the guguru and epa (popcorn and groundnuts).
-Fold the lower end of the cone upwards so you have a container and you can then pour in from the top while holding the base.
-Once the paste is poured in, you fold the top to close.  


You can also check out NigerianFoodRecipes' video here: 

Thanks for your time. 
IYANIWURA. 


Picture Credits: Wikipedia, skyscrapercity.com, 


adefunke.blogspot.com, AllNigerianRecipes.com, http://mysixthlens.blogspot.com/, http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/, http://littlemissgastronome.blogspot.com/, http://www.adura-o.com/